Updating Windows XP with Windows 7

[bossgard]

I am going to replace in my computer, Windows XP (SP 2) with Windows 7 so that I can run Internet Explorer 9 when it is released. I plan on having this done by my computer service person at the end of this year. What do I need to do to safeguard all my files (data, photos, IG Pro, etc.) while this conversion is made. I have my software program CDs, it they get messed up. I don't want to sound like the complete dunce (that I am) when I talk to him. I have Roxio BackOnTrack software installed, which I use for routine restore dates and file backups, that I burn to DVD. I just don't want to lose all my life's work!! Any help is appreciated to understand the process, thanks!
-Toby

[NightHawk]

Well Toby, the fact that you have backup software installed already then you're well on your way to protecting your data, so you're in no way a dunce. 

I'm not familiar with Roxio BackOnTrack software so I don't know what its capabilities are, so I can't give you a comprehensive explanation from that aspect.  If it can do a complete system backup, and you have enough DVDs, then do that the day before your techie guy arrives.

I tend to do my backups manually, so I don't use any backup programs.  If you have an external Hard Disk drive attached to your PC, as I do, then data backup is so much easier and quicker to do than burn to CDs/DVDs.  However, as you are using the DVD method then stick with that for now.

I would start making a list of all the data you wish to preserve and the locations of where they are currently stored.  Most programs you install on your computer usually save Profiles and data you add to the program in a sub-folder of the main program.  Check the preferences sections of your software to see where they save data, and/or browse your PC in Windows Explorer to see where your important data files/photos, etc., are stored.

Using your Roxio BackOnTrack software don't forget to include the folder where all your emails are stored.  Depending on the particular email software you use, they are usually automatically saved elsewhere, sometimes in your USER folder.

You can also backup your Internet Explorer Favourites folder where all your bookmarked websites are stored.

For your most precious files, e.g. Photos and documents, I would do a separate backup of those, independent of a full system backup.

Make sure that you have the most up-to-date version of Roxio BackOnTrack software that is compatible with Windows 7.  If it's not, you may have trouble installing that program on the Windows 7 system and therefore be unable to restore all your saved data from your DVDs.  That would never do. 

If you have purchased any programs from the Internet as an electronic download, make sure you back them up as well.

No doubt George will best be able to advise you on the locations of the IG Pro data files for your backup, and other members may be able to offer additional, or alternate, suggestions for your backup process.

I hope this is of some value to you Toby.

Laurie.

[bossgard]

Thanks. Laurie!

I think the first thing I will do, though, is give my computer a darn good clean-up. In other words get rid of the old emails I don't need, some of the M/S Office Suite stuff I don't need. There's some old documents and scans I don't need anymore.
Get them all over to the recycle bin, and then clean that out. I'll take a good look at Roxio and figure out what I can do for sure with it and check on whether its current for Windows 7. If I were to purchase an external drive for periodic back-ups, how do I determine capacity? Any suggestion for make and model? I'll have to be sure that external drive is Windows 7, too. With an external drive, do I not need to store it in some safe location other than my computer office, when not in use?

This is why I want to start early, so I can get a handle on the whole thing, and you've helped a lot.

I may need to get back to you! Thanks, again.

- Toby

[NightHawk]

A spring-clean of your PC sounds like a very good idea Toby.  Pointless backing up loads of extra baggage when you just want the 'good stuff' 

Capacity of a hard drive is generally governed by what you wish to pay.  There are some very high capacity drives at very reasonable prices.  You want to go for a size that is at the very least slightly larger than your current hard drive.  That way you can at least do a full copy to it.  I would go for as large as you can afford Toby.  The more space you've got the more you can back up in one place.

External drive manufacturers?  Probably just a personal choice there Toby.  Most are fairly reliable, although I am very fond of Western Digital.  Model will depend on the size you go for.  Go for a USB connection to your PC, that way you can easily add/remove it whenever you need to use it.  Storing the external drive elsewhere in a safe place?  You don't really need to do that, but it would be prudent should (heaven forbid) you either had a fire or your house was broken into and your PC got stolen.  Otherwise, I'd just leave it connected so it's available for you to do on-the-fly backups of your important files as you create them.

If you have any more questions I'd be happy to answer them.

Laurie.

[ideasguy]

Very had good advice from Laurie there, Toby.

Personally, I would not change the operating system on a computer.
Windows 7 will require more memory than XP. You need to make sure your computer has sufficient memory to cope.
Windows 7 is installed on most new computers, which undoubtedly have much higher specifications than your XP computer.

What version of IE are you using at present? If you are having "issues" with your current version, you could download and try a different browser - e.g. Mozilla Firefox. It works perfectly on my XP computer.

If you must change to W7, then you should do as Laurie has suggested. Use an external disk with USB connection to save all your data.
In the case of Ideas Genie Pro etc - simply make a folder on the External drive and use the IG Pro Backup program to do a backup to the folder.
Then use the program Switch Databases - GA026 to open the database on the External drive..
Once opened, you can use the program Database Explorer GA037 to explore the database
That test guarantees that you have a good secure backup.
You can use the IG Pro restore program to restore the data after W7 is operational.

