Installing Windows

Upgrade “in-place” from XP to Windows 7 for under $1

Aug 022011

Laplink software has reduced the cost of their PC Mover software to under $1. With prices currently starting at $29.99 this is a significant discount for people still looking to upgrade Windows XP systems to Windows 7.

“We offer the fastest and easiest method to upgrade existing hardware from XP to Windows 7,” said Laplink CEO Thomas Koll. “And now we are removing any cost barrier.” With PCmover, the upgrade process does not require external media, no programs need to be reinstalled after the upgrade and the PC’s “personality” remains intact. “Windows XP will not be supported indefinitely by Microsoft,” continued Koll. “Businesses will need to deploy Windows 7 and Laplink has a much-needed solution.”

The software doesn’t actually perform the Windows 7 installation for you, you still need to do this by installing Windows 7 over the top of your current copy of XP. AT the installation screen DO NOT choose Upgrade. Instead choose the Custom (Advanced) option. Then install Windows 7 onto the same hard disk or partition where Windows XP resides without formatting the disk. The installer will detect your old copy of Windows and move it, and all your files to a Windows.old folder.

When you have Windows 7 installed, install PC Mover which will find the Windows.old folder. PCmover Windows 7 Upgrade Assistant will recognize what is in that folder and put it where it needs to go and install the software where it should go as well.

There are some caveats with this as not all your software will be compatible with Windows 7, and some could even cause problems with Windows 7 when migrated (this goes doubly so for hardware drivers). You should download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor first to find any software that is not compatible with Windows 7 and uninstall it.

This is an excellent purchase for anyone still making the move to Windows 7 but worried about having to reinstall all their software. At less than $1 it’s difficult to complain at this price.

You can buy and download PC Mover here.

Upgrade “in-place” from XP to Windows 7 for under $1 is a post from Windows 7 News & Tips – Latest Microsoft Windows 7 News, Tips, Themes, Wallpapers & Guides. Visit Windows 7 News & Tips for the Latest Microsoft Windows 7 News, Tips, Themes, Wallpapers & Guides.

Installing Windows 7 Service Pack 1 resets the Windows activation timer

Windows News No Responses »

Feb 282011

I have a Not For Resale copy of Windows 7 Ultimate that I won at a Microsoft user group event last year and installed on my main Intel desktop computer.A That computer’s motherboard failed, so I installed Win 7 on an AMD computer so that I’d have a running Win7 computer for testing and customer support.A I expected to have my main desktop operating …

Why You Shouldn’t be Installing Windows 7 SP1 RTM

Windows 7 No Responses »

Jan 162011

There’s been a lot of talk in the last few days about the imminent release of Windows 7 Service Pack 1, and yesterday Martin said here that the RTM (Release to Manufacturing) version had apparently been leaked online. This means, if the stories are true, that we’re now just one month away from the official release.

So should you download and install this service pack? I can understand what ever since Windows XP Service Pack 2, which frankly could have been released as a whole new version of Windows as many people claim, there’s been excitement about these service pack releases.

I would recommend caution though if you are considering such a move. Let me explain why.

The first and most important reason is that unless you’re running Windows Server, there’s nothing new in it. It is simply a roll-up of the patches and updates that have been issued for Windows 7 since its launch in October 2009. I can’t stress this enough, you really won’t notice the difference.

The other reason for proceeding with caution though is far more important. Virus and malware writers will already be hard at work implanting all sorts of trojans and nasties into the RTM service pack installer and then hosting this on file-sharing and torrent websites. Even the best anti-virus software will only detect 90% of malware and there is never any guarantee that something won’t get through.

You greatly increase your chances of getting your computer infected if you download any kind of software or updates from file sharing and torrent sites. This is a known fact and it’s not going away any time soon.

If you really need to know how Windows 7 Service Pack 1 will affect your systems, perhaps because you run a small home or business network with bespoke software and hardware, then my recommendation is to download and install it on a single, isolated, test machine.

