12-02-2009, 04:34 PM

I just purchased a DL copy of Windows 7 Home Premium and I want to know if I can just upgrade to Windows 7 without going through bootcamp again. I have Windows XP Pro installed on a 32GB Bootcamp Partition and I am running Snow Leapard. Can I just go through the upgrade process or do I need to burn the image to a disc and install in bootcamp over the current partition?

12-02-2009, 04:54 PM

There is no direct upgrade route from Windows XP to 7. Even though the product is marketed as an "upgrade', the Windows 7 installer will force you to do a clean install, encapsulating the existing install into a folder called "windows.old". From there, you'll need to drag any documents or data over to your fresh Windows 7 install and of course manually reinstall your programs.

With that said, you should be able to boot from the Windows 7 disc and run the install over top of the Windows XP install without having to go through the process of removing the Boot Camp partition and recreating it. Just make sure you choose the right partition to install to during the installation process - and of course, make a FULL backup of your Mac partition (and Windows XP partition, using WinClone) before you get started.

12-04-2009, 07:02 PM

Brockga,

Cwa107 is correct -- when migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7 you will not have an "in place upgrade" option. You will however have the option to select "custom" install when prompted. The Windows 7 install process will then copy all of your data in "My Documents" over to a Windows.old folder within Windows 7 itself. All applications and documents stored in other locations will have to be reinstalled / transferred manually.

For more information on the Windows 7 Upgrade, please go here: Installing and reinstalling Windows 7

For additional assistance with the migration of Windows XP to Windows 7, please go here: Windows 7 RC | Support, Deployment, Resources

Jessica
Microsoft Windows Client Team