After all the drama of the Windows Vista launch in January 2007, most people are skeptical of if they should upgrade from Windows XP or Vista to Windows 7.  With a price tag ranging between $120 and $220 USD, the skepticism is for good reason. So, should you make the jump?

Our advice is: yes, you should.

If you are still running Windows XP, you are running an operating system that is two and a half years past it’s expiration date. Windows XP, although still a good operating system and stable in many regards, is the biggest victim of security flaws of all operating systems on the market. Even with security software, you are trying to play catch up with new viruses. Upgrading your operating system places you one step ahead, into a territory where the hackers and virus writers haven’t had seven years to write viruses. Also, a lot of the newest software is written with Windows 7 in mind, and sometimes this means you are missing out on features.

If you are running Windows Vista, I think that you are probably looking to move to Windows 7 anyway. After all the issues with Windows Vista and with the performance problems that many people are still facing, even with good PCs, it makes sense to move forward to Windows 7. Microsoft has designed the operating system to be more resource friendly, which will allow you to do more without waiting. If you have purchased either a computer with Vista installed or a boxed version of Vista since June 26, you should be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7.

So what should you consider when upgrading? First of all, Microsoft has built an upgrade advisor, which is available here. If you have Windows Vista, you are set. Microsoft has made it easy for people using Windows Vista to upgrade. Users can easily backup their computer’s contents and settings and make the upgrade. Windows 7 does all this for them. With Windows XP t,his is not the case. Users need to back up all their files to an external hard drive, and then reinstall all their software after Windows 7 has finished installing. All history will be cleared, so if you want to keep your history and browser bookmarks, make sure you back these up also. Also, make sure you have all activation codes and license codes for the software you had installed on XP handy for when you install them on Windows 7. The guys at CNET have a good summary video on the process of upgrading to XP here.

You may also experience some issues with some of your computer hardware as some windows drivers may not work with Windows 7. Most manufacturers will release updates to their drivers for Windows 7. Windows 7 is meant to have a utility for this to help you find updates. Quite often, it will not find them. Your best bet is to download Driver Reviver and run a free scan to find what is out of date.

Please let us know of any stories you have while upgrading to Windows 7. From everything we have seen, it is a worthy upgrade and may give Apple a run for its money, but only time will tell!

Good Luck and let us know if we can help!