With the release of Windows 7, there are things to know before taking the plunge and making the switch.  Here are some important points to understand before attempting a Windows 7 upgrade:

• If you have Windows XP, you do not have to upgrade to Windows Vista first.
• Unfortunately, when you do upgrade to Windows 7 from XP, you have to do a clean installation.  After the installation is over, you will need to restore backed up data, settings, and reinstall applications separately.
• Your systems' requirements for the upgrade are as follows:
  • 1Ghz or faster 32 bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
  • 1GB of RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB of RAM (64 bit)
  • 16 GB available hard disk space (32 bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
  •  DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
• If you want to know if your system can handle Windows 7, go to this web page and download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx

Follow the instructions on this page to download and run the advisor.

• As a precaution, you should create a complete disk image of your computer so that you can switch back to XP if you need to without too much trouble.
• To create a complete disk image, you can use the product featured on this web page: http://www.undisker.com/products/undisker/disk-images.html

If you are ready for a Windows 7 upgrade, this information should set you up for success.

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