Google Search is so entrenched in today’s society that it has become a verb meaning “I’m going to look that up, as in I’m going to Google that”. That’s when you know that you’ve arrived. The instant information at our fingertips is made possible via complicated search algorithms that Google employs; the amazing speed at which such search results are returned is made possible by clustering multitudes of computers together, teaming them all up into one harmonious big brain that crunches through data like nobody’s business.

The same cluster computing that makes Google so great can also be used for the dark side of computing. One home PC isn’t as powerful as thousands of home PCs, working together under the radar. What can such a host of compromised PCs accomplish (a botnet) when teamed over a network? Everybody’s beloved spam, for instance, can be blasted out to recipients faster and cover more ground when souped-up via a botnet. Think of a single zombie PC as a quaint garden hose; now think of a botnet of PCs as a firetruck hose, the ones that need like 5 firemen just to tame it, and you’ll get the idea.

There are many ways for your PC to become infected with bot malware. A bot can ride in from a malicious website if your browser and malware scanner aren’t equipped to handle it. A bot program can even take over your computer by traditional means if you run an infected executable program. Unfortunately, the glut of bots out there in the wild is too much for most anti-malware companies to keep up with; as a result, some bots can slip through the cracks of today’s malware detection software. The best defense is to only surf reputable website if you can help it, always keep your browser (Firefox, Internet Explorer, et al.) up-to-date, update your anti-malware software’s definitions to defend against the latest threats, and use Windows Update liberally.

Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool

It’s a good idea to let Windows Update do its thing automatically, so you don’t forget. Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool does a good job at seeking and destroying malware (bot software, for example) that may have crawled into your system. One version of the malware removal tool is updated monthly. This particular version vigilantly runs in the background on the second Tuesday of each month, and sends out a report to Microsoft detailing which infections (if any) it has found and removed. If you suddenly notice a change in your PC’s behavior (router bandwidth lights flashing continuously, sluggish computer, web page redirecting) then it’s a good idea to run the Malicious Software Removal Tool.

BotHunter, a free anti-malware program, can also be used to take a proactive stance against infections. Not only does BotHunter run on Windows but also on UNIX, Linux, and Mac OSX. BotHunter keeps its finger on the pulse of your computer’s network data exchanges, flagging any known patterns that may indicate a zombie computer. BotHunter is credited for first identifying the Conflicker malware patterns back in November ‘08.

Cellphone Bots

Bots not only invade computers but cellphones too. Smart-phones equipped with the Symbian OS are known to become infected with the Sexy View SMS bot. A zombie cellphone may behave differently than a zombie PC, so you may not even be aware of your cellphone’s botlike intentions. As a whole, botnets probably aren’t going to be completely eradicated any time soon, so the best defense is to keep your PC clean and bot-free.

• Note: Not only can you follow these steps to remove your beta and pre-release Windows 7 editions, but you can also follow these same steps to remove your old Vista or XP operating system. Now that you have had time to test out Windows 7 and liked what you saw, it is time to say goodbye to your old operating system.

Since you are deleting the partition used with Windows, it is important to backup all your files. This includes any important documents, pictures, videos, music, and more. Create a backup disk right now if you haven’t done so already.

How to Remove Windows 7 from Windows Vista

Built-in tools for Vista can be used to manipulate and modify your hard drive partitions. It is recommended that you have your Vista DVD on hand incase any complications arise. To get started:

• Boot Vista
• Click the Start Menu
• Enter “diskmgmt.msc” in the search bar

At this time, a window named “Disk Management” open and it will contain the basic information about your PC drives.

• Right-click on the partition you created for Windows 7
• Select “Delete Volume”

At this time, you should see unallocated hard drive space; this is where Windows 7 once was.

• Right click the original partition
• Select “Extend Volume”
• Enter in the full amount of unallocated space

At this time, you may be unable to boot into Windows Vista because you may have damaged your boot loader, but do not worry. It is time to use the Vista DVD, boot from it, and wait until the loading process is complete. You will then want to select the “Repair Your Computer” option. Now, you will be asked to decide on a recovery tool to utilize; you want to select “Startup Repair.”

