In the news today... & installing Windows 7
Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:12:00 +1000
Some interesting news across my desk today...
Installing Windows 7 yourself...
As the release of Windows 7 has taught me, technology has pervaded most aspects of our lives yet most of us are technologically illiterate. How did this happen?
Computers are finally entering mainstream education but it has been a long slog and the rapid rate of technological change has left us in a situation where children are the only ones who can work the home entertainment equipment and install your new computer. Yes, the technology is getting better, but slowly, it still won't "do it all for you" so be prepared.
Upgrade software only allows upgrades and in an upgrade things may go wrong, depending on the hardware you use. It is hard to build anything that can handle every option or deal with the myriad of parts available for PC's over the last 20 years.
Windows 7 has made this easier and so had the internet so these are my tips for those thinking of upgrading:
- Always backup everything and check that it is on your backup drive or dvd before you start the installation.
- If you are doing a full installation, how old is the computer? If it is more than 5 years, have you done this before? If your answer is no think about asking a friend for help or visiting your local computer store. It is still not perfectly easy to install an OS and if you have an old computer you may need to install drivers manually and perform a few checks and tweaks. Let the experts do it.
- Format the drive first. This will remove all data and also clean the disk so defragmentation will not occur. If you skip this it may not perform at it's best.
- Make sure you have an internet connection. Either a usb dongle or a direct cable. Often Windows may need other drivers, usually for wireless cards etc, so you want to make sure you can plug the computer in to get online. I would recommend doing this either throughout the installation or on the first login as if drivers are required windows will automatically try to download and install these making the rest of your hardware, like the wireless work properly.
- The computer may need to be restarted a few times after installation when updates or hardware are installed. Do this when it asks as not all devices will work until after you reboot.
- Most hardware should be able to work automatically or download drivers from online, including printers, meaning you do not need the installation disks. If anything doesn't install properly then use the installation disks.
- If you have a problem installing any programs try the recommended settings or the new troubleshooter as they can help you make the program install and work correctly.
It's a sunny 40 degrees in sydney today, so I hope you are staying cool.
Christian
