# Going from XP to Windows 7



## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

I have an old but really good XP laptop computer. I purchased a Windows 7 key and have the links to download Win 7 software. I understand I have to reformat the drive to install Win 7. My question is if I reformat, won't I lose all the drivers that run things like CD Drive, USB ports, Video and such? I bought this computer used so don't have the disks with the drivers. Or are the drivers embedded in Win 7? 
I'm willing to take a risk as the computer is useless to me as is and I've decided I don't want to install Linux as it's a steep learning process. Win 7 I know.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

If you reformat you'll lose everything on your hard drive. But drivers should be available from your computer manufacturer. Be aware that some hardware that had drivers for XP might not have drivers that will work with Vista or 7. You should do your homework before upgrading. Unfortunately I see that Microsoft's upgrade assistant for XP to Windows 7 has been taken down.

https://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/windows-7/partner/default.aspx

Yes, many drivers are included with Windows 7, but not all. The best way to see what specific hardware you have is to review the Device Manager. To do that, right click on the My Computer icon and select Properties, then click the Device Manager link in the upper left.


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

OK - thanks for the info. This will be way above my paygrade. Anyone want a Win 7 key and link to downloading?


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Seriously linux is NOT a steep learning process, especially on older computer like this without UEFI bios and other nonsense. Imagine this one even has a cdrom so you can just boot from a live linux cd/dvd. go into your bios and set it to try booting from cdrom/dvdrom first, thats it, big whoop. On XP era computer suggest smaller version linux such as Puppy or Xubuntu. If you dont like one, try another. It can make a big difference. If you have broadband, just download the iso file yourself and burn it for free. Puppy iso is like 300MB and Xubuntu is like 1GB. Or spend couple bucks and buy copy on ebay.

I have an old CF50 Toughbook with only 1.25GB RAM and thats maxxed out. Xubuntu works best, Puppy booted really slow on it. No idea why as Xubuntu is larger install and usually on such a computer Puppy would be faster. Also helped that I used an adapter and put Xubuntu on a small SSD rather than ancient IDE hard drive. 

I have couple modern ACER cloudbooks that only have 2GB RAM with no way to upgrade. The ONLY linux I can get to boot quickly and reliably is one particular beta version of Puppy with linux kernel 4.9. And believe me I tried a wide variety. Xubuntu takes forever to boot and only successfully boots like one out of six times tried. Something crazy in the UEFI bios. I think maybe having a late linux kernel is what helped. Older Puppy just booted to blank screen. No driver for the video chip.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Also might mention if your laptop can boot from usb, you can use program called Rufus on another windows computer to make bootable thumbdrive using the iso. Modern laptops dont tend to have dvdrom so this is how you have to do it. And even if you try using an external usb dvdrom, that modern UEFI bios usually still wont let you boot from cd/dvd. But older computers dont have UEFI and secure boot, and you have lot more options.


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## TroyT (Jun 24, 2008)

There are ways to move your data from an old XP system to a Windows 7 PC without loosing your data and/or programs for that matter. You would need an external storage device, like a USB drive or something like that and the proper software. You would still need to reformat the drive, but the Windows 7 setup program can do that for you.


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