The official word from Microsoft is you can’t upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7; you need a clean install. But in fact you can upgrade, including moving your data, applications, and settings. Here are some tips to help.
With Microsoft having abandoned Windows XP SP2, late-adopting companies still using XP are being pushed to make the upgrade to Windows 7. Windows XP is a dying breed. It’s time to upgrade. Microsoft says only Windows Vista systems are eligible to upgrade, while Windows XP users need to make a clean install of the new operating system:
You can’t directly upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7, says Microsoft.
Thankfully, you can avoid the need to wipe the disk of each PC and clean-install Windows 7 manually. Some tricks are more effective than others. Let’s look at some of these upgrade options, the DO’s and DON’Ts, and pick the slickest (and cheapest) and method.
#1: Don’t migrate from Windows XP to Windows Vista to Windows 7
Some IT departments are so desperate to avoid clean-installing Windows 7 that they “upgrade the upgrade.”
The workaround involves performing an in-place upgrade from Windows XP SP3 to Vista SP2 (which is possible), then an upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 using Setup.exe (which is also possible, of course). This is a bad idea because it requires paying for Windows Vista licenses. There are other reasons why no company should even consider going that route.
The reason Microsoft doesn’t recommend upgrading from XP to Windows 7 is that there are too many changes to PC configurations (such as applets, hardware support, and the driver model) to carry it all forward, according to Microsoft’s Engineering 7 blog. A clean install is better.
The driver and legacy applications problem could be solved if your IT department puts enough time into it. But also, PCs become unstable. After years of installing programs, collecting temporary files, crashing dozens of times and sometimes fighting malware, most old Windows XP systems have become messy. Performance is just not on par with a clean install; neither is stability.
#2: Clean-Install and Rely on Windows Easy Transfer
