Laplink Upgrade Assistant helps with Windows 7 migration

October 29, 12:41 PMGadgets ExaminerDan Appleman

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Upgrade Assistant speeds Windows 7 migration
Laplink

Upgrading a system to Windows 7 is easy if you are upgrading from 32 bit Vista to 32 bit Windows 7, or 64 bit Vista to 64 bit Windows 7. But if you are upgrading from XP, or wish to migrate from a 32 to 64 bit operating system, that ease of upgrade vanishes. You can still install Windows 7 on your system, but you then have to reinstall all of your applications, transfer your data manually, and reconfigure all of your system settings.

Laplink’s Windows 7 Upgrade Assistant can dramatically speed this process, preserving most applications and system settings, and transferring you data automatically. As you would expect given the complexity of the task, it is not perfect: many XP applications simply won’t work on Windows 7, and some 32 bit applications won’t run on a 64 bit system. This is particularly true of services, drivers and security programs such as antivirus programs. Fortunately, the Windows 7 Upgrade Assistant detects many applications and services that should not be migrated and either does not migrate them, or disables them under Windows 7.

You should follow some precautions before performing the upgrade – make sure you have access to any passwords used by applications (they may not migrate). You are strongly encouraged to perform a full image backup before the upgrade process. And read the instructions carefully as you proceed. The software is very inexpensive, but only works once on a single machine – but given the time it can save, you’ll find it money well spent.

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