Reply by Steve Constantinou from Emerging IT Pty Ltd on Monday, 21 March, 2011 - 13:58

Generally we would always suggest a fresh installation when installing a new operating system however during the Windows 7 upgrade you have both options, Upgrade or fresh installation. Regards Gerald

Reply by Neil McLachlan from Co Serve Consulting on Monday, 21 March, 2011 - 14:27

The Microsoft Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor provides comprehensive guidance on the compatibility of existing hardware and applications. It can be downloaded here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/upgrade-advisor

Reply by Grant Laing from Blended IT Solutions on Monday, 21 March, 2011 - 16:03

Yes, you can do a windows 7 upgrade from Vista, but depending on the laptop hardware you have, and the applications/programs that you are running, will depend on whether the upgrade is successfull or not. We would recommend the following the steps to make this as painless as possible. 1. Backup your laptop and operating system using a system image backup solution. (acronis Tru image would be the suggested product here) 2. download the application compatibility app to check your applications for use with windows 7. 3. Obtain all the windows 7 drivers for things like your printers, scanners, periphals attached to your laptop. 4. Ensure your laptop has the correct hardware to run win 7 properly. eg. 4gb ram, processor capable of running in 64bit mode, if 64bit version is what you want to run. 5. Ensure backup has worked, and place a bootable copy on DVD or other bootable media. 6. Proceed with upgrade if this all checks out. 7. load drivers for laptop, and other devices attached to laptop, printers etc. 8. check laptop for use and stability. 9. If all checks out, happy win 7 computing. If this seems like a lot to take in or a lot of steps, the more planning you do before will save a lot of grief afterwards, if the upgrade goes poorly. If you still want more info before you begin, then by all means contact us. Thanks Grant