[bossgard]

George, thanks for responding.
As you might recall, I'm using the internet quite extensively, to do research about my gardening. I subscribe to quite a few gardening magazines, and they all are coming up with wonderful, informational web sites. They have forums, blogs, twitter(s), facebook(s), and youtube(s), etc., etc., etc.. I want to stay on top of all of that, and whatever might be made available in the future. When I read about the beta-testing on Internet Explorer 9, and that it would not be supported by Window XP (Sevice Pack 3), I asked myself what to do now?

If I'm NOT going to 'miss out' on anything coming down from the Internet, then I see no reason for me to worry. If Mozilla Firefox will keep me 'up-to-date', then I would just as soon install Firefox, than risk losing everything in changing the OS. Also, I'd rather not spend the money.

I have this info available on my computer, without digging further. I have an AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3800+, 959 mb memory. XP Home, 32 bit , ServicePack 3. If I'm ok with that, I'll cancel my updating to Window 7, install Firefox, but still continue on a good computer clean-up and external drive backup plan. Do you have an URL on Mozilla Firefox? I assume it's free. Thanks, George and Laurie. Hope I've got the smarts to pull all of this off. I might need a lot of help!!
-Toby

[NightHawk]

Mozilla Firefox is absolutely free Toby.

Here's the download link - Mozilla Firefox which is currently at version 3.6.12.

I use Firefox in conjuction with IE 8, and also used it when I had my Windows XP PC, but works with all versions of Windows.

It functions pretty much the same as IE, with tabbed browsing tabs.

I agree with George about changing from XP to Win 7.  Not only could it slow down your current PC if the full specs required aren't compatible, but you would also need to make sure ALL of your current software is Windows 7 compatible to continue to run correctly.

It sounds like changing your browser could be the cheapest and less of a hassle option than a new Operating System.  Worth a try anyway. 

Laurie.

[bossgard]

Mozilla Firefox installed.

My bookmarks (favorites) are here, and seem to work well.

This Forum loaded a lot quicker than on IE. It also appears differently.
Easier type style to read, etc.

Thanks, Guys.

- Toby

[NightHawk]

Great stuff Toby.

We're here if you need any more help 

Laurie.

[bossgard]

Thanks, Laurie.

If you're still there, or when you can.
How do I determine the capacity that I need when I purchase my new Western Digital External Drive for backups?
Can you tell by the computer information that I gave you earlier, or tell me what and where location of the information
that you do need. I'm going shopping next Tuesday, I just might pick one up then, so I can get started.
I'd like to start with ample capacity, so I don't run out.

Who knows what George's new features are going to be for IG Pro? And how much space they are going to need.
I've got another one I like to have him do, in fact several, and I think Malcolm's got some he wants too. Are you getting in line, too?

- Toby

[NightHawk]

Toby,

There are two methods you can use to get the info on the size of your current hard disk:

(1)  On an XP computer you should have an icon on your Desktop called "My Computer" so right-mouse click it ONCE and select "Open" from the drop-down menu.
You'll get a Windows Explorer folder list with "Local Disk C:" towards the top.  Right-mouse click this ONCE and from the drop-down menu select "Properties".

(2)  Alternatively, you can open Windows Explorer, left-mouse click once on the "My Computer" icon and select "Local Disk C:" from the menu by right-mouse clicking on it once and select "Properties" from the drop-down menu.

In both cases you'll get the same information in either Megabytes (MB) or Gigabytes (GB) of the size of the hard disk and how much space has been used and what space is left.

Windows Operating Systems usually gives you several ways of doing the same job so it's just a case of using the method to navigate around your PC the way you find is the easiest.

The amount of disk space used includes your Operating System plus all your installed programs and saved data.  This is the MINIMUM figure to use as a guide to buying your external hard disk.

So, for the sake of argument let's assume your internal hard disk is 80 GB and that you have used 45 GB.  Still plenty of space left to use, but as external drives now have capacities up to say 1 Terabyte (TB - which is  1,000 Gigabytes) then you have a big range of sizes in between to choose from.  As I said earlier, go for the largest you can afford.

There are just THREE key specifications to consider before your purchase: (1) storage size in GB, (2) USB 2.0 connection and (3) hard disk speed in revolutions per minute (rpm).  Go for the current fastest at 7200 rpm, for quicker access speed for reading and saving data to it .  The other speed of 5400 rpm is found on older computers.

Even if you later decide to buy a new PC then you can still use the external hard disk for backups, so you won't need to replace it.  And if you have tons and tons of data stored on your external drive, and start to run out of space, you can always buy a second one and use them alongside each other.  As long as you have at least two spare USB ports on your computer you can have both attached at once.  In theory, you can have up to 256 USB devices attached to your PC using USB hubs, but I think that is a little bit overkill.
My newish PC (1 year old) has 8 USB ports fitted as standard.  They're on the front, top and rear of the Desktop unit.  More than enough for me 

Who knows what George's new features are going to be for IG Pro? And how much space they are going to need.
I've got another one I like to have him do, in fact several, and I think Malcolm's got some he wants too. Are you getting in line, too?

