Upgrading to Win7? Good idea?

A fresh install eliminates all of the debris that builds up in your system over time - things like not-really-uninstalled programs, service packs, file fragmentation, etc. The result is a system that runs like it's been going to the gym regularly as opposed to one that's flabby and overweight.

But it is a lot of work (kind of like going to the gym ;-) ). You can try the upgrade, it doesn't prevent you from going ahead and doing a clean install later.

BTW, you really should back up your data anyway. Disks can fail at any time, and my experience is that even folks who didn't think their data was all that important are often really upset to loose it all.

having a TB drive with no partition is suicidal. If you had 2 partition on it, then it would have been only a matter to move the thing you want to keep to the non system partition, format the system partition, install the new OS, then move back stuff if needed. And you should really have a back-up of what you cannot get back, like your own document, digital pictures or video movie.

I would get a new, smaller drive to either install the new OS on or backup your stuff. then better reorganize your TB drive

Its not a matter of losing my data i have them on DVD backups but its the time taking to install my audio apps + plugins takes eternity given the speed of the DVD reader  

Can i still partition now then move to partition install win7 fresh then remove the partition at a later date once i have moved all my stuff to my win7?

Ya you can do it, if you have enough free space in the main partition.
You are using vista.. right?? then you can use disk management to make new partition.

1. Follow these steps to create a new partition...

Resize a Partition for Free in Windows 7 or Vista

OR

Create A Partition With Windows Vista

2. Backup needed data to new partition.

3. Follow this to do a clean install of Windows 7.
Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media

Enjoy  

How much spare space do i need to do it ? My C drive has 54 Gb is that enough ?

My C:\drive is 39GB. Win 7 took up about 15GB after installation. Moving the Page File onto a different hard drive brought the footprint down to about 12GB.

If your C:\ drive is a partition of a larger drive you should be able to increase your C:\ drive partition by:

1. Shrinking the size of the other partition on the same physical hard drive; say by 10GB.
2. Extend the C:\ drive by that 10GB space you just freed up.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/resize-a-p...

Please note: I've only been testing Win 7 for two days. I'm currently using Win XP.
 

You can do a "custom install" (same thing as a fresh install, not upgrade) from Vista to 7 and all your files (mp3s, photos, documents, etc.) will be saved in a folder called Windows.old, but I would recommend that you backup your files on an external harddrive or DVDs just incase.

I went from Windows Vista 32 bit to Windows 7 64 bit. After I installed Windows 7, I moved all my files back into my Windows 7 account, reinstalled my programs, and then deleted the Windows.old folder.

Upgrade from Vista should work OK. Run the windows-7 upgrade tool to check for compatibility:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyI...
If you are going from 32 bit to 64 bit, then a clean install is required.



I would suggest that you buy another drive and install windows-7 clean on it. Keep your data on the old drive.
Only programs will have to be reinstalled.

Consider a SSD for your OS drive. A 40gb X25-M costs $140:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1682...