The April 8th end of Windows XP is coming up quick (end of support and updates, you can still use it), so if you ARE interested in upgrading Windows XP to 7 or 8, here are some discount codes from Newegg. You can choose 7 or 8, both work great. Which to choose? Up until yesterday morning I'd say that those who like Windows with a Start Menu would want to stay with Windows 7 because Windows 8 changes it all. HOWEVER, this coming Tuesday Microsoft will release Windows 8.1 Update 1, and lo and behold, they've returned the FULL classic Start Menu and Desktop to Windows 8, so now there's no reason to avoid it. I tried to hate 8 but now it's all I use, and now it'll work like Windows always has (there's a pun in there somewhere). UPDATE, 4/8/2014: This info has changed, please see the next post above this one.
Or, scrap the whole thing, sign up for Photoshop CC and get yourself a Mac.
ALSO: It isn't just XP, the other product dropping off the list for security updates is Office 2003, so there's another expense.
OK, couple thoughts, first being, "how do I actually upgrade from XP?". The answer is, painfully. Forget literal "upgrading" which I'm not even sure that's available, and even if it was it would be like painting your house with dirt still on the outside. You are going to have to back up your world, then install Windows 7 or 8 fresh and clean (stay with me, I have a "task" list below). In fact, you WANT to reinstall everything clean because Windows bloats itself over time (a thing called the Registry which is basically a table of contents for everything on your PC, and we're talking tens of thousands of settings) and the only real way to keep it lean and fast is to wipe your drive and reinstall Windows clean, something I do at least twice a year (yes, I've always been technologically sadistic). Once you do your system will run tons better, so going to Win 7 or 8 will be a plus in several areas.
If PCs & technology are just not your thing, it will be helpful to have a relative or friend guide you through the installation. I say that with reserve because some friends and relatives can do more damage than good, lol. But basically here's the best plan of attack:
- Make sure your external backup drive has room for your files AND an extra gigabyte or two for a Windows Image Backup (more on that is a min).
-In that Newegg link above at the top of this post there is also a deal on software called Acronis True Image 2013 and it's only $12.99 with the promo code. Forget the bad reviews, it works fine to do the ONE thing you'll want it to do: make a complete system image on your external hard drive while XP is still on it, just as a contingency plan. This is a smart step and something everyone should do anyway... Acronis will make a complete C drive image and store that, and if the Windows 7/8 upgrade completely fails, you just startup your PC on the Acronis DVD and tell it to restore your XP hard drive image from the external hard drive, and your XP world will be fully restored as if nothing every changed. Very cool and important step, worth 13 bucks fifteen times over.
-OK, then backup all of your files. Yes, you may have that C drive image from the previous step but restoring your photos and stuff from that is NO easy task, better to save them separately again for easy reference. Then you can just drag them back onto your hard drive. Done. If you store your photos on a separate internal drive, then this doesn't apply, it's only for those who have the whole barn on one drive.
-Then deactivate any software that utilizes that such as Photoshop. If you have Photoshop make sure you also copy your Presets folder to your external drive, you'll need that later. This folder has all of your actions and stuff like that there. You'll find that in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop (whatever version you have). You also want to backup the Plugins folder. Oh, your Fonts folder too, in case you have any special ones you don't want to lose. I usually copy the whole thing just as a backup anyway. It's located at C:\Windows\Fonts. If anyone else can think of something I'm missing, please pipe up!
-IMPORTANT STEP: Now go to http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html and download and install their free Advisor program and run it. It will ask if you want to update security definitions, just say No, because you're going to wipe your hard drive and install Windows 7/8, so the current security config on your PC at this point is a moot point. After about 10 minutes you'll get a web browser pop up that lists absolutely everything installed on your PC and even includes the License Keys for most programs. Make sure you change Page Setup in the browser to Landscape Mode, then print that thing. It'll be invaluable for your new installation, you'll know everything you had in your old Windows environment, and can be helpful when you don't know your License Keys for some of the programs you have installed. Read that document over before proceeding to ensure that you haven't forgotten to back anything up.
At this point you can boot up from the Windows disc and install Windows 7/8. Two things are important to know:
1) If you have more than one internal hard drive, just disconnect the SATA cable from the other drive(s) with the power OFF on the PC. The only drive you want running is your C drive, because the Windows installer gets cranky when there's more than one hard drive going. You can plug them back in after the installation (again, after you shut down and power is off).