I'll have to play that one by ear for now Toby.  We're almost at the point of exchanging contracts for our house move to Hampshire, so we're expecting to be offline for a short time during that transition period.  Hopefully it won't take long to get settled and online again. 

Laurie.

[ideasguy]

More great advice fron Laurie for you Toby!

Theres another very good reason for an external drive.

When you get a brand new computer, it works at lightening speed, putting your previous computer to shame.
As it gets filled up with files its a different matter. Once you exceed 80% disk capacity things begin to really slow down.
What takes up most of that 80%?
Photos!!
The RAW files produced with my Canon camera are massive, and I take loads on a photoshoot.
My solution is to put the RAW photo originals on an external drive. I'm "not good" at deleting photos, so I keep most of them.
However, I only use a small proportion of then for linking to plants and gardens in Ideas Genie Pro etc.
Those I copy onto my hard disk (though I could access them directly.
For distribution in the Master Database I use the resizing program in IG Pro to make a smaller (but still high quality) copy for my hard drive for quicker access.
It takes time for any software program to open a file and size is a factor. Its nice to click a photo option in IG Pro and the image comes up instantly, and that tip does help.
You can do the same, of course.

Quote from Laurie:

but as external drives now have capacities up to say 1 Terabyte (TB - which is  1,000 Gigabytes) then you have a big range of sizes in between to choose from.  As I said earlier, go for the largest you can afford.

Those massive disk drives are to cope with the modern trend, those large files mentioned above being only one example.
The trend is also to store Videos, requiring huge amounts of space.

RE:

Who knows what George's new features are going to be for IG Pro?

Videos, perhaps ? 

Incidentally, In IG Pro, you can link directly to photos which are stored on an external drive. Access speed is really good (MUCH faster than links to photos on CD or DVD) in fact I don't notice any difference from those on hard disc.
The only thing is, you need to have the external drive connected.

[bossgard]

George and Laurie, and other interested people:

You know the funny part of all of this, I'm even beginning to understand what you guys are talking about. If this was last year, this time, I'd be ready to give up already!

OK, here's the specs; I have Used Space 24.3 GB, Free Space 87.4 GB with a total Capacity of 111. GB

The store I intend to shop at tomorrow, has a some special pricing on a brand I am not familiar with -- ClickFree. I am pretty sure they are also stocking Western Digital and Seagate. In Click-Free they have two modes listed, one, a portable model, 500 GB, another that looks like a desk model is 1T. Both are USB 2.0 connections, and I do have two USB connections available on my computer.

Searching the Internet yesterday, I came up with descriptive information for the ClickFree 500GB:
High-speed USB 2.0 interface, Data transfer rate up to 300MB/sec., 16MB cache buffer, 5400 rpm speed, 12 ms average seek time, Auto sorts and displays back-up files, compatible with Mac and PC.

ClickFree 1T capacity:
High-speed USB 2.0 interface, Data transfer rated up 300MB/sec., 16MB cache buffer, 7200 rpm speed, 12 ms average seek time, BackupLink technology (for automatic setup of multiple computers back files. Mini USB flash key makes set up easy), Compatible with Mac and PC, for use with more than 1 computer.

There is only a matter of a few dollars between these two ClickFree models. In doing some more research it seems that both Seagate and Western Digital are about the same pricing for comparable capacities. What intrigued me about the ClickFree 500GB, was the feature 'Auto sorts and displays backed-up files'. However the 1T has the specifications that match Laurie's descriptions. I will check tomorrow at the store, and see if that feature 'Auto sorts' is also included in the Click-Free 1T.

Does anybody know anything about the Click-Free product as to reliability, etc.? I can always return the unopened ClickFree. The reason for shopping tomorrow is, as a 'Senior', I'm entitled to an additional 10% off of the already reduced prices.

Unless anybody has other recommendations, I would like to purchase the ClickFree 1T, and return it if necessary later.

- Toby

[ideasguy]

Info on this site:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/297738/review/clickfree_backup_drive_1tb.html

Though it looks like many other external hard disk drives, its claim to fame is its preinstalled Clickfree Automatic Backup software. The software kicks in when you attach the drive (if you have Windows auto-play feature enabled). The software resides on a separate partition that your PC recognizes as a virtual CD-ROM and permits to start up automatically.

The process begins with a 25-second countdown, and then the software starts scanning your system for data files.

Personally, I would not buy that device Toby. I wouldn't want the click free thing starting up each time I connected my external drive, then starting to scan my drive.
In my external drive, an autoscan starts, but on the external drive, not on my hard disk.
It does that assuming I want to view photos. I click cancel (to cancel the scan) and I now have a second disk connected which I can access using the programs My Computer and Windows Explorer
Importantly, its an extra disc which I can access using IG Pro.
I imagine you can also do that with the Click Free drive, but I would ask the question before buying it.
e.g. Ask can you do your own individual backups on the external drive using Drag and Drop of folders

Questions to you:
What do you want it for, primarily?
a) to back up your computer
b) as a general purpose extra disc
c) do you feel confident enough to select folders containing your data on your hard disc and drag them onto the external drive? (without the need for Click free)

How much are these drives Toby? What are the cheaper alternatives?