Windows 7

In a previous post, I complained about the unequal treatment we in Australia receive from Microsoft, regarding the Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack. It’s still not available here!

However, I’ve taken a shortcut and purchased a copy through Amazon and arranged for a friend in the United States to receive it and then post it on to me here.

Well, it’s finally arrived and I’m gearing up to bite the bullet and install it on my two computers.

I’ve been using Windows RC for some time and experimenting with it. I’ve managed to gather lots of additional software in the process, mainly to see how it runs in this environment. By now I’ve got a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn’t. One of the problems you have with lots of software is that they want to take over your computer. They often install a small program which loads itself into Windows Startup and remains there running in the background. Unfortunately, many of these are a memory hogs and slow down your computer. It’s here that I use the tried and true “msconfig” to do some pruning in the Startup.

Running a Quick Check!

Before using “msconfig” if you want a quick look to see what’s actually running in the Startup, click the up arrow in the Notification Area. This opens the Customise box. While some of the icons for running applications may be hidden those visible will give you an idea of what’s currently running in the computer’s memory.

Should you want to see more, click Customize and the Notifications Area window opens. Scroll down to see the applications that are running.

Using msconfig

To open “msconfig”, click the Start button and select Run. In the Run dialog box, type msconfig and click the Ok button. The System Configuration window opens, click the Startup tab. The illustration below shows you what to do next.

Disabling misbehaving programs is really only a stopgap approach, as the “good, bad and ugly” remain on your hard drive.  However, as you’re about to install Windows 7 everything on your hard drive including all the applications within My Programs folder will be removed.

Back in my Download Folder, which is bursting at the seams, (I’m a bit of a software junkie) I now have to look at what it is worth keeping. The good stuff will be transferred to my portable hard drive ready for reinstallation when Windows 7 is safely on board my computer.

Transferring File and Folders

Before installing Windows 7, I’m going to use Windows Easy Transfer to transfer important files and folders to a portable hard drive connected through a USB port.

There are three methods available to transfer your files and folders.

• Easy Transfer Cable

This method uses the Easy Transfer Cable and a USB ports on each computer. It works with Windows Easy Transfer. This cable has a USB plug at each end and connects to a USB port on the source computer and the target computer.

Belkin Easy Transfer Cable

• Network

This method uses the computer network where both computers are connected. Again you use Windows Easy Transfer.

• USB flash drive or external hard disk

This method also uses Windows Easy Transfer and requires USB Flash drive or an external hard disk connected to USB ports.

My preferred method to preserve my files and folders is use the latter method.

While the Windows Easy Transfer process is time consuming the end result is worthwhile. I’ll describe this method  in my next post.

And another thing! Once I’ve copied all my important files onto the portable hard drive, I’ll proceed to the next step, using Paul Thurrot’s Method 3 to clean install Windows 7 onto my computer.

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