2) The Newegg link/promo code above is for the Windows OEM System Builder's version. The masses cry out: "Paul, what on earth does that mean??". It simply means that YOU are your own tech support for Windows, you can't call Microsoft Tech Support to help you with Windows. Let's see a show of hands for how many people have done that in the last 48 months: Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? (I hear crickets...) EXACTLY my point. Nobody calls Microsoft, we have Google (and even NPN), so save a hundred bucks and get yourself the OEM version. Ironically, I did call the Microsoft Licensing unit and asked them if I can use OEM for myself, because it is intended for places that build PCs for others, such as Puget Systems. They replied that it is perfectly legal to buy the OEM version for yourself, you just can't call Microsoft for tech support (ahem... Google.. ahem...). Actually, you CAN, you'll just pay a fee to do that. So we'll just have to Google our way around that one, lol! Just for the record, the OEM version is absolutely identical to the retail version, it's just licensed differently for no tech support. But it is very important that your copy is legal, and here's a way to save some bucks.
If you install Windows 7, make sure you go also install Microsoft Security Essentials which is Microsoft's anti-virus. They used to charge for it, now it's free. If you install Windows 8, it already comes built-in, no need to install it separately. It's called Windows Defender in 8, but it's the same thing. Vista users will recognize that name, that's what the old AV software was called in Vista, but it's a much better version now. I ran for almost 20 years with NO AV software whatsoever because of how horribly they slow your system down. But Essentials/Defender runs absolutely seamless in the background, so I do use that now.
Last thing for XP users: 7 & 8 are much more security-aware, and one of the things they do is not let programs start with full admin privileges even if you are an admin on your PC which most owners are. Therefore you'll be doing a new thing which is pretty important with Adobe products because they need full rights to run: you'll need to right-click on the Photoshop or Lightroom icon (or whatever programs you use) and choose "Run As Administrator", something you'll just want to get used to. 7 & 8 are much more paranoid security-wise and you'll be getting a lot more popups asking you "are you sure" for stuff you do all the time. It's a security thing, just FYI.
OK, I'll stop there. This is a lot of info but it's pretty important to do. I'm not screaming Doomsday, XP will be fine after the cutoff date, but because hackers know how MANY people still run XP, they know they have wide open opportunity to "have some fun". Somebody somewhere is going to exploit this, just a matter of time. I mean, I had to give up my favorite email address because it was what I used for my Adobe account for years, and 48 hours after the big hack on Adobe, my address was getting mountains of spam, some of it filth. And I just got my replacement MasterCard last week due to the Target hack. My Chase Visa was used (or attempted) at CarPhone Warehouse in London and a clothing bazaar in Mumbai India. It's a much more connected world now, and running in an old vulnerable version of Windows probably isn't wise, neither is running an old version of Office (2003 or earlier). The cleanup if you get snagged can be large and costly at worst, and downright annoying at the least. We have several really good tech resources on NPN, let us help you where we can!
======================================================
Update, 4/5/2014: If anyone is actually going to attempt this based on my post, email me before you take your system down and let me know when you will be ready to go for it. I'll send you my phone number so if you hit a weird snag, you call me (being your PC will be down for the count) and I'll try and answer your question best I can. This is a pretty big step that a lot of people are forced into and I'd hate to know one of our members was hitting a wall and not sure what to do. Let's face it, these are our darkrooms now and we have to have them in good running order.
Assuming you have a compatible machine, now is the time to upgrade your OS drive to an SSD. Prices have come down quite a bit and reliability has come up a lot with improved NAND chips and controllers. I recommend either Intel or Samsung SSD's. They get excellent reviews and have a very low failure rate.
Once you have everything backed up, you can simply replace your old OS drive with a new SSD and install your new OS to the clean drive. Sweet and simple.
This is also good time to upgrade your RAM. Install as much RAM as you can afford, but be sure to get the correct type of RAM.
An SSD and more RAM will really punch up the performance of your machine.
Another item to consider is your device drivers; such as your video card, printer(s), graphics tablet, etc., and if you use a laptop, drivers specific to the machine.
I strongly advise you download device drivers from the manufacturer's web site. You install them after Windows is fully installed and updated.
PS: Many thanks to Paul for his great tutorial. If you follow the steps he's outlined, you task will be much easier. Thanks, Paul!
--P
Posted by David Bostedo on April 4, 2014 at 11:21 PM
Terrific write up Paul... many thanks. One additional security note related to this part...
Last thing for XP users: 7 & 8 are much more security-aware, and one of the things they do is not let programs start with full admin privileges even if you are an admin on your PC which most owners are. Therefore you'll be doing a new thing which is pretty important with Adobe products because they need full rights to run: you'll need to right-click on the Photoshop or Lightroom icon (or whatever programs you use) and choose "Run As Administrator", something you'll just want to get used to.
For those a little bit comfortable administering their machine, I'd actually suggest creating a user account that's NOT an administrator account, and installing programs under that account. You'll probably have to give the administrator credentials when you install (a Windows will pop up asking for the administrator password, since you're not logged in as administrator), but will not have to run as administrator every time you run things, and you'll have more security to boot if something manages to sneak into your system via that account. And that will apply to every program you run/install.
