I Took The Plunge - Upgraded My Toshiba Laptop From Vista To Windows 7
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When my wife got her new laptop running Windows 7, I had an opportunity to play with it as I transferred her stuff over from her old system. Having used Windows 7 on my test box, I had become familiar with the way the new operating system worked and I liked what I saw. So this weekend when I was starting a brand new full version of Windows 7 Ultimate sitting on shelf, the computer gods got the better of me and I said ‘why not? I’ll do it.”
My Toshiba laptop has been running well and I have had few issues with Vista Home Premium. So I went to Toshiba’s support site and downloaded the ‘Toshiba Upgrade Assistant for Windows 7. Toshiba describes this tool as:
the Toshiba Upgrade Assistant for Windows 7 uninstalls certain Toshiba drivers and utilities that may otherwise prevent Windows 7 from being successfully installed as an Upgrade to Windows Vista. This is done before running an in-place Upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7
The Toshiba Upgrade Assistant states at the beginning that the entire procedure could take from 3 to 6 hours. Naturally I thought this was just a scare tactic. I mean how long could it really take? How about 4.5 hours? The TUA does a real cleaning, removes everything that Windows 7 may not like, installs Windows 7, puts back all the programs and drivers, does a Windows Update, and finally you’re done. All during this time there is very little user intervention.
When all was done and completed I had a perfectly running copy of Windows 7, all updated drivers, all settings, data and programs fully functional. AMAZING! I did need to get Windows Live Mail that has replaced the previous Outlook Express editions. What a piece of junk Windows Live Mail is. I immediately dumped up and downloaded Thunderbird, which did an auto install with all settings for my Gmail account. I use Outlook for my main personal and business emails.
So after going through all of the hassle of updating, would I do it again? Yes. I do like the feel of Windows 7. It appears slightly faster than Vista and I noticed that it uses less RAM when I use the standard programs I normally keep running. Overall I am pleased with upgrading.
Oh, yes. Just in case this turned out to be a total disaster, I used Acronis to make an entire disk image, just in case I needed to return to Vista. 
Comments welcome.
FWIW - The copy I used to install W7 Ultimate was a freebie from Microsoft which further softened the blow on the cost to upgrade. Without this freebie I seriously doubt I would have upgraded.
16 Comments
Herb Smith
October 27th, 2009
at 8:59am
I have Vista Ultimate and I love it. I see no reason to update. that is unless Microsoft gives it to me free because, supposedly, Vista is their biggest mistake. I personally find that Vista is the best computer operating system I have ever had in twenty five years. If 7 is so good and Vista so bad then Microsoft should want me to know just how good is good.
Buffet
October 27th, 2009
at 9:22am
Sir, will the TUA work on any machine? Also could you, at some point, elaborate on your overall assessment of Windows 7? As a diehard XP fan who wanted nothing to do with vista, I’m slowly beginning to contemplate upgrading to 7, based on numerous favorable reviews. Are you completely enamored with 7’s appearance and performance over XP? Sorry for all the questions, but I greatly value your opinion. Oh, one more thing please, I’ve also considered using Thunderbird for quite sometime. Would you consider writing a review of it one day, detailing the pros and cons, as well as your likes and dislikes of it. Thank you.
Buffet
October 27th, 2009
at 10:13am
……..now I’m wondering??
How do I transfer my data if I do a clean install of Windows 7?
If I install Windows 7 on my old XP as a clean installation, is there a way to transfer my data without messing up the new installation?
*
Yes, there is. In fact, it’s the only officially supported way to install Windows 7 on a machine that’s running Windows XP.
It simply requires some preparation.
Continue reading: How do I transfer my data if I do a clean install of Windows 7?
http://ask-leo.com/C3905
* * *
How do I uninstall Windows 7?
I use XP Pro and I installed the free Windows 7 on a separate partition. After a couple of days use, I didn’t like Win 7 and wanted to get rid of it but there is no uninstall program. How does one gt rid of this program?
*
Well, that was fast.
Windows 7 has been out less than a few days, and we already have people who don’t like it. Not surprising, actually, since this is clearly a matter of taste and personal preference, particularly for those who are coming from Windows XP.
I’m a little concerned about this “free” version you mention, since there really isn’t one. I’ll assume you’re talking about the release candidate, a test version that will expire next year sometime.
But you’re quite correct: there is no uninstall. Instead, you’ll need to replace.
Continue reading: How do I uninstall Windows 7?
http://ask-leo.com/C3904
Ron Schenone
October 27th, 2009
at 11:27am
Hi Buffet,
Try this link on how to dump 7:
http://www.lytebyte.com/2009/05/06/remove-or-uninstall-windows-7-beta-from-dual-boot-and-clean-install-windows-7-rc/
I have had mixed results using Easy BCD:
http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=1
Another option is:
http://www.vistabootpro.org/
I haven’t personally had to do this so unfortunately I have little experience. I have the luxury of using two hard disks in my test box. I just change the boot order in the BIOS, thus avoiding this situation.
