#1: What are the system requirements for Windows 7?

The Windows 7 system requirements are very similar to those of Windows Vista, and users running Vista shouldn’t have much problems upgrading to Windows 7.

Here are the base system requirements for Windows 7:

• 1GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) CPU
• 1GB RAM for 32-bit OS, 2GB RAM  for 64-bit OS
• 16GB hard disk free space for 32-bit OS, 20 GB for 64-bit OS
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

Users may want to add one of more of the following:

• Internet access
• Depending on screen resolution, video playback may need more RAM and more powerful graphics processing unit (GPU)
• To use Windows Media Center functionality you will benefit from a TV tuner
• To use HomeGroup you will need a network and PCs running Windows 7
• DVD/CD burning requires a compatible optical drive
• Music and sound will require audio output
• Windows Touch and Tablet PCs require specific hardware
• Windows XP Mode requires an additional 1 GB of RAM, an additional 15 GB of available hard disk space, and a processor capable of hardware virtualization with Intel VT or AMD-V turned on
• BitLocker requires Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2
• BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive

#2: How easy/difficult is upgrading to Windows 7?

How easy or difficult it is to upgrade to Windows 7 depends on what operating system you are starting from.

• If you are planning of buying a new PC with Windows 7 pre-loaded then all of your of your hardware issues are sorted right from the start as far as your PC goes. When it comes to hooking up your existing hardware then you might run into issues where something is incompatible (if it worked with Vista, chances are good that it’ll work with Windows 7), or you’ll have to go searching for a driver. As far as software goes, again you might be OK or you might find yourself needing to seek out updates or even buy new software.
• If you are upgrading to Windows 7 from Vista then when it comes to hardware you should, on the whole be OK (again, you might need new drivers). Software compatibility should also be very good (be wary of installing programs such as antivirus unless they have been updated … security software is usually the most problematic when changing operating systems).
• If you are upgrading to Windows 7 from XP, then beware. Here be tigers! If your PC passes the basic system requirements then you should be OK to run Windows 7, but as far as compatibility of other hardware and software goes, you could find the process to be a smooth one, or you could find it impossible. Also, you’ll want to read #3.

If you are planning on upgrading any Windows-based machine to Windows 7 I suggest that you download and install the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor from Microsoft. This handy bit of software will scan your PC and generate a report for you of any compatibility issues that you are likely to encounter.

#3: Is it true that you can’t upgrade directly to Windows 7 from XP?

Unfortunately, yes, it is. If you are a Windows XP user and you want to move to Windows 7 you can’t carry out what Microsoft calls an “in-place upgrade” where you install Windows 7 over the top of your existing OS and get to keep your applications, setting and data. Instead, you have to do what is known as a “clean install” which basically means you are starting from scratch and installing a totally fresh, clean OS.

As annoying as it might be to have to carry out a clean install, it’s always the route I recommend. It’s always best to back up your data, do a clean install, reinstall all your applications and then copy your data back over onto any system when upgrading your operating system. This method offers the best possible start for your new OS experience.

#4: Which edition of Windows 7 do I need?

My blanket advice to people asking me this question is this - If you have to ask the question, then go with the Home Premium edition of Windows 7. This OS is the cheapest consumer edition of Windows 7 and includes everything that the average user will need.

To find out what the different editions have to offer, check out the editions chart over on the Microsoft website.

#5: Should I go for 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows 7?

If your hardware can handle it, there’s almost no reason preventing you from going 64-bit. If in any doubt about your hardware consult the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor from Microsoft.

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 8:34 am

Internet Explorer 8 (IE 8) is nearing the finish line, with a March release to manufacturing looking like a distinct possibility. But is IE 8 — or, more accurately — Web site developers and owners — really ready?

I have been testing IE 8 since the code became available publicly. And one thing that hasn’t changed much over the past several months is the fact that many Web sites still aren’t compatible with IE 8.

I’m not blaming the site owners here. Microsoft officials have known all along that even though the IE team is doing the “right” thing by finally making IE more standards-compliant, they are risking “breaking the Web” because the vast majority of Web sites still are written to work correctly with previous, non-standards-compliant versions of IE.

Microsoft has tried to mitigate the effects of moving to a default standards-based view in a few ways. IE 8 comes with a “Compatibility View” button that will “fix” a seemingly broken site if a user knows to press it. Microsoft went a step beyond this with IE 8 Release Candidate 1, issued in January, by adding a downloadable list of sites that would automatically trigger IE 8 to move directly to compatibility mode, rather than standards mode.

(Here is the list of the 2,400 sites that are on Version 1.0 of Microsoft’s Compatibility View list.)

The Compatibility View list includes some major sites — Apple.com, CNN.com, eBay, Facebook, Google.com, NYTimes.com — even Microsoft.com — and lots, lots more. Users also have the option of adding IE-8-incompatible sites they visit that didn’t make it onto the list that will be appended to the schema list they download.

The Compatibility List has made my IE 8 browsing a lot more stable. When I go to the NYTimes.com site now, it just works. The Compatibility View button (the icon for which looks like a broken Web page and is typically located directly to the right of the URL address bar) doesn’t appear at all (as is the case for all sites on the Compatibility List).

That said, there are a lot of sites I visit that aren’t on the list. And more often than not, they fail to render correctly with IE 8. Sometimes I remember that I should try hitting the Compatibility View button to see if there are boxes and buttons and text there that I can’t see because I am using IE 8. Other times, when I am visiting a site with which I’m unfamiliar, I don’t realize what I’m missing.

I’m at the point now — if a site looks weird, is slow or just doesn’t seem to be working right — I simply assume it is IE 8’s fault. Sometimes I’m right (as I discover when I open the same site in Firefox or Chrome and it looks and works fine). Other times, I’m not — a site just might be down or broken. The bottom line is I’ve come to expect a rocky browsing experience when using IE 8.

I doubt the compatibility experience is going to change much, if at all, between now and the time IE 8 is released. For months, Microsoft has been banging the drum for site owners to update their code — either by adding compatibility tags or redoing sites to take into account the changes in IE 8. Many site admins and developers have said they weren’t willing to take on that task until Microsoft delivered a near-final test release — at least a Release Candidate.

Some critics have said they think Microsoft is doing a disservice to developers by offering compatibility work-arounds. They say Microsoft created its own problems by delivering previous IE releases that flouted standards — which is true. And now Microsoft should bite the bullet and just go the 100-percent-standards route, they reason. That might be a better course in the long run for Web developers tired of having to do separate versions of sites and apps for standards-based browsers and for IE, but it punishes Web users in the interim.

What’s going to happen when IE 8 goes final and non-techie users have it pushed to them or get new PCs with IE 8 preloaded? I wouldn’t be surprised to see further losses in IE market share, as frustrated users find only some of their favorite Web sites displaying correctly but don’t really understand why. Perhaps Opera and its chums won’t need the antitrust courts to get a leg up on Microsoft, after all….