In just a few minutes, your computer will solve the issues at hand and your computer should be able to reboot has normal. Now, just remove the DVD from your optical drive. And, remember you can do these same steps to remove Windows Vista once you have the full version of Windows 7 installed.

MouseExtender: App Launch Anywhere With A Click

Sometimes having too many options can be a burden. For instance, Windows gives you so many ways to launch an application, that sometimes the abundance of launch options confuse more than they help. Of course, there’s the Start Menu, then there’s Quick Launch, and don’t forget the Desktop icons. But any of those methods forces you to divert your attention from what you were doing (web surfing, Word processing, composing e-mail, etc.) and you must navigate your mouse’s pointer to the shortcut you need. There’s a better, more efficient way.

MouseExtender makes launching programs from anywhere a snap. The beauty of MouseExtender is its relationship with your mouse’s middle button. From anywhere, middling-clicking will fire up MouseExtender’s shortcut dock, where you’ll be able to run programs that you’ve placed inside of it. I was excited when I first heard about this utility and couldn’t wait to try it, but I had one misgiving: I use my mouse’s middle-button to quickly scroll in Firefox. My fears were put to bed upon discovering that you can disable MouseExtender when using different applications. When Firefox is active, MouseExtender doesn’t interfere, allowing Firefox to use the middle-mouse button. Oh, and another thing that might interest you about this handy little utility: It’s free!

Organize Chaotic Desktop Icons

I like my desktop icons organized a certain way. I even disable “Align to Grid” so that I can get pinpoint accuracy when arranging them. I like that. What I don’t like is when a game changes the display’s resolution, resulting in Desktop icon scatter. Logging in and out of my Windows account will sometimes move around my shortcuts, too. Why don’t they just stay put!?

If you’re frustrated with Windows touching your Desktop icons, give a program called Fences a try. The idea is so simple and useful that it’s surprising that this feature wasn’t built into, let’s say Windows 95 on to the present incarnation, from the get-go. Here’s how it works. Fences fundamentally “fences” off your desktop shortcuts by placing them into their own window with a translucent background. You can create as many fence windows as you want, giving you powerful organizational options. You can even re-size a fence window as if it were an ordinary windowed app. The key thing here is that your icons will stay put in their groups on your desktop. Hiding and showing your Fence groups involves doubling clicking your desktop. Once you’ve used Fence, it’s hard to imagine doing without it.

Save Ink, Be Happy

Printers are one of the last devices hooked up with today’s computers that still involve actual mechanical parts. This is why printers can be such a pain. Paper jams, paper cling, low or no ink: The list goes on and on. Fortunately, you can ration out your precious ink during print jobs, reducing ink consumption by 20%. One way to do this is to use a different font. For instance, Ecofont is a typeface that looks like the ubiquitous Arial font, but the letters of this particular font are produced with tiny holes punched out of it. The result: less ink to form a letter, which adds up in ink savings when printing out an essay or Moby Dick. Ecofont is easy on the eyes and is a great way to not squander your ink cartridges away.

Even though Windows 7 was just recently released, it is already proving to be a successful improvement from Vista. In fact, even a few XP users who would not touch Vista with a ten-foot pole are gearing up for the upgrade. Due to all the concerns, complaints, and problems Windows Vista had, you might be a bit unsure about relying so heavily on Windows 7 (despite the positive reviews so far). In that case, you want to opt for a dual boot.

A dual boot gives you the opportunity to test out Windows 7 without having to delete Vista or XP as your operating system just yet. The good news is that setting up a duel boot is easy. If you want to get started, please continue reading on for the three steps you must take.

Step #1: Create or Obtain a Windows 7 Installation Disk

While many motherboards enable you to boot from a USB flash drive, this process is a lot for most average PC users to handle. You either purchased a Windows 7 DVD or have acquired as ISO file. If you have that ISO file, you can skip to step number 2. To get started with creating a Windows 7 disc, put a blank DVD into your burner and burn an image file with the different apps that can handle an ISO. A few of your options include ImgBurn, CDBurnerXP, and the Ashampoo Burning Studio Free.

