Moving up to Win 7

[redvette]

Hi Gang

Well I have made the decision to upgrade my old XP to Win 7 today.

Ok I have 2 HD's, a 300G and 1T HD installed, they are cloned, both have the same everything.

Now I want to have my Win7 installed on the 1T HD, should I clean the drive of all the XP stuff, then install Win 7.? And if so will having the other cloned 300G HD make it easier to transfer all my stuff over to the newly installed Win 7.?

Are there any tips you might have as to what to look out for when doing the transfer.? Should I use that "Easy transfer".?

Thanx.....Gunny

[strollin]

I've switched over about a half-dozen machines from XP to Win 7. I backed up all of my data then wiped the HDD and did a clean install on each of the machines. I've read that "Easy Transfer" does a good job but I've personally never used it.

Are the HDDs in your machine SATA or IDE? If SATA it should be a simple matter to disable the 2nd drive in the BIOS, then do a clean install on the desired drive. Then you can re-enable the 2nd drive (make sure the 1st drive is set as the boot drive). You could then copy/move your data to the other drive.

Personally, I would use the smaller drive as my boot/OS drive with the 2nd drive as my data drive.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Are you implying that you want to have dual-boot, RedVette?

[redvette]

Hi Strollin

Sorry I forgot to give all the info yes they both are SATA drives. I think I understand what you are saying. What is your reasoning for using the smaller drive for the boot/os.?

What I was going to do is after I get the Win 7 drive all set, and my XP stuff transfered over I was going to clone the 300G drive.

Thanx....Gunny

[redvette]

Hi NUC

No i have done the dual boot thing before, so this time I want to dump XP completely. No messing around. I just think Win 7 is so much better now, faster, etc. I have 2 computers now one with the Win 7 and this one that I am working on now with the XP, and when I go one to the other it just points out that much more how good Win 7 is compared to XP. I have used XP for a very long time, and it is time to move on. I think XP is slowly getting worn out. :-)

Thanx....Gunny

[Nuclear Krusader]

It all depends on what you use the machine for. Do you need more room for applications or for personal data? If the former, then use the largest drive as your system drive (I'm assuming it's the fastest drive as well) and the small one for your files; if the latter, then use the smallest one for Win and apps.

You should always use the fastest drive for the OS and your programs. Keep your personal files off the system drive (Windows 7 lets you easily change the location of Documents, Pictures, etc. folders), as this will prevent damage to it should there be a system meltdown; additionally, it makes it easier to backup and reformat the hard drive when you eventually have to refresh your Windows installation.

[redvette]

Strollin

I was rereading your reply again. I have never used that way by going into the Bios and disabeling the drive. Never thought of that. Good idea.

Now what method would to use to transfer the data from the XP HD to the new Win 7 HD.

Thanx....Gunny

[Nuclear Krusader]

Do you have any external drives laying around? If your drives are cloned, can't you just copy the data over from the one you're not formatting?

[redvette]

Hi NUC

Yes I do but I was thinking having that HD already installed in my case, why not use it.? And if one drive gets buggy or goes south, all I have to do is take the cables form the bad one and connect them to the cloned good one. Sort of like a back up. Instead of using a External drive, I use that internal drive, as a back up. Sure it would have maybe a few newer programs, but no big deal.

I speak a little German, what is that saying on the bottom of your post.? Some of the words look German.

Thanx...Gunny

[Nuclear Krusader]

Ya, I understand you. It's kind of what I do: when I migrate to a new OS, I just buy a new hard drive and install the OS onto that, then I just copy my files over from the old one and leave the old one plugged in.

First thing to determine here is which drive is the newest and fastest: use that one for your new installation.

Then, how much data are you transferring? How many GB?

My sig says: "the light at the end of the tunnel is a train!"

[redvette]

Hi NUC

Ha ha that saying is great, I am always hearing that saying, and you think the the lite is something spiritual, etc. New twist, great. In this day and age, the train is a better thought.

I have not figured out how big it is, but I have to take the OS/boot off of it yet. I would have to say my 1t drive is the fastest, and the newest. The 300G is old and has been used a lot.

Take care......Gunny