zinstall upgrade to Windows 7 from Windows XP

When Windows 7 first came out, many heralded it as the Saviour of Windows, moving away from the less-than-poorly received Windows Vista.

Windows 7 was clean, easy, and beautiful. Still, even after all these years, many users have held on to Windows XP, due to fear of making the move.

If you own a computer for a few years you have tons of applications and files that you really don’t want to install again from scratch, and Microsoft left XP users hanging high and dry by not including direct migration inside of Windows 7, unless you have Vista.

Luckily, alternative solutions exist that can finally let you move on to a better OS while still keeping your files, applications, wallpaper, and custom icons. Ditch the outdated blue-styled XP GUI and move on to a sleeker experience with Zinstall. There are actually two different migration tools offered by the company.

XP7 gives you a clean Windows 7 install while moving all your XP stuff to a virtual corner of your new PC. This way you get a clean OS, but you can easily load up your old stuff when the urge arises. This is a good way to start over while still being protected by having access to old files that you might need later.

If you want a true upgrade experience that waves goodbye to XP completely though? That’s where Win-Win comes in. This version of the Zinstall software transfers EVERYTHING from applications to files and settings, to a new computer or simply a new install of Windows 7 on your old machine.

Considering how old most XP computers are, going with a new machine is probably the preferred route, though.

While it can take a little extra time, having all your old files and settings, including applications, working out of the box is worth the time and effort. You might think that doing a full upgrade like this would have some pretty big bugs and stability issues along the way.

Luckily, Win-Win is very stable and generally creates an experience that isn’t any less ‘stable’ than a clean install. This is a “Win, Win” for those that want a new PC but don’t to go through all the work of starting over again with applications and information.

Keep in mind that not ALL XP programs work in Windows 7, and so it’s wise to check compatibility on your favorite software before-hand. If you have many programs that need Windows XP mode or something similar, you might want to consider XP7 instead. For most users though, Win-Win provides an excellent solution that doesn’t rely on old Windows code and software.

Could you migrate all the files need to get all your programs running in Windows 7, manually, without the need for a migration program like this? Technically, yes, you could. The amount of skill, time and patience needed for a manual install though is off the charts.

It isn’t easy, and it is frustrating. This is what makes a tool like Zinstall so invaluable, it cuts out a lot of work by automating the process.

Once everything is finished you will be presented by a fresh Windows 7 experience, though you favorite image background and any other customizations will still remain, just as they were in Windows XP.

This is truly a way to have the best of both worlds.

Buy Zinstall

You can buy Zinstall HDD which will only transfer your system from one hard drive to another here

Buy Zinstall HDD

You can buy Zinstall XP7 which will only transfer your system from Windows XP to Windows 7.

Buy Zinstall XP7

Need to migrate a lot of computers? You might want to try the Zinstall Migration Suite.

The Zinstall Migration Suite allows you to perform a complete and efficient corporate-wide migration of end-user workstations to new hardware and/or to new OS.

Using the Suite, IT staff can save 2-4 hours per each user migrated, which quickly translates in significant cost savings. In addition, using the Suite minimizes user frustration and rejection risk, and eliminates the “migration shock”.

If you are in the process of migrating hundreds (or thousands) of XP computers and would like to get a competitive enterprise migration quote, email ZinstallMigrationsuite(at)Nnigma(dot)com and someone will get back to you within 2 hours.

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Microsoft has sold 300 million copies of Windows 7 to date, officials said on January 27, the day the company is reporting its Q2 FY11 earnings.

That’s up from the 240 million figure we last heard in October 2010. Microsoft execs also said that Windows 7 is now on 20 percent of all Internet-connected PCs. According to a copy of Microsoft’s earnings report, which went out ahead of the close of the financial markets, Microsoft earned $19.95 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010.

Operating income, net income and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $8.17 billion, $6.63 billion and $0.77 per share, respectively. The quarter really “Kinected” for Microsoft, as my blogging colleague Larry Dignan noted.

Source

The Windows 7 migration project team is responsible for either performing comprehensive audits or otherwise organizing the implementation of these audits.

The audits that need to be performed are:

License Audits: What relevant software licenses do we have now? When will they expire? What additional software do we need?

Hardware Audits: What PC’s, Servers and Mobile devices do we have now? Are they powerful enough? Do they meet and exceed the minimum requirements for running Windows 7? Are we scheduled for a desktop or server refresh?

Network Audits: What’s the state of our network? What’s the speed of our network? Can we deploy Windows 7 automatically over the network or do we need a tech support person to physically touch each workstation?

Application Audits: What software applications do our users use? What are the most important ones? Are they compatible with Windows 7? What if they aren’t?

Microsoft has made available a host of tools to assist organizations with the planning and deployment phases of the migration process.

These tools support Lite‐Touch and Zero‐Touch deployment processes and help you support the Planning, Building, and Deploying phases of your migration project.

Planning Phase Tools

These include:

• Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit
• Microsoft’s Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT)
• Enterprise Learning Framework (ELF)
• Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT)
• Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) 2007
• Microsoft Asset Inventory Service (AIS)

Building Phase Tools

These include:

• Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010 Deployment Workbench
• Windows AIK: The Windows Automated Installation kit (AIK 2.0) is available as a free download from Microsoft and contains the tools listed below:
• Windows System Image Manager
• Windows Setup
• Sysprep
• Windows Preinstallation Environment
• Deployment Image Servicing and Management
• ImageX
• Windows Imaging
• DiskPart User State Migration Tool (USMT)

Deployment Process Tools

These include:

• Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT 2010)
• Deployment Workbench
• Windows Deployment Services
• System Center Configuration Manager 2007 (SCCM)
• User State Migration Tool (USMT).