Step #2: New Partition Creation

Before implementing this step, it is important to backup your computer’s files. If you follow these steps properly, you should not experience a corruption of data; however, there is always the risk. Right now, it is time to create unallocated disk space; you can do this by resizing the partition on your hard drive and then creating a new partition with space for Windows 7 to operate on. Most PC users only have one existing partition, which is dedicated to the Windows operating system you are using right now.

How to Create a New Partition for Windows Vista

Luckily, you can use built-in tools to edit and modify your hard drives. There is also a third-party tool known as GParted that is best for XP users. If you are an XP user, you can skip this step and move to “How to Create a New Partition for Windows XP.”

Returning back to Windows Vista, click ‘Start’ and type “diskmgmt.msc” into your search bar. A new window will open and this should be titled “Disk Management;” it will contain the basic information about your PC and all attached drives.

You should right-click on the “Disk 0” partition and then choose the “Shrink Volume” option. This will give you information on the drive capacity and the option to shrink your partition by any amount. The recommended minimum partition is 16GB for Windows 7, so choose that or a larger figure.

Since you just resized your original partition, you should see unallocated space on your hard drive. Before taking the next step, it is advised that you redo your optical drives to the next letter down. Your new empty partition should have a letter that follows your first and main partition, which will likely end up being “D.”

Now, you want to right-click on the new unallocated space and select the “New Simple Volume” option, which will open a new screen. This screen is a wizard you want to follow. You will be asked to define a volume; you should let it occupy all unallocated space, name it the letter you just freed up, and format the volume using the default allocation unit size and a NTFS file system. The label can be anything, including just Windows 7. Now, move onto step number 3.

How to Create a New Partition for Windows XP

The steps to creating a new partition for Windows XP are pretty much the same as with Vista, but you aren’t using the Windows Disk Management utility. Instead, you will be using a third-party program and we recommend GParted. Get started by downloading the latest edition, and burn it to a disk.

Once your image of GParted has been downloaded, you can reboot your computer after placing the disk in your optical drive. After booting, you will need to select your language, screen resolution, and keymap.

Once the software has loaded, right-click on the partition you want to resize and select “Resize or Move.” This will provide you with information on the drive capacity; enter in the new size. As mentioned above, it is recommended that you have a minimum partition of at least 16GB for Windows 7.

Now, you will see unallocated space on your hard drive, click on that new unallocated space and select “New.” You will then be asked to request the free amount of space you like before and after the new partition, as well as its new size. Enter 0 for both; then, designate it a “Primary Partition” and begin formatting by using NFTS. You should now have a healthy partition with the free space you dedicated in the steps above.

Step #3: Install Windows 7

Place the Windows 7 DVD into your optical drive, reboot the system, and press any key when prompted to do so. You will get the installation wizard that is very easy and straightforward; follow the directions on your screen! Just ensure you choose the custom or advanced installation so that you can have the installation run on your new partition, as opposed to installing overtop of Windows XP or Vista.

This question is one has been around for years, even before Windows 7 was in development. Intel and AMD users were always at odds when it came to the Athlon 64. Even when Windows Vista was released a few years ago, the software and drivers needed for a 64-bit setup were few and far in between.

Just like the shift from 16-bit to 32-bit, the jump to 64-bit has been a rather slow move. The x64 for Windows XP was never very popular, but it was popular when it came to Windows Vista. Many PC experts will tell you that the road has been a long, windy, and bumpy one, but we are now starting to see the positive effects of surviving that not-so perfect road. In recent years, many software developers and hardware manufacturers have adapted to the 64-bit computing trends.

Right now, everyone is pretty much on the same page. Most upgrades or alternations have already been made. For example, if your printer or video card hasn’t been upgraded to 64-bit drivers, they likely won’t be.

