I am currently planning my migration from Windows XP to Windows 7. Since there is no way to do an 'in-place' upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7, I usually would need to back-up my current system. But this migration also happens to fall into my personal three-year workstation cycle, so this will be a 'side-by-side' migration.

As I have written in a previous blog, Upgrading your computer cheaply (part 1), I have two theories on computers:

1." Infant Mortality" is the belief that if it runs for a day (24 hours), it will run for its lifetime.

2. A computer "Lifetime", from my experience, is three years from the start of service. At three years or older, it's not 'if' it will break down, but 'when' will it break down. Just like a car, the older it gets, the more repairs it will need.

My current system has hit three years in production and has developed a couple of issues. I built a system to beta test Windows 7 on (see Beta testing Windows 7 - Part3 and Custom Cases: The Antec Skeleton), and I am going to migrate over to this workstation.

I usually back-up all documents, photos, etc. and then make an image of the hard drive. I then reformat the hard drive and reinstall the operating system. I will then install all of the applications and restore my documents. All custom settings done to the previous operating system will be lost, but this is expected with a 'clean' installation.

Since migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7 requires reformatting the hard drive and performing a clean installation, there is one feature in Windows 7 I find nice. The product key for Windows 7 can be used to install either the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows 7.

As I wrote in the blog Beta testing Windows 7 - Part 2, I felt that the 64-bit version of Windows 7 was the way to go; I am going with Windows 7 64-bit. In the following articles, I will chronicle my endeavors.

You must be logged on as an administrator to perform these steps. If you are not logged on as an administrator, you can only change settings that apply to your user account.

If you use a specific program regularly, you can use the Task Scheduler Wizard to create a task that opens the program for you automatically according to the schedule you choose. For example, if you use a financial program on a specific day each month, you can schedule a task that opens the program automatically, so you don't risk forgetting to open it yourself.

To run Task Scheduler.

1. Click the Start button.
2. Click Control Panel.
3. Click System and security.
4. Click Administrative Tools.
5. Double-click Task Scheduler.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Click the Action menu, and then click Create Basic Task.

Type a name for the task and an optional description, and then click Next.

Do one of the following:

To select a schedule based on the calendar, click Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or One time, click Next, specify the schedule you want to use, and then click Next.

To select a schedule based on common recurring events, click When the computer starts, or When I log on and then click Next.

To select a schedule based on specific events, click When a specific event is logged, click Next, specify the event log and other information using the drop-down lists, and then click Next.

To schedule a program to start automatically, click Start a program, and then click Next.

Click Browse to find the program you want to start, and then click Next.

Click Finish.

Triggers and Actions

The two key concepts involved in scheduling a task are triggers and actions. A trigger causes a task to run, and an action is the work that is performed when the task is run. The actions a task can perform include running a program, sending an e-mail message, and showing a message box. For example, you can send an e-mail when a certain event entry is logged in the event log or run a maintenance script when a user logs on to a computer. Occurrences that can trigger a task to run include: a computer starting up, a computer entering an idle state, or a user unlocking a workstation. In addition, you can schedule a task to run at a specified time.

One of the components of the Internet connection on your computer is a built-in set of instructions called TCP/IP. TCP/IP can sometimes become corrupted. If your connection to the Internet is really slow or you cannot connect to the Internet, and you have tried all other methods to resolve the problem, TCP/IP might be causing it.

Because TCP/IP is a core component of Windows, you cannot remove it. However, you can reset TCP/IP to its original state. If you have any custom settings (default gateway, DNS server, etc.), you will need to set these again manually.

Use a manual method to reset TCP/IP

Note This section is intended for advanced computer users. If you are not comfortable with advanced troubleshooting, ask someone for help. In Windows Vista, a reset command is available in the IP context of the NetShell utility. Follow these steps to use the reset command to reset TCP/IP manually. You will have to restart your system to complete the reset.

1. To open a command prompt, click on the Start button, then All Programs, then Accessories, then click on Command Prompt.


2. At the command prompt, copy and paste (or type) the following command and then press ENTER:

   netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt

   Note: If you do not want to specify a directory path for the log file, use the following command:

   netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt

When you run the reset command, it rewrites two registry keys used by TCP/IP. This has the same result as removing and reinstalling the protocol. The reset command rewrites the following two registry keys:

SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\
SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DHCP\Parameters\

To run the manual command successfully, you must specify a file name for the log, in which the actions that netsh takes will be recorded. When you run the manual command, TCP/IP is reset, and the actions taken are recorded in the log file, known as resetlog.txt in this article.

The first example, c:\resetlog.txt, creates a path where the log will reside. The second example, resetlog.txt, creates the log file in the current directory. In either case, if the specified log file already exists, the new log will be appended to the end of the existing file.

Have you ever gone to a file cabinet to get a file, but it was not where you had left it? That's kind what fragmentation does to your hard drive. Disk Defragmenter in Windows 7 arranges all of the folders and files on your hard drive, making it easier and faster for Windows to find your data. Disk Defragmenter can be run manually or on a schedule.

Click on the Start button, then All Programs, then Accessories, then System Tools.

Click on Disk Defragmenter. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Note:
Here's another way to open Disk Defragmenter: Click the Start button. In the Search box, type Disk Defragmenter or defrag, and then, in the list of results, double-click Disk Defragmenter.

Click Defragment Now.

Disk Defragmenter might take from several minutes to a few hours to finish, depending on the size and degree of fragmentation of your hard disk. You can still use your computer during the defragmentation process.

You can help solve some computer problems and improve your computer's performance by making sure that your hard disk has no errors.

Click on the Start button.

Click on Computer.

Right-click the hard disk drive that you want to check, and then click Properties.

Click the Tools tab, and then, under Error-checking, click Check Now. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

To automatically repair problems with files and folders that the scan detects, select Automatically fix file system errors. Otherwise, the disk check will report problems but not fix them.

To perform a thorough disk check, select Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. This scan attempts to find and repair physical errors on the hard disk itself, and it can take much longer to complete.

To check for both file errors and physical errors, select both Automatically fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.

Click Start.

Depending upon the size of your hard disk, this may take several minutes. For the best results, please don't use your computer for any other tasks while it's checking for errors.

Note:
If you select Automatically fix file system errors for a disk in use (for example, the partition that contains Windows), you'll be prompted to reschedule the disk check for the next time you restart your computer.