Preston - SSD, duh! No brainer! PERFECT time to upgrade! I had thought about that the other day but spaced it when writing this. And definitely download drivers in advance. I tell ya, I was mildly surprised just how many drivers Windows 8 goes and gets during installation.
David - great idea. Will that work with Adobe stuff? They write their software SO dependent on the Registry. I guess it DOES work or you wouldn't have mentioned it.
Posted by David Bostedo on April 5, 2014 at 12:19 PM
Will that work with Adobe stuff?
Well... it works for me. Although I should have mentioned that I haven't tried it on Windows 8. I've been doing things that way since Windows XP though.
Discussion
6 repliesUPDATE, 4/8/2014: This info has changed, please see the next post above this one.
Or, scrap the whole thing, sign up for Photoshop CC and get yourself a Mac.
ALSO: It isn't just XP, the other product dropping off the list for security updates is Office 2003, so there's another expense.
OK, couple thoughts, first being, "how do I actually upgrade from XP?". The answer is, painfully. Forget literal "upgrading" which I'm not even sure that's available, and even if it was it would be like painting your house with dirt still on the outside. You are going to have to back up your world, then install Windows 7 or 8 fresh and clean (stay with me, I have a "task" list below). In fact, you WANT to reinstall everything clean because Windows bloats itself over time (a thing called the Registry which is basically a table of contents for everything on your PC, and we're talking tens of thousands of settings) and the only real way to keep it lean and fast is to wipe your drive and reinstall Windows clean, something I do at least twice a year (yes, I've always been technologically sadistic). Once you do your system will run tons better, so going to Win 7 or 8 will be a plus in several areas.
If PCs & technology are just not your thing, it will be helpful to have a relative or friend guide you through the installation. I say that with reserve because some friends and relatives can do more damage than good, lol. But basically here's the best plan of attack:
- Make sure your external backup drive has room for your files AND an extra gigabyte or two for a Windows Image Backup (more on that is a min).
-In that Newegg link above at the top of this post there is also a deal on software called Acronis True Image 2013 and it's only $12.99 with the promo code. Forget the bad reviews, it works fine to do the ONE thing you'll want it to do: make a complete system image on your external hard drive while XP is still on it, just as a contingency plan. This is a smart step and something everyone should do anyway... Acronis will make a complete C drive image and store that, and if the Windows 7/8 upgrade completely fails, you just startup your PC on the Acronis DVD and tell it to restore your XP hard drive image from the external hard drive, and your XP world will be fully restored as if nothing every changed. Very cool and important step, worth 13 bucks fifteen times over.
-OK, then backup all of your files. Yes, you may have that C drive image from the previous step but restoring your photos and stuff from that is NO easy task, better to save them separately again for easy reference. Then you can just drag them back onto your hard drive. Done. If you store your photos on a separate internal drive, then this doesn't apply, it's only for those who have the whole barn on one drive.
-Then deactivate any software that utilizes that such as Photoshop. If you have Photoshop make sure you also copy your Presets folder to your external drive, you'll need that later. This folder has all of your actions and stuff like that there. You'll find that in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop (whatever version you have). You also want to backup the Plugins folder. Oh, your Fonts folder too, in case you have any special ones you don't want to lose. I usually copy the whole thing just as a backup anyway. It's located at C:\Windows\Fonts. If anyone else can think of something I'm missing, please pipe up!
-IMPORTANT STEP: Now go to http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html and download and install their free Advisor program and run it. It will ask if you want to update security definitions, just say No, because you're going to wipe your hard drive and install Windows 7/8, so the current security config on your PC at this point is a moot point. After about 10 minutes you'll get a web browser pop up that lists absolutely everything installed on your PC and even includes the License Keys for most programs. Make sure you change Page Setup in the browser to Landscape Mode, then print that thing. It'll be invaluable for your new installation, you'll know everything you had in your old Windows environment, and can be helpful when you don't know your License Keys for some of the programs you have installed. Read that document over before proceeding to ensure that you haven't forgotten to back anything up.
At this point you can boot up from the Windows disc and install Windows 7/8. Two things are important to know:
1) If you have more than one internal hard drive, just disconnect the SATA cable from the other drive(s) with the power OFF on the PC. The only drive you want running is your C drive, because the Windows installer gets cranky when there's more than one hard drive going. You can plug them back in after the installation (again, after you shut down and power is off).