Now that you have some general information, you may be wondering why the switch? Why now? What benefits do 64-bit operating systems give you over the popular 32-bit systems? These are good questions. As for the answer, one of the main benefits is the extra memory. Most 32-bit systems have a memory limit of 4GB, giving you about 2.75 to 3.5 GB of RAM. On the other hand, a 64-bit system can address up to 16 exabytes of memory, giving you about 4 billion times more RAM space! Windows Vista tends to allow anywhere from 8 to 128 GB of memory accessed, but Windows 7 gives you up to 192 GB.

Another noteworthy benefit of opting for a 64-bit operating system is the enhanced security features. This security is done through hardware backed by DEP, a driver signing that is mandatory, and well as Kernel Patch Protection.

Once again, you have some more relevant information pertaining to the differences between a 32-bit and a 64-bit operating system, as well as the benefits of upgrading. However, you may still have that same question: should I or shouldn’t I install Windows x64?

In most cases the answer to this question will be yes. Unless you are running a PC that is very old and using outdated drivers because upgrading may be more of a hassle than you want to undertake. After all, driver support may be an issue you just want to completely avoid.

The good news is that you do not have to make a poor-informed decision. On their website, Microsoft has a number of tools that will scan your system. When doing so, they will closely examine all hardware, devices, and programs to ensure that you can comfortably make the switch to not only Windows 7, but the 64-bit version.

Remember when USENET was the big social networking hub? If you don’t remember USENET, don’t feel bad. It was before the world knew about the world wide web, and it didn’t have any fancy widgets that you could embed into your profile to stream an mp3 or play Tetris, not like the cool stuff that have nowadays.

Thanks to the social networking phenomena, and services like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, it seems like everyone and their grandmother is either posting a tweet or updating their status or extending a friendly poke to one of their online friends. The whole concept of social networking boils down to this: Open information and community, two concepts that are easy to exploit if you’re possessed of a devious mind, and, if unarmed with adequate information, easy to fall prey to. To make the entire social networking affair safer for everyone, let’s go over some basic safety guidelines so that we can all make services like MySpace and Facebook more enjoyable.

Mind What You Share

Be mindful of what you post on your profile and what you share with others, publicly or privately. Think twice before posting that photo of your party escapades in Vegas last weekend, and rethink that blog tirade before making it public and attaching your name to it. Embarrassing things have a nasty way of coming back and haunting you when released on the Internet. All it takes is a Google or Facebook search, and your past can resurface with questionable results. Think of it like a tattoo: It’s hard to undo without significant effort, so do you really want that tat of your girlfriend’s name on your arm?

Also, employers are notorious for Googling, MySpacing, and Facebooking your name to find out what kind of a person you are, to get a feel for a prospective hire. Don’t diminish your chances of success by posting embarrassing things online.

Mind What You Say

Facebook status updates and Twitter Tweets can be typed out from anywhere on a mobile device: In traffic, at the local coffee shop, on the ski lift, even on a good old-fashioned laptop, which is why it’s so easy to say something that you wished you could take back. Remember who your buddies are and who has the potential to read your posts, tweets, updates, or whatever. For example, you don’t want to post a Facebook status update proclaiming that “I’m seriously bored …” during office hours and have your boss read it, landing you in hot water. The last thing you want is to get Facebook Fired.

My Friend’s Friend …

The Internet really has made the world a smaller place. Communication at the speed of light has connected the world. Unfortunately, this can work against you. Here’s an example. Let’s say that you decide to rant about your boss’s spastic way of handling a crisis at work. You check, double check, and triple check that your boss IS NOT in your network, therefore you can post your rant with impunity, right?

Well, this looks good on the surface, but you never know if your boss is in one of your friends’ network, or is in the network of a friend of one of your friends (it can get incredibly complicated.) All it takes is for your friend to comment on your ranting status update, and if your boss is in your friend’s network, the status update that you thought was hidden from your boss now becomes viewable. A good rule of thumb is this: Don’t post anything online that you’re not 100% comfortable with everyone seeing.

Be Wary of Quizzes

Facebook users love to take online quizzes. It’s fun, and if taken with honesty in mind, can say a lot about a person. Unfortunately, quizzes can reveal a little too much information about a person, unbeknownst to them. Most of the social networking quizzes will pop up a permission page, clearly stating that by proceeding you’re giving the quiz application access to your profile information, content, photos, friend’s photos, so on and so forth. Many users don’t take the time to give said permission pages a good look-over. If they did, I think a great deal would opt out of the quiz right off the bat.