I will be doing an article on Thunderbird, once I test it further.
I have a TechNet subscription and this is how I got the free copy. As an MVP this is one of the perks.
Do I like W7 over XP? Yes I do. But it took me a year of using Vista to finally get the hang of the new OS and feel comfortable with it.
Would I upgrade an XP install to W7? I doubt it. In fact I formatted my wife’s 4 year old laptop and reinstalled Windows XP on it. It just didn’t have the power to run the new operating systems, unless I used the Basic edition which is no better than XP. IMHO.
TUA is only for specified Toshiba laptops built from 2007 and up.
Let me know if you can get W-7 off of your box. I’m interested in how it works for you.
Ron Schenone
October 27th, 2009
at 11:28am
Hello Herb,
Like I stated, I was more than satisfied using Vista. It also ran fine on my laptop as well.
I guess I got a case of ‘I need the latest and greatest’ LOL
rex
October 27th, 2009
at 12:27pm
Acronis? Is it free for making disk image? Do you have to pay to restore it?
Ron Schenone
October 27th, 2009
at 1:59pm
Hello Rex,
It is a paid for version.
Buffet
October 27th, 2009
at 2:44pm
My mistake Ron. Everything you see AFTER “now I’m wondering??” was copied from another site, to substantiate WHY I was wondering. I had no intention of proceding with ANY changes until I got your input, which I now do. Thanks for all the answers.
Ron Schenone
October 27th, 2009
at 3:52pm
Thanks Buffet for the explanation.
Felix
November 13th, 2009
at 7:30pm
I bought a Toshiba A500ST5601 running Vista Home Premium 64-bit in August. I received my free upgrade to Windows 7 this week and gave the Toshiba Upgrade Assistant a shot, finally realizing after waiting all evening for some sign of progress that I had no idea how long this was supposed to take. I let the computer sit for 24-hours, still with no outward sign of progress and shut it down. It was clearly still Vista and seemed functional although my disc free space had been reduced by about 3 gigs. I tried the Assistant again (still interested in preserving files) and finally called the Toshiba help line to get a time estimate for completion. The tech simply stated that the TUA-setup has a driver conflict and I would have to do the “clean” install. Now that you say that the Outlook replacement is poor, I will stay put since I’m pretty happy with Vista. I just hope I have not planted some “seeds of discontent” in my Vista OS.
Ron Schenone
November 14th, 2009
at 5:14am
Hello Felix,
I was sorry to hear that the TUA didn’t work for you. I would wait until the driver problem is corrected. I would venture a guess that this may just be a problem for the 64 bit systems.
When I used the TUA it was for a 32 bit upgrade.
All the best, Ron
Felix
November 14th, 2009
at 7:50am
Thanks for your prompt reply Ron. That sounds like a good idea, and I can find out more about how to adjust to life without Outlook, which seems like a pretty weird part of the Windows 7 bargain.
Ron Schenone
November 14th, 2009
at 10:41am
Hi Felix,
You are most welcome. I switched to Thunderbird since it is almost like the OLD Outlook Express. Just another thought.
Felix
November 14th, 2009
at 3:16pm
Hi Ron,
Thanks again for your response; you add interest to this otherwise “dud” upgrade experience. The Toshiba tech stated (twice, just to be certain) that if I strip and dip, going the necessary “clean” install route, I can recover my Vista-created backup files from within Windows 7. If I were to acquire Thunderbird, can you tell me whether it would be possible (and yes, easy) to restore my mail, contact lists, and task lists (part of the same backup files) from within Thunderbird / Windows 7? Don’t mean to talk this to death, but perhaps I can kick in some useful feed-back from the 64-bit arena over the holidays.
Best,
Felix
Felix
November 14th, 2009
at 3:50pm
Ron,
An afterthought….I think I may have misinterpreted what I have been hearing. If I am a Microsoft Office Outlook user, the Outlook Express omission from Windows 7 is moot, right? I do the clean Windows 7 install, re-install Microsoft Office (along with other apps), get updates through autoupdate, restore backup data and all is back to normal? Or not?
Felix
Ron Schenone
November 14th, 2009
at 5:39pm
Hi Felix,
OK. MS Office Outlook can be reinstalled to W7. I even got a old copy of Office 2003 working after I installed SP3.
I am not sure which version of Outlook you have, but the Outlook backup utility has worked great for me.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=8B081F3A-B7D0-4B16-B8AF-5A6322F4FD01&displaylang=en
Thanks for the clarification.