Migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7 (Part 5 - Applications and Settings)

With our installation of Windows 7 complete, it's time to move on to the applications and settings. We will use the Belarc Advisor report we printed earlier to ensure we do not forget any application as we reinstall them.

With the UAC (User Access Control) in Windows 7, it may be necessary to run some of the application installations as administrator. If when you insert the installation media into a removable drive (CD or DVD), and it does not automatically start, I would do the following:

1. Open Windows Explorer by right-clicking the Start menu, and then clicking Explore.
   
2. Browse to the CD/DVD drive on your computer and right-click setup.exe (as an example) in the root directory.
3. Select Run as Administrator.

You may have an older application that just doesn't run quite right after you install it on Windows 7. In that case, you may want to try running it in Compatibility Mode. The following video shows you how.

Now the applications are installed, we will need to start each one and allow them to create any special folders and files before restoring our settings. Now we are ready to go back to the Microsoft instructions:

Copy files to the destination computer

1. If you saved your files and settings in an Easy Transfer file on a removable media such as a UFD rather than on a network share, insert the removable media into the computer.
2. Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, click System Tools, and then click Windows Easy Transfer. The Windows Easy Transfer window opens.
3. Click Next.
4. Click An external hard disk or USB flash drive.
5. Click This is my new computer.
6. Click Yes, open the file.
7. Browse to the location where the Easy Transfer file was saved. Click the file name, and then click Open.
8. Click Transfer to transfer all files and settings. You can also determine which files should be migrated by selecting only the user profiles you want to transfer, or by clicking Customize.
9. Click Close after Windows Easy Transfer has completed moving your files.

Now that we have restored our files and settings using Windows Easy Transfer, we will need to verify they are there. There will be items (fonts, scripts, etc.) that you will have to access the drive image to restore. Any custom item, like backgrounds in the Windows/Web/Wallpaper directory in Windows XP, will also need to be restored.

Within the first few weeks of migrating to Windows 7, you will find yourself going back to the drive image to restore items. A missing font here, a file there. But within a month, you should have everything worked out. Within three months, you should be completely migrated to Windows 7 and be able to delete the drive image.