Navigating the Windows Update Maze

I simply take a deep breath and look at it like road construction: The streets may be messy and traffic-riddled because of the temporary construction, but some countries don’t even have pavement roads, and here I am complaining that the city’s actually fixing mine! Bad form. So, while Windows Updates may be a minor annoyance, the annoyance is small potatoes when the end result (aimed for result, that is) is improvement of the overall system.

That said, Windows Updates isn’t exactly super user-friendly, and its messages are often cryptic, so many users simply install every update so that they can hurry up and get back to what they were doing. Let’s make Windows Update a little less mysterious, shall we?

Windows Update Details

Have you ever took the time to read the names of some of the updates? It’s obvious that a human isn’t naming these updates manually but rather a machine, because only a machine can label an update Windows XP (KB874212) and still make any sense of it. Thankfully, there’s a way to get an actual description of each update. On Vista, double-click the update in question and a pop-up window will give you more info. In XP, expand the “+” symbol next to the update’s name to get the same result. Now you won’t be in the dark when updating Windows.

Windows Update Levels

Microsoft assigns a level to each update, which helps you in deciding whether you need an update or not. Vista has three levels: Important, Recommended, and Optional. The Important updates are essential for security and bug fixes. You should always install all the updates listed in this category to keep your PC healthy and secure. Unfortunately, Microsoft has a nasty tendency of throwing updates into this category for their own personal gain (Windows Genuine Advantage, for example).

To use a car buying analogy, if the Important level is akin to buying a car with brakes thrown in (you don’t actually need a car with breaks in order for it to run, but it helps if you value your skin), then the Recommended level can be compared to buying a car with OnStar (not really necessary, but comes in handy). It contains updates that may help your PC to work optimally. The Optional level contains updates that may improve your computing experience slightly (new drivers, a fancy toolbar). It’s like buying a car with an iPod port.

XP’s Update service has two levels: High Priority (which is the same as Vista’s Important) and Optional (kind of like Vista’s Recommended and Optional categories combined.)

Service Packs

You should always install the latest Service Pack (a package of essential updates) for your version of Windows to acquire the highest level of security and stability possible. One of the things that really annoys me about Service Packs, though, is that you must install them incrementally. That means if you want Service Pack 3 for XP, and you don’t have Service Pack 2 installed yet, you must install 2 before you can do 3. This can eat up a lot of time. But, alas, Service Packs are vital and are very important for all versions of Windows.

Comparison Shopping Made Easy

I’m notorious for waffling around before actually clicking that “Buy Now” button on Amazon or New Egg. I’ll add an item (or several) to my shopping cart, surf around the site, Google up some results, e-mail a friend, and basically float about in cloud of indecisiveness, all in the name of comparison shopping. We all want to get the best deal, but how do we know we’re getting the best bargain if we don’t do a little research first? Nobody likes to do research, even if it’s just a little bit.

This is where PriceTrace comes in. PriceTrace is a Firefox add-on whose aim is to make comparison shopping less laborious. PriceTrace can be used in two ways. Type a product name (or a URL or SKU or UPC) in its search box. PriceTrace goes through the motions and sends you its comparisons results conveniently inside a new tab. PriceTrace even offers its own spin on things with its Price History chart, giving you more data to make a more informed purchase.

New Egg and Amazon have stepped on board by integrating PriceTrace directly into their product web pages. Clicking on the “Trace the item on this page” button will give you the same results as above. Very cool. Other features of PriceTrace include e-mail alerts if a particular product drops in price and a section that you can peruse to discover products with the biggest price drops. Saving money on the web just got a whole lot easier.

Large E-mail Attachments

One of the rotten things about some e-mail services is that when your in-box becomes clogged, new e-mail simply doesn’t arrive and you can’t send outgoing mail, either, at least not until you clean out your inbox to make room. Is it your fault that someone sent you an unannounced 30 megabyte file attachment and now your future e-mail gets bounced until you delete the attachment? Nope, it’s not. And it’s really annoying for the poor recipient.

