Introduction

Windows Vista was first released to the public in January 2007, and was widely considered to be a marked improvement over its predecessor, Windows XP. However, Vista was also criticized for being slow and resource-intensive and for its many security vulnerabilities.

In October 2009, Microsoft released Windows 7, addressing many of Vista’s criticisms. Windows 7 is faster and more efficient than Vista, and is also much more secure. For these reasons, many users who are still using Vista have decided to upgrade to Windows 7.

The process of upgrading from Vista to 7 is relatively straightforward, but there are a few things you need to know before you begin. First, you will need to ensure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements for Windows 7. Secondly, you should back up all of your important data before beginning the upgrade process. And finally, you will need to choose between the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 – unless you’re running a 64-bit version of Vista, in which case you can only upgrade to the 64-bit version of 7.

Once you’ve taken care of these preliminaries, you’re ready to begin the upgrade process. The first thing you need to do is insert your Windows 7 installation disc into your computer’s optical drive. If your computer is set up to boot from CDs (most are), it will automatically begin loading the Windows 7 installer from the disc. If not, you will need to restart your computer and change your boot order so that it does boot from the CD drive before proceeding.

What you need before you start

You need the following items before you upgrade to Windows 7:

• A qualifying License of Windows Vista
• Upgrade DVD or ISO file of Windows 7
• Product Key
• A compatible processor
• At least 1 gigabyte (GB) of memory (RAM)
• At least 16 GB of available disk space
• A Direct3D 10 capable video card with a Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.0 or higher driver
  Upgrading Windows Vista to Windows 7
  
  If you’re running Windows Vista, you can upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, or Windows 7 Ultimate. To see which version of Windows Vista you have, click the Start button , right-click Computer, and then click Properties. Under System, you can view the system type.

If your computer isn’t powerful enough to run Windows 7, you can try installing Windows XP instead. For more information, see Upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows XP.

Before you begin the upgrade process, make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements for Windows 7. For more information, see system requirements for installing windows 7.

You should also back up your files before you upgrade. For more information about how to do this, see Create a system image.

After you upgrade

After you upgrade, you’ll still have all the features that come with your current edition of Windows Vista. For example, if you currently have Windows Vista Home Premium, after you upgrade to Windows 7, you’ll have Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1.

FAQ

Q: What are the system requirements to upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7?

A: If you want to upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7, here are the minimum system requirements you’ll need:

• 1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1 GB of system memory (2 GB for the 64-bit version)
• 40 GB of available hard disk space
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

In addition, your system must have one of the following editions of Windows Vista installed:

• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Windows Vista Business
• Windows Vista Ultimate