Wharton Computing Student Support

Microsoft Windows 7

Windows 7 is Microsoft’s newest operating system scheduled to be released on Oct 22, 2009. Wharton Computing is recommending that our students use a “wait and see” approach before installing or upgrading to Windows 7 on systems that have Windows XP SP3 or Windows Vista SP1/SP2.  If you are purchasing a new system, Windows 7 is the recommended operating system. The supported versions of Windows 7 will be Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions(32-bit and 64-bit). The Home Premium version will be also supported but is not recommended. Home Basic and Starter will not be supported because they are missing important networking and security features.  For more information on Windows 7, visit http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/help

Note: The laptop printing software students use to print to our networked printers runs in Windows 7 but is not yet supported by the company that supplies the software.

What to do if you plan to install or upgrade to Windows 7

Upgrading to Windows 7:

• Back up your files. You can back up files to an external hard disk, a DVD or CD.
• Be prepared to reinstall your software.  After the upgrade, you may have to reinstall software that is not functioning properly. Make sure you have your software's (MS Office, etc) installation CDs.
• Original operating system software: Make sure that you have the CDs for the original operating system software that was installed on your computer. If your system is unstable after the upgrade you will have to reinstall your original operating system.

Performing a clean install of Windows 7:

• Back up your files. You can back up your files to an external hard disk, a DVD or CD.
• Be prepared to install all of your software and configure your settings
• "Whartonize" your system by following the steps on our Get Started page at http://spike.wharton.upenn.edu/support/GetStarted/index.cfm

 

To find out more information on what you need to do before installing Windows 7 and to get the answer to the question “Should I upgrade or do a clean install of the operating system?” please visit the following Microsoft website:, http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Installing-Windows-frequently-asked-questions

If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact us at support@wharton.upenn.edu