Need Tips On Going From Windows XP to 7
 

Over the weekend I will be getting a new computer using Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. The computer which has the data an programs I'd like to use on the new one is an XP Pro machine.

Do you have any tips or referrals to make this transition easier?

Also, I have these specific questions:

1. On Windows 7 (specifically Ultimate, if it matters), what is the equivalent of XP’s My Documents Folder? Is it Documentation?
   
2. What is the equivalent of XP’s Documents and Settings folder?
   
3. Where does Outlook.PST go on 7?

From Win7 Help (Try it...you'll like it)
 

What happened to Outlook Express?

Outlook Express isn't included in this version of Windows. To use e‑mail, you'll need another e‑mail program from Microsoft or another company. Another option is to use a web-based e‑mail service, which doesn't require you to install a program.

Start here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...-easy-transfer

And you should probably read a bunch of the stuff from there.

Windows 7 is a lot different from XP, as far as directory layout, etc. The per user Documents and Settings stuff is in something like

c:/Users/<username>/AppData/Roaming

If you are migrating outlook, the migration assistant (windows easy transfer), I believe will take care of your outlook files.

I don't think you can transfer programs. You will have to re-install them. I vaguely recall some third party thing that might do that though, but I can't remember its name, as it's been a while.

Update: The 3rd party thing is Laplink PCMover. I've never used it.

-David

After a week's fairly steep learning curve, I came to love Win7. Best error handling of any Windows by far.

The one thing I really, really continued to dislike was the way Win7 implemented the Start menu. Installing Classic Shell gave me an XP-style start menu (and when I need the Win7 one, doing Shift-Start brings up the Win 7 one).

http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/

:confused::confused::confused:

I think you must be answering someone else's question.

Thanks. Will look right away.

Don't. I tried Laplink when XP came out and it was horrible. Not only did it not do what it was supposed to, but the damage it caused forced a re-install of the OS.

On Windows 7, My Documents is shortened slightly to just "Documents". You can access it from the new Start menu - there's a link in the top right corner.

The Documents folder is inside your user profile... usually "C:\Users\Your_User_Name\Documents".

There are no differences related to where files and settings go between different editions of Windows 7, so in general you can trust that you don't need to find Ultimate-specific documentation for stuff like this; Ultimate includes additional features but doesn't really change any existing ones.
The equivalent of "Documents and Settings" is now "Users", typically "C:\Users". Inside there will be a folder with your username, typically "C:\Users\Your_User_Name" - this is technically called your user profile folder.

There's a convenient shortcut to your user profile folder - you can just use %userprofile%, which will resolve to "C:\Documents and Settings\Username" on XP and "C:\Users\Username" on Vista and Win7.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/287070 might be helpful to you in answering questions about migrating your outlook.pst file. You can actually put Outlook.pst anywhere you want, although it does have a default location in your Application Data folder.

The easiest way to open the Application Data folder is to hold down the Windows key and press R, then type and click OK. Once there, open the Microsoft folder, then the Outlook folder and you should find your .PST.

The exact path differs by platform but it's always under your user profile - on Win7, the default is "C:\Users\Your_Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Ou tlook\outlook.pst".
Hope this helps!

One other tip - you might want to check out the Windows Easy Transfer wizard, which is built into your new Windows 7 machine in Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Windows Easy Transfer. It's not perfect, but it does a pretty good job of gathering up useful files and settings from your old machine and bringing them over to your new one.

Of course, you can also use the computer switch as an opportunity to start over without years of accumulated crud, and if so you may prefer to manually move over files that are important to you rather than letting the wizard attempt to do it automatically. And either way, definitely take a full backup of your old machine before recycling/returning it as insurance against any files that may have been forgotten in the move!

A great tip.

OMG! Best. Tip. Ever. ^

After installation, I recommend heading to Black Viper.com for Registry tweaks to improve performance. I have been using BV's guides since Windows 2000 to improve performance of my PCs, and they have been a great help.

When I upgraded my PCs to Windows 7, I found performance significantly impacted compared to Windows XP, but after using BV's "Safe" config, the performance improved almost back to where it had been under XP.

How to transfer Outlook files - & you don't have to know where they are stored:

1) Open Outlook on old machine. Go to File -> Import & Export, select Export to a file. Select Personal Folder file (.pst).
2) In the window that follows, be sure to go all the way to the top of your folder/tree structure (usually Personal Folders) and then put a check in the box below for "Include subfolders".
3) On the next screen, browse for output location and select a thumb/flash/jump drive. Name it anything you care to.
4) Install Outlook on the new computer. Setup your account. Make sure email flows in both directions. Put the thumb drive in the new computer.
5) In the new Outlook select File -> Import & Export, scroll down Import from another program or file. Next. Select Personal Folder file (.pst), and browse to your thumb drive.
6) Watch all your mail, contacts, appointments, etc. come over to the new computer.