The solution, would everybody start using this, is to use the Drop.io service With Drop you can upload extremely large files to their servers, and instead of attaching said file to your out-going e-mail, you simply add the Drop link to your file in the e-mail. With only the Drop file link in the message, you’ll need not worry about gumming up your recipient’s inbox.

Best of all, the Drop service is absolutely free to use. Drop doesn’t even require you to sign-up for an account (a perpetual annoyance that most other “free” services require), and the Drop link isn’t restricted to just an e-mail; the link can be used anywhere.

Free Reference Guides

I can’t count the number of times I needed to quickly learn how to do something in MS Word or Excel. Or forgot how to do something in Photoshop. Most of us don’t have time to do lengthy Google searches, wading through dozens of incomplete forum posts, typo-riddled blog guides, and suchlike to find the particular bit of information that we need.

It would be nice if there was one source for guides and tutorials for today’s most popular applications, and here’s the good news: There is! TechPosters. This site is home to hundreds of quick-reference guides for Microsoft Word, Power Point, Excel, Photoshop and hundreds of other programs. Older guides even reside on TechPosters, which is great if you’re stuck in a time-warp and are still using Word 97. PDF files of each quick-guide can be downloaded and printed for your convenience. If you’re trying to learn a new application, or simply forgot how to do something in a particular app, then give TechPosters a look-over.

There was some discontent about Google collecting personal information from Gmail users for advertising purposes a while back, but you know what? I can’t seem to find a slicker, better organized, web-based e-mail app out there. And Gmail integrates wonderfully with my iPhone to boot. And what about Google Docs? For basic word document and spreadsheet viewing and editing on the web, I’m thankful that I’m never going to have to install (or pay for) MS Office ever again. And guess what? Google has just released some exciting new features to their growing collection of awesome apps.

Picasa Face-Tagging

The arrival of one’s first digital camera is always an exciting occasion. Unfortunately, the ease-of-use of digital cameras and other suchlike devices makes it incredibly simple to build your photo collection to the point of a chaotic mess. Before you know it, your digital image collection is out-of-hand, and you can’t find that one photo of Mitsu, the disobedient Lhasa Apso, because your photos are scattered haphazardly across your hard drive. To make matters worse, you’ve neglected to tag each photo or even give them apt file names, which would make searching a tad easier. I don’t blame you. It’s a bummer to assign appropriate tags and file names manually. Wouldn’t it be sweet if there was a better way?

Picasa is one of the best photo management apps available for free. If you haven’t already used it, give it spin. One of the coolest new features (version 3.5) is the ability to organize your photos using face recognition, called face-tagging. It’s simple. Have Picasa scan your photo library, and it will automatically group similar-looking faces with remarkable accuracy. Once you start scanning, you’ll see a group of faces on the main pane; here, you’ll be able to tag them with a name. Click New Person on the dialog box that materializes to tag with either a name, nickname, or even an e-mail.

It take some getting used to, but it makes organizing your humungous digital photo collection a breeze. And don’t worry: The scanning and tagging of your photos do not alter them in any way.

Fast Flip News

I must admit that I’m a bit of a geezer when it comes to my news. I can’t seem to break the habit of sitting back on a comfy sofa, flipping through an actual, tangible newspaper. Sure, I can get ink stains on my fingers, and I can get news on my iPhone or laptop, but nothing beats a newspaper’s portability and screen real estate. Google’s Fast Flip may change all of that. Still a bit shabby around the edges, Google’s Fast Flip is a step in the right direction in making reading online news a better experience.

The key is in the interface. Fast Flip gives you screen shots of each news story, all organized in categories. The screen shots are grouped in sections (Recommended, Politics, Most Viewed, et al.) and you can click back/forward arrow buttons to read a previous article or move forward to more. The news screen shots are big enough to house a small image and a headline, just enough to pique your interest. Click on the screen shot to get an even bigger screen shot. Now you can not only read the headline but also the first couple blocks of the news story text. Click yet again and you’ll be whisked away to the article’s page, wherever it resides on the web. It’s a fresh new feature direct from the Google labs (with mobile versions for iPhone and Android), and it’s apt to change the way news junkies get their news fix online.

