It seems like Microsoft is pushing out new operating systems every two weeks these days and all we ever hear about are problems and more problems. With all the negative press, both true and sometimes embellished it can be a pretty stressful decision to make, having to balance all the neat new features of a new operating system against all the stress and anxiety if the unknown. There are a few things to keep in mind to make sure the time is right and to ensure your potential upgrade goes as smooth as possible.

1. Balance The Pros And Cons-
Each new operating system has a lot of new features of explore, with the last few Windows releases, Windows 7 and Vista, there were several different releases, much more confusing than all the previous releases for a lot of customers. You have to carefully weigh the new options and whether or not you want to shell out a few hundred bucks for the software alone.

2. Make Sure Your System is Up For The Challenge-
Every time a new operating system is released the ante is raised, in a way it’s how the hardware and software industry’s work together. The new operating systems come out, everyone needs new hardware to run it, sometimes it’s just a little like a RAM upgrade, sometimes it is much more than that. Either way what you do not want is to end up in a situation where you have bought the $200 operating system and you find out you can’t even run it. Take the 5 minutes to make sure your computer meets the minimum requirements, for example here is a place to check if you’re ready for windows 7.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx

3. Don’t Forget Ole Reliable-
The thing most people need to remember is sometimes in the hurry to get the newest operating system installed they forget that with a whole new operating system often times comes a whole new set of problems. In our experience the smoothest upgrade we could remember was from 2000 to XP, since then Microsoft hasn’t done a great job making the process smooth or even worth it. It is for that reason so many people still run Windows XP, there hasn’t been a ton of value added since and unless you bought a new computer with say 64 bit processing capabilities you wanted to take advantage of. The key is deciding if it is worth it.

To us, we have never upgraded an operating system, we just always load a new operating system on a new computer. A long time ago in the hell that was Windows ME, I suppose you could say we did but it has been a long time since. Take stock of what you have and be careful about upgrading and make sure it is worth your investment.

The other thing to keep in mind is you will want to be well above any minimum requirements a lot of people look at the requirements of an operating system, see they meet it and are good to go, only to be totally frustrated by slow speeds, lock ups, and bog downs. From our experience you want at least 1.5 times the amount of RAM they say and a good bump over the minimum processor requirements. Remember those listed requirements are a detriment to sales so they are going to keep them listed as low as humanly possible.