For myself, as a tech blogger, tech author and MVP I’m happy to wait for the official release, just as I am with Internet Explorer 9. It’s about security and stability first and foremost. Any pre-release software or any software that you cannot verify the origin of should be treated with caution at best and suspicion at worst.

It will probably only be a month anyway and then the world will have stopped talking about it.

Microsoft Release new IE9 test Build

Windows 7 No Responses »

Oct 282010

Microsoft have today released a new test build of the beta version of Internet Explorer 9. The download, which is available here, “reflects developer feedback and delivers better performance as well as more standards support, like CSS3’s 2D transforms.”

The release was announced during the keynote speech at the company’s PDC (professional Developer Conference) which is being held at their campus in Redmond, Washington State.

Executives with the company said that so far there have been 10 million downloads of the IE9 beta so far. It has been available online since mid-September.

Should you want to download and install the IE9 beta you should be aware that you cannot run it side-by-side with Internet Explorer 8 and it is beta software so could have bugs and incompatibilities that can cause problems on your PC. I myself stopped using it a while back for this very reason.

There’s still no release date for the browser but it’s rumoured to be Q1 2011 around the same time as Windows 7 Service Pack 1 ships. IE9 is compatible with all versions of Windows 7 and Windows Vista, but will not run on Windows XP.

The Windows 7 / iMac Black Screen of Death

Windows 7 No Responses »

Aug 222010

Blogger and Internet marketer Vance Sova problems with Apple Mac users installing Windows 7 on their computers. The problem that is being called the “Black Screen of Death” is, like the blue screen of death (BSOD) in Windows, irreconcilable and the only way to get rid of it is to restart the computer.

The problem occurs when installing Windows 7 using Boot Camp and some users have had the problem repeatedly according to tech site Nexus404.

The blogger contacted his local Apple store and Apple support but apparently this got him nowehere, though in fairness you can’t expect Apple to understand everything about the Windows 7 install process. Extensive testing at Apple either didn’t show up the black screen of death, or they didn’t consider it a big enough problem.

He describes the process as…

That hope was frustrated and the black screen of death greeted me after I got up. Turning the computer off and on again got me to a screen with a headline saying “Windows Error Recovery”. No matter which instructions on that screen I followed, and there are 3 safe modes and one saying “Start Windows Normally”, I always ended up at the same place in the loop: the black screen of death.

Starting everything over I made doubly sure I followed the instructions not only religiously but like a first class meticulous monk. After all I could have made some mistake, however small, the first time. Well, I ended up staring at the black screen of death again on my shiny new Mac with no Windows 7 installed and a bit of disappointment and frustration creeping in.

I tried one more time with the black screen gaping at me again and the frustration and disappointment level rising. I went to the PC store where I bought the Windows 7 and asked them to exchange it. They gave me another disk and also checked the one I brought on their computer to see if it was defective. It worked.

I did the installation process with another brand new disk with Windows 7 Ultimate on it. Black screen of death again resulted on the Mac. I repeated the process again like a fool doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I really wanted it to work. I spent a lot of time and money on this and all I was getting was a stupid black Mac computer screen of death.

When I purchased the Mac computer I also bought the extended warranty with Apple Care. Before I had the Windows 7 exchanged I described the installation problems to a person at Apple Care over the phone. I was told that trying a different installation disk was a good idea and that they had no other suggestions other than that. Well, that idea with replacing the disk was mine. They didn’t help at all.

Either way the problem remains unresolved with no sign of a fix on the horizon. If you are installing Windows 7 on an Apple Mac using boot camp and your screen goes completely black with no activity then you’ll have been hit by the black screen of death. The only advice anyone can give is to switch your computer off, restart it and try the installation again.

For Windows 7 users on PCs feeling left out or having a giggle at Apple Mac users’ expense, if you’ve not received it yet I can assure you that the blue screen of death is alive and well in Microsoft’s latest Windows operating system.