This Monday, our first Mailbag Monday question comes not from a suggestion from a reader, but from my dad. He is pretty wary about upgrading to Windows 7.

Should you upgrade?

He purchased a PC a few years ago that came pre-loaded with Vista and was very unhappy. He eventually decided to have me downgrade his operating system to Windows XP. This choice didn’t have any major short-term impact, but when Windows & was released, he began to ask about upgrading his XP machine to Windows 7. His exact question is as follows: “I want to upgrade my Windows XP laptop to Windows 7. It is only two years old, so I think it can handle the upgrade, but I want to be sure. Also, I need to know what I need to do before I upgrade. I can’t afford to lose any of my important information.”

Can you upgrade?

First things first, the minimum requirements for Windows 7 can depend on the version that you want. In this instance, my dad doesn’t need much in the way of features, so Windows 7 Home Premium will suffice. You can find a list of the requirements here, or download a program that does a quick scan of your machine and gives you feedback here. It will tell you if you meet the minimum requirements to run the OS and let you know if there will be any restrictions on what features you can take advantage of. In most cases, a minimum 1gb of RAM and at least a P-4 processor is needed. In other words, most PCs that were made in the last three years or so. As always, double check your machine against the recommendations.

What to do before you upgrade:

Next, here’s a list of things that you will want to prepare before you start the upgrade process.

First, backup any important files. You can do this with a external hard drive, a flash drive or CDs and DVDs, depending on how many files you want to back up and how large they are. Don’t worry about backing up the program files for any program you have the installation files for elsewhere or you can download again for free. In fact, most programs will not work properly if you attempt to simply transfer the program files rather than reinstall. This is not a shortcut and will not end up saving you time. Do backup all of you personal files to make sure that you can access them again. When you upgrade from XP to Windows 7, it essentially wipes your hard drive clean, so you may be unable to recover these files if you do not back them up.

Second, find any installation discs that came with your machine. If something goes wrong with your drivers, you will want to be able to recover them. Familiarize yourself with the technical support forums for your hardware, so that you can grab drivers if they are deleted. Download the latest versions to a flash drive for worst case scenarios.

Third, assemble the installation software for any peripherals. You will have to set all of your peripherals up again, most likely. This includes printers, cameras, phones, etc. While this will be time consuming after the upgrade, try to do it on a as-needed basis. This will severely cut down on the time that you spend conducting the upgrade.

Finally, plan for an afternoon’s worth of work. Upgrades never go completely smoothly. You won’t have to sit in front of your machine the entire time, but it will take some time to run. Plan on checking on it every ten or fifteen minutes as some user input will be required. Don’t be afraid – upgrades are a lot more user friendly than they were years ago. Now, they are mostly automated, and rarely to things get too borked up to fix. Good luck!

Upgrades are an important part of computer maintenance, so we will be covering them in future posts as well. Stay tuned to the Be Your Own IT blog for further information or purchase the definitive guide on how to do this and much much more on your own.