One Family’s Upgrade to Windows 7, Part Two

Andrew Cunningham | Nov 30, 2009 | Comments

Tip: Click here to run a free scan for common PC errors

Please see yesterday’s Part One post for my introduction and the first three upgraded computers. Read on for the final three computers and my conclusions!

My Brother

Hardware: Dell Vostro 1310 laptop
1.8 GHz dual-core Intel Core 2 Duo processor
Nvidia GeForce 8400 M GS dedicated graphics
3GB RAM
250GB hard drive

Primary use: Web browsing, video editing, music listening and video watching, Microsoft Office work, and light gaming

Notes: This is my brother’s college laptop – he needed something easy to carry and inexpensive that still packed a little power and would last awhile – every dollar needed to count. This 13-inch Vostro notebook with a 3-year warranty was a bargain from the Dell Outlet.

The Good: Once again, the Windows 7 upgrade took without issue. My brother is the most sophisticated computer user in the family (after myself), and he became familiar with the new OS quickly. All of his programs worked fine. Pretty boring, actually!

The Bad: Nothing in the end, but read my conclusion for more information.

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About the Author: Andrew Cunningham is a rarity - an IT professional with a liberal arts degree. Please don't hold that against him. When he's not supporting the faculty and staff of Kenyon College, he's writing about games, music and movies at his other blog, Charge Shot!!!

  • Forrest
    With all those computers, They need a Windows Home Server To Back them up to and store stuff on. :) Good to see that it all want well.
  • do you have a WHS Forrest? I couldn't live without mine, but they don't seem to have taken off like I expected
  • Bobby
    ZInstall would be a solution ONLY if you want to continue "using XP" on the Win7 PC. Essentially, it's a VM that runs the entire, copied XP environment within the newly upgraded Win7 environment. You "switch channels" like a TV to go from one to the other. So, your Father would still have to reinstall his CAD onto Win7 if he didn't want to use his CAD in the XP VM running on the upgraded Win7 PC.
  • DanTG
    Wow, glad to help, Andrew!

    Bobby, I agree, CAD would definitely run better right on Win7.
    The main point of ZInstall is that it saves you a huge amount of effort in most of the cases - though not for hardcore apps like 3DS or CAD. After all, most of us just need the apps to be running as always, and care less about what goes on under the hood.

    Also, ZInstall can run Win7-incompatible apps just as well - I hear it's used with ACDSee products.
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