Before I upgrade?

[scottcraft]

I'm planning on upgrading my Windows 7 laptop to Windows 8 this weekend. I've never upgraded a computer before, so I'm curious as to what precautions I need to take before I upgrade and what I might need to backup.

 

[gsquared]

just ensure to backup your personal files. Upgrading to Win 8 is a piece of cake.

 

[HeyCori]

I second that. Definitely backup all your personal files to an external HDD (movies, music, documents, etc). In fact, backing up personal files should be part of your daily routine.

Personally I always recommend a fresh install. The W8 upgrade assistance checks compatibility and usually it's not a problem unless your laptop is anciiiient. I did a fresh install on my PC and it worked without a hiccup.

But using the upgrade feature should work too.

 

[Squatting Hen]

As others have said, at least back up your personal files.

I did the upgrade, and didn't back anything up for the upgrade, but I normally backup every so often.

Nothing was lost. MS really did do a great job with the upgrade assistant. It did take a while though...

 

[scottcraft]

Thanks guys. I have some stuff backed up to the cloud, but I need to put it on my external hard drive. What about office? Do I need to do anything with it, I don't remember where the key is?

 

[a5cent]

You can choose to just update the Windows installation to Windows 8 (which is what most do), or you can do a clean install which formats the drive so you get a pristine and perfect Windows installation. The later is usually preferable, but it requires more work. Doing a backup before attempting something like this is always a good idea:

- backup your browser bookmarks
- backup your Outlook PST file (if you use outlook)
- backup all personal documents and pictures etc
- backup/write down program settings you wish to restore
- backup/write down passwords (for skype etc)

If you intend to do a clean install, then you also need to do the following (theoretically it would be good to do this in any case should something go seriously wrong, but most don't bother):

- make sure you have the newest versions of all your hardware drivers at the ready. Most importantly the chipset drivers which you can download from your motherboard manufacturer or PC OEM. That should be the first thing you install after doing a clean install.
- make sure you have all the serial keys and DVD's ready for the software you intend to reinstall (as I said, only necessary if you are doing a clean install)

 

[power5]

I noticed some issues with my upgrade. I chose to keep all programs and settings. This created a problem with when the computer went to sleep. I was NOT able to get to the lock screen after it went to sleep. Had to hard reset the computer. I have since done a "keep nothing" install and have 0 issues with waking my sleeping computer. Also, I did a win7 backup before starting my upgrade, but it was cake and had 0 issues. I was even able to still surf the web and use my computer during the upgrade. That just blew my mind.

 

[scottcraft]

I started trying to backup stuff tonight, but I'm having problems making a backup. I'll look into it some more tomorrow.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I started trying to backup stuff tonight, but I'm having problems making a backup. I'll look into it some more tomorrow.

What are you backing up? Where is this backup being saved?

Do you have a Windows 7 installation DVD or a recovery disk?

 

[kenzibit]

I second that. Definitely backup all your personal files to an external HDD (movies, music, documents, etc). In fact, backing up personal files should be part of your daily routine.

Personally I always recommend a fresh install. The W8 upgrade assistance checks compatibility and usually it's not a problem unless your laptop is anciiiient. I did a fresh install on my PC and it worked without a hiccup.

But using the upgrade feature should work too.

How did you do your fresh installation? Mine just upgrades

 

[power5]

I think if you launch from inside windows it does an update, but if you boot from the DVD it may do a clean install. Just guessing, I didn't really need to go fresh from my win7.

Looks like you do boot from disc
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2299-clean-install-windows-8-a.html

 

[HeyCori]

How did you do your fresh installation? Mine just upgrades

It should give you the option when installing Windows 8. The software asks something along the lines of what you want to keep. If you choose "Nothing" it should do a clean install. That's if you use the installation assistant. I'm not sure if the process is different using a DVD.

 

[kenzibit]

Got it now. I redownloaded Windows 8 and it gave me an option to save as image file (an option I didn't get with the upgrade assistant). Burnt the file on a dvd, formatted everything and did a fresh installation.

 

[power5]

It should give you the option when installing Windows 8. The software asks something along the lines of what you want to keep. If you choose "Nothing" it should do a clean install. That's if you use the installation assistant. I'm not sure if the process is different using a DVD.

Not sure that is a clean install. Just an upgrade that does not keep anything. I picked to save nothing on my second upgrade and my desktop theme I was currently using in windows 7 stayed. Its the only theme that stayed, but its still there.

 

[CJ Thunder]

I would download wifi drivers just incase. Windows 8 didn't have mine built in and that is always a chore going to another machine with a flash drive.

Also All my files got messed up a bit (still there but were not 'installed'. Some had issues so I just reinstalled) so do a back up.