2) The Newegg link/promo code above is for the Windows OEM System Builder's version. The masses cry out: "Paul, what on earth does that mean??". It simply means that YOU are your own tech support for Windows, you can't call Microsoft Tech Support to help you with Windows. Let's see a show of hands for how many people have done that in the last 48 months: Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? (I hear crickets...) EXACTLY my point. Nobody calls Microsoft, we have Google (and even NPN), so save a hundred bucks and get yourself the OEM version. Ironically, I did call the Microsoft Licensing unit and asked them if I can use OEM for myself, because it is intended for places that build PCs for others, such as Puget Systems. They replied that it is perfectly legal to buy the OEM version for yourself, you just can't call Microsoft for tech support (ahem... Google.. ahem...). Actually, you CAN, you'll just pay a fee to do that. So we'll just have to Google our way around that one, lol! Just for the record, the OEM version is absolutely identical to the retail version, it's just licensed differently for no tech support. But it is very important that your copy is legal, and here's a way to save some bucks.
If you install Windows 7, make sure you go also install Microsoft Security Essentials which is Microsoft's anti-virus. They used to charge for it, now it's free. If you install Windows 8, it already comes built-in, no need to install it separately. It's called Windows Defender in 8, but it's the same thing. Vista users will recognize that name, that's what the old AV software was called in Vista, but it's a much better version now. I ran for almost 20 years with NO AV software whatsoever because of how horribly they slow your system down. But Essentials/Defender runs absolutely seamless in the background, so I do use that now.
Last thing for XP users: 7 & 8 are much more security-aware, and one of the things they do is not let programs start with full admin privileges even if you are an admin on your PC which most owners are. Therefore you'll be doing a new thing which is pretty important with Adobe products because they need full rights to run: you'll need to right-click on the Photoshop or Lightroom icon (or whatever programs you use) and choose "Run As Administrator", something you'll just want to get used to. 7 & 8 are much more paranoid security-wise and you'll be getting a lot more popups asking you "are you sure" for stuff you do all the time. It's a security thing, just FYI.
OK, I'll stop there. This is a lot of info but it's pretty important to do. I'm not screaming Doomsday, XP will be fine after the cutoff date, but because hackers know how MANY people still run XP, they know they have wide open opportunity to "have some fun". Somebody somewhere is going to exploit this, just a matter of time. I mean, I had to give up my favorite email address because it was what I used for my Adobe account for years, and 48 hours after the big hack on Adobe, my address was getting mountains of spam, some of it filth. And I just got my replacement MasterCard last week due to the Target hack. My Chase Visa was used (or attempted) at CarPhone Warehouse in London and a clothing bazaar in Mumbai India. It's a much more connected world now, and running in an old vulnerable version of Windows probably isn't wise, neither is running an old version of Office (2003 or earlier). The cleanup if you get snagged can be large and costly at worst, and downright annoying at the least. We have several really good tech resources on NPN, let us help you where we can!
======================================================
Update, 4/5/2014: If anyone is actually going to attempt this based on my post, email me before you take your system down and let me know when you will be ready to go for it. I'll send you my phone number so if you hit a weird snag, you call me (being your PC will be down for the count) and I'll try and answer your question best I can. This is a pretty big step that a lot of people are forced into and I'd hate to know one of our members was hitting a wall and not sure what to do. Let's face it, these are our darkrooms now and we have to have them in good running order.
Sandy
Once you have everything backed up, you can simply replace your old OS drive with a new SSD and install your new OS to the clean drive. Sweet and simple.
This is also good time to upgrade your RAM. Install as much RAM as you can afford, but be sure to get the correct type of RAM.
An SSD and more RAM will really punch up the performance of your machine.
Another item to consider is your device drivers; such as your video card, printer(s), graphics tablet, etc., and if you use a laptop, drivers specific to the machine.
I strongly advise you download device drivers from the manufacturer's web site. You install them after Windows is fully installed and updated.
PS: Many thanks to Paul for his great tutorial. If you follow the steps he's outlined, you task will be much easier. Thanks, Paul!
--P
For those a little bit comfortable administering their machine, I'd actually suggest creating a user account that's NOT an administrator account, and installing programs under that account. You'll probably have to give the administrator credentials when you install (a Windows will pop up asking for the administrator password, since you're not logged in as administrator), but will not have to run as administrator every time you run things, and you'll have more security to boot if something manages to sneak into your system via that account. And that will apply to every program you run/install.
Preston - SSD, duh! No brainer! PERFECT time to upgrade! I had thought about that the other day but spaced it when writing this. And definitely download drivers in advance. I tell ya, I was mildly surprised just how many drivers Windows 8 goes and gets during installation.
David - great idea. Will that work with Adobe stuff? They write their software SO dependent on the Registry. I guess it DOES work or you wouldn't have mentioned it.
Well... it works for me. Although I should have mentioned that I haven't tried it on Windows 8. I've been doing things that way since Windows XP though.