Moving to Windows 7 RTM
I have been using Windows 7 since its first beta version along with the RC one, actually the first time to see Windows 7 new cool features was at PDC 2008, of course I was concentrating on the development side that was presented by Scott Guthrie, all that previous time, I was using windows 7 just for testing on a machine that I use for development.
Well now after the Windows 7 RTM released was shipped I think I am ready to adopt it at all levels on all machines. Right now I use two machines at my small “Home Office” , this is were I do most of my development work, my personal laptop runs Windows Vista, and my work office PC runs Windows XP with a couple of Virtual PCs.
Well it started at my Home Office where I installed Widows 7 on a fresh clean machine, it was as easy as 1 2 3, but when upgrading from Windows Vista you might find some trouble, I haven't upgraded from Windows XP yet.
Anyway the following should be considered when Upgrading from Vista to Windows 7:
1 – Microsoft and I suggest to Use Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Beta, it is a very good small utility that verifies that your PC is ready for Windows 7 (Hardware and Software).
2 – Install Windows Vista Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 2, or else you will not be able to upgrade and the only available option will be “Custom (Advanced)”, you can use it if you want a fresh new installation, the old Windows will be moved to folder “Windows.old”.
3 – According to Scott Hanselman: if you have .NET framework 4.0 and VS2010 Beta you should uninstall them before upgrading to Windows 7, then reinstall them again after a successful upgrade. More details here.
4 – I am not sure if this is the case for other anti-virus software, but apparently Windows 7 requires that you uninstall Kaspersky anti-virus, I Installed it after upgrading but apparently Windows 7 thinks that kaspersky will affect the system behaviors and performance so I installed an RC version of the Maintenance Plan 4 as a patch to Windows 7.
Related References:
- Windows 7 Home Page.
- Top 10 Tips Working Developers Should Know about Windows 7 by Scott Hanselman.
- Kaspersky Lab takes next step towards Windows 7 support