Conversion from WinXp to Win7

When I got a new computer last there was no way I could move the programs from my old winxp to the new winxp because of Microsoft. I am now planning on moving my programs from winxp to win7 and I wonder if there is anyway acronis can help me in this process? I have TI 2009. I have a massive amount of programs and this is quite important to me. Please pardon me if this has been asked before but I didn't know how I could look it up.

 

No, not really. You have to bite the bullet and reinstall all of your programs.

Tomorrow when Win7 final is released on TechNet, it will be my third clean install this year (Beta version, then RC version, then RTM). If you keep good notes then the process is not so bad, and you will never need to wonder if some obscure problem that you're having is due to trying to take a shortcut by avoiding a clean install.

 

I don't even have all those installations programs. Some are old shareware, some are outdated freeware. I guess I am just out of luck.Am I the first to run into this huge problem? Geeeez.

 

Think of it as an opportunity to clean out the attic, so to speak. Each time that I do this I'm surprised by how many installed programs have gone unused for months, so they don't get carried forward to the new installation. For some of the freeware programs it's a good opportunity to search for the latest update or to find an alternative, and perhaps better, program.

I am certain that you will be more than happy with the results of a clean installation, even if it is a lot of work. All of us, myself included, are in the habit of keeping too much digital "junk" on our computers.

Just trying to be philosophical. Definitely you are not alone in your frustration.

 

A workaround = spending money, and it still might not work.

Buy Vista upgrade -> install, Buy W7 upgrade -> install.
Then hope TI makes it through all those upgrades.

 

Keep that hard drive intact with WinXp and use another drive for a clean Win7 installation. To make changing them around super easy, buy a mobile rack as seen here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...k&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&Order=PRICE

With a tray for each drive - one with the Xp drive and one with the W7 drive - you can swap drives in less than 10 seconds.

 

Good thought. Thanks.

 

This is an issue that comes up from time-to-time and sometimes is the real, unmentioned reason behind an attempt to do something with TI that is a bad idea.

The real problem is that poor planning has now resulted in a crisis of sorts although I am in agreement with K0LO that it is an opportunity in disguise to quite possibly make things better.

The poor planning aspect is downloading software, paid and unpaid, and not storing the download files, license numbers and other pertinent data in a single location. I have a folder labelled SystemData and any downloads along with serial numbers, downloaded updates, etc are stored. It does require discipline and I'll admit that because of human failings it doesn't work 100% of the time but it should. As a bit of a safety net I move any emails that contain serial numbers or purchase info into a special email folder which is left with the email system.

I would pursue the rack idea but attempt to make W7 a cleaned up version of the XP system (I use them for testing purposes as well as a very fast method of creating off-line backups). If there truly is something you can't live without you will still have it available.

 

Yes, it does take some discipline to remember to store downloaded files and serial nos. But it eventually becomes second nature so-to-speak. I keep all my downloads/serial nos. on an 8Gb thumb drive (the larger downloads are burned to CDs to make room on the thumb) and I also backup the thumb drive to a 500Gb external drive. But its amazing the amount of junk one can accummulate.

 

You aren't kidding. I have even resorted to sometimes including a text file explaining what some of the programs do and why I (think I) need it. After a few months it may not be obvious at all.