Google Calendar Sports

Do you love basketball or football (or fill in the blank) but are just too busy to keep track of when your favorite team is playing? Never miss out on your team’s schedule again, as Google has just added an exciting new sports feature to their already popular Calendar web app. Put simply, you’ll be able to add an enormous sports schedule library to your calendar. Just log into your Google Calendar account and click on the “New: Sports” link in the upper-right corner. Choose your sport: Football, Basketball, Baseball, College league, Professional, you name it. Once you locate your team, add it to your calendar. The sports calendar is completely independent from your original calendar, which keeps things neat and tidy.

Microsoft has finally unleashed Windows 7 to a public still suffering from the burns of such delights as Windows ME and Vista, but everyone agrees that Windows 7 is light-years ahead of Vista, and the consensus seems to be that Win 7 will take over for XP as king of the desktop in the Microsoft world. So, the question on a lot of users’ minds is this: Should I upgrade or simply buy a new PC with Windows 7 already installed? To put this question to bed, you’ll need to consider the type of computing you do and how old your current rig and its hardware is.

Will Windows 7 run on my PC?

If your current PC was purchased within the last 5 years, you’re in luck. Your CPU, memory requirements, and disk space will almost certainly meet Microsoft’s recommended criteria for an nice Windows 7 experience. A 1GHz CPU, 16GB of storage, and 1GB of memory are the minimum requirements for Windows 7 to run acceptably, but these scant specs won’t cut it when it comes to the newest and most exciting features of Windows 7. For an optimal experience, make sure that you have a dual-core CPU and at least 2GB of memory in your box.

Give the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor a spin, which will run through your hardware and software, checking for any Windows 7 incompatibilities. An OS upgrade is never flawless, and there are always going to be driver issues for some hardware and software that won’t play nicely with a new operating system. If you’re already running Vista, your Windows 7 transition should be smooth and without snags.

Will Windows 7 like my current hardware?

Windows 7 may run above-par on your current hardware configuration, but you may be missing out on the newest and greatest features of Windows 7, like multi-touch support and native support for SSD storage devices. SSD drives packed with the amount of terabyte storage of today’s mechanical drives are unheard of, and SSD drives are still very expensive, but the incredible speed increases you’ll gain when reading and writing your data to disk are nothing to scoff at.

XP Mode to the rescue

Some popular applications just can’t let go of XP. They’ve been specifically written for XP or utilize some kind of quirk that only XP has; as such, these programs won’t run on Windows 7 without dropping into XP Mode. XP Mode allows Windows 7 users to run apps designed for XP, inside a virtual machine. You must have good hardware specs to run a virtual machine at a decent clip, and your CPU must support hardware virtualization. Be sure to check your PC’s specs first if you need XP Mode.

Do I need 64-bit computing?

32-bit Windows can only handle so much memory, but 64-bit versions of Windows can handle a whole lot more. Today, it’s cost effective to install scads of memory into your box, and we all know that the more memory the better. If you need to go beyond the 3GB boundary of 32-bit systems, considering a 64-bit version of Windows 7. Surfing the web and composing e-mail won’t tax your computer as much as video editing and compiling humongous amounts of source code, so a 64-bit version of Windows may be overkill for your needs.

Should I just upgrade my hardware for Windows 7?

An upgrade for Windows 7 professional is $200 USD, and Home Premium will set you back $120 USD. While you could buy more RAM, or a faster CPU, or more storage space, and then shell out some greenbacks for a Windows 7 upgrade, consider investing that chunk of change into a new PC already running Windows 7. New hardware may also come stock with today’s newest technologies, such as Blu-Ray and HDMI. On the other hand, if your current hardware setup is perfect for your needs, and you’ve already calculated that it’ll handle Windows 7 nicely, a simple upgrade might be just the ticket for you.