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10 reasons you need to upgrade to Windows 7

1 DESKTOP AND TASKBAR

The new taskbar is one of the biggest changes in Windows 7. Instead of stacking open windows, the taskbar works more like a dock, enabling you to access your common programs and files, and offers you live previews of open windows.

2 WINDOWS MEDIA CENTER

Widely regarded as the best all-round media program, Windows Media Center has even more to shout about in Windows 7. There’s high-def support, tours of album art, fantastic picture slideshows and Sky Player integration for satellite subscribers.

3 SPEED-BOOST

If your PC has been slowing down, you may have been thinking about a costly upgrade. Windows 7 is the first version in history that doesn’t require increased hardware specifications, and runs as well as – or better than – Windows Vista on the same computer.

4 AERO SHAKE

Some of the finest achievements in Windows 7 are the new Aero features, which have the power to revolutionise the way we work with Windows. Apart from the enhanced live previews, which have been developed since Windows Vista, there are a host of mouse gestures to make simple tasks a breeze. Moving windows around the screen enables you to snap them to the left or right, and dragging a window to the top maximises it. This is immensely satisfying, and being able to easily tile two programs you’re working with makes you wonder how you survived without the feature.

5 PLAY TO…

One of the most difficult aspects of Windows used to be getting media to play across your network. In Windows 7, you can play media to any connected device from Windows Media Player. Just select a track, choose Play to and sit back and enjoy your favourite movies and music from the other side of your home or workplace.

6 EASY NETWORKING

Apart from media streaming, the whole networking process has been given an overhaul using a new feature called HomeGroup. You can see and manage all the devices attached to your network easily, rather than having to enable each one using cryptic menus and confusing jargon. This is great for setting up media servers, network hard drives and other home PCs.

7 SECURITY

Windows Vista is one of the most secure operating systems ever built. However, some felt that the User Account Control (UAC) in Windows Vista was too aggressive, causing it to annoy rather than help you stay safe. Unless programs are being installed from the
internet, the new-look UAC rarely bothers you, giving you ultimate peace of mind as well as an easy life.

8 OVERHAULED PROGRAMS

The main programs in Windows 7 feature Microsoft Office 2007-style Ribbon menus, instead of the old drop-down system. This puts more options at your fingertips.

9 HIGH-DEF VIDEO

Windows 7 adds support for loads of high-definition formats in Windows Media Center and Windows itself, so it’s the perfect choice for any media lover. MP4, Xvid, DivX and AVCHD (the format used by high-definition camcorders) all work straight out of the box. There’s also built-in support for Blu-ray, as well as future-proof support for Freeview HD, which is due to be released some time over the next few years.

10 WORK FASTER

The new taskbar in Windows 7 means you can take advantage of a whole new way of working. The Jump Lists enable you to access your favourite files with just two clicks, where before you would have to trawl through your Documents folder system to find the file you were looking for. You can also pin files to the Jump Lists, so that you always have those regularly-used documents to hand.

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Check if your PC can run Windows Vista

There’s every possibility that you’ll first encounter Windows Vista when you buy a new PC, but Microsoft is unsurprisingly keen on persuading as many of us as possible to upgrade older systems. Whether Windows Vista offers you sufficient enticement to bother upgrading will certainly vary from person to person and business to business, but one thing is clear – if upgrading is a hassle, it’s certainly not desirable.

Thankfully, there is a way to check how complex upgrading might be. Before installing Windows Vista on a current Windows XP system, you are well advised to check whether your PC has the brute strength to run it. Beyond checking the headline system requirements, you can download the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor. This is a small application that scans your computer hardware and reports accordingly.

1. Download and scan

You can download the Upgrade Advisor tool from here. As the opening screen recommends, connect as many of your external devices as possible, including hard drives. Initiate a scan and leave well alone for a few minutes.

The Upgrade Advisor checks that your computer is up to the task of running Windows Vista.

2. Check its findings

When the scan concludes, click See Details. This report tells you whether you can successfully install Windows Vista – or, if you can’t, why not. Check the details carefully because you may find that a simple upgrade in the graphics or memory department is all you need.

In this case, it’s a thumbs down from the Upgrade Advisor but some freed-up hard disk space should suffice.

3. The recommendation

The Upgrade Advisor makes a recommendation about which version of Windows Vista is a good fit for your PC. In this case, it suggests Windows Vista Home Basic. If you hanker for something better, click the other versions of Windows Vista in the left-hand panel. The program will now tell you about any specific problems you’ll have in relation to each version.

Select the version of Windows Vista that interests you and click See Details in System Requirements section.

4. Clarify what you need

For example, to run Windows Vista Home Premium to full effect, we’re going to need a new audio driver, a TV tuner and a new graphics card. This is because this version includes Windows Media Center, whereas Windows Vista Home Basic doesn’t – hence the earlier recommendation by Upgrade Advisor.

The Upgrade Advisor flags up any potential incompatibilities between your system and your chosen version of Windows Vista.

5. Ignoring driver concerns

Be sure to check out the Devices and Programs tabs. Don’t worry too much about driver issues, as most manufacturers – at least, those what want to stay in business – will be releasing special Windows Vista drivers quickly. You can also get many drivers directly from Microsoft just by running Windows Update after you’ve installed.

Upgrade Advisor tells you of any devices that it doesn’t have drivers for. It’s worth checking that Windows Vista drivers are available from the manufacturers before you decide to upgrade.

6. What to do next

Finally, visit the Task List tab for a summary of what to do now and what you should expect to have to do post-installation. This doesn’t include tasks like ‘dump your obsolete printer’. If you are told to uninstall software, make sure that you are prepared to live without it.

You are well advised to perform any necessary tasks now, because if Windows Vista detects these problems during installation it will refuse to continue.

A visit to Windows Update can keep devices working when you install Windows Vista.

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