Before upgrading your current computer to Windows 7 you should make sure it meets all Windows 7 requirements. according to Microsoft, the minimum hardware configuration your computer needs to run Windows 7 are the following:
|
Processor Speed |
1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit Processor |
|
Amount Of Memory |
1 GB of Ram |
|
Graphic Card Memory Hard Drive Space |
128 MB of Graphic memory 16 GB for a 32-bit install or 20 GB for a 64-bit install |
Note: If you want to have a positive Windows 7 experience, your computer needs to have at least double the minimum requirement.
How do you know your computer is Windows 7 ready?
Microsoft has developed a tool that scans your computer for Windows 7 requirements and report the findings to you. the tool is call Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor ( click on the link to read more about the tool, and download it ) you will get a report of your hardware configuration like this:
If your graphic device is not Windows 7 compatible you can still install Windows 7, but it will be loaded with basic configurations without Desktop Windows Manager ( DWM ) which gives the transparency and 3-D look to windows 7.
after finding out that your computer is Windows 7 ready, then you are ready for the upgrade. But wait, there is more to do before inserting the upgrade CD on your computer, don’t forget windows installations sometimes get bad and you might end up losing your data, even if the installation is an upgrade. so make sure you do a back-up of your current data, and then do the installation. in the next article, I will write about how to do a right back up. till then now.
I use this tool before installing Windows 7 and now I'm a fan of Windows 7.