# Any reason not to upgrade to Windows 7 from XP? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743 "2010-06-11T02:46:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/1 "2010-06-11T02:46:44Z")
Windows XP on my main computer has been irreversibly corrupted. I really don’t want to re-install XP (mainly because of the missing SATA driver I don’t want to plug in my old 3.5" floppy), so I’m thinking about upgrading to Windows 7 (my laptop has Vista, my wife’s laptop has 7, so I’ve tried both. I think 7 works a bit faster.) Is there any reason to stick to XP or install Vista instead? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/2 "2010-06-11T02:58:07Z")
Check to see that your machine meets (or even better, exceeds) the [Windows 7 requirements](http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/system-requirements.aspx). ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/3 "2010-06-11T02:58:58Z")
Only reason to stick with XP is a piece of hardware that doesn’t have drivers for Vista/7. Even if you have incompatible software, 7 Professional and Ultimate have XP mode. There is absolutely no reason to go with Vista over 7. _Edit: Assuming your computer can run it, as **ZipperJJ** pointed out. But most computers that were new within the past 3 or 4 years should have no problem._ ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/4 "2010-06-11T03:05:45Z")
Hardware checks out. The only question mark may be my geforce 8600 graphics card, but I’ll probably upgrade that at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/5 "2010-06-11T03:08:32Z")
> [@Silophant](#): > > Only reason to stick with XP is a piece of hardware that doesn’t have drivers for Vista/7. Even if you have incompatible software, 7 Professional and Ultimate have XP mode. > > There is absolutely no reason to go with Vista over 7. > > _Edit: Assuming your computer can run it, as **ZipperJJ** pointed out. But most computers that were new within the past 3 or 4 years should have no problem._ I would add that there is no reason to go with Windows Vista under any circumstances, at all. It’s a greater resource-hog than Windows 7, and it’s buggier. XP is preferable to Vista, save those rare and unfortunate circumstances in which software simply won’t run on XP. In those cases, Windows 7 is preferable. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/6 "2010-06-11T04:07:27Z")
In Windows 7, if you open up a folder in Explorer, you can’t turn off auto-arrange. All the icons have to be sorted, you can’t place them in any random order you wish. I know this doesn’t affect many people, but I need to order my icons the way I want to, not according to some pre-defined sort option. Maybe I just have OCD or something, but it’s enough of a deal breaker for me that I’m sticking with Vista. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/7 "2010-06-11T04:16:50Z")
In Vista, you can’t arrange your files how you want at all. It will arbitrarily call your folder “Media” or something, and remove sort options. You can reset and add your own, but that will only last so long before something screws up. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/8 "2010-06-11T04:31:12Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > In Vista, you can’t arrange your files how you want at all. It will arbitrarily call your folder “Media” or something, and remove sort options. You can reset and add your own, but that will only last so long before something screws up. I’ve never had that happen. I’ve always been able to drag around all the icons and have them stay in place. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/9 "2010-06-11T08:21:51Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Hardware checks out. The only question mark may be my geforce 8600 graphics card, but I’ll probably upgrade that at the same time. A Geforce 8600 is fine. Before it went pop, my Shuttle had an 8600 GTS. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/10 "2010-06-11T08:48:05Z")
7 is more secure and more usable (IMO) than XP. Also far prettier. Turn off User Account Control if that bothers you, though XP SP2+ has had it as well. 7 is also slower and more resource-intensive on older hardware, if only by a minute amount. If your hardware is old or borderline, it might not be worth it. Conversely, if you’re using anything fancy and new like dual-core systems or solid state drives, definitely go with 7. No reason to choose Vista over XP or 7. I think Microsoft’s trying hard to make you forget Vista ever existed, and that’s just as well. Not because Vista was bad per se, but because 7 made it even better while fixing some of the complaints. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/11 "2010-06-11T10:32:19Z")
I did the upgrade and am content. I have one small problem I’m hunting down with drivers. But overall, once I got used to the difference, I was pleased. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/12 "2010-06-11T10:47:55Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Windows XP on my main computer has been irreversibly corrupted. I really don’t want to re-install XP (mainly because of the missing SATA driver I don’t want to plug in my old 3.5" floppy A small point here but many BIOSes allow you to pretend that a USB memory stick is a floppy drive. And you can get USB floppy drives. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/13 "2010-06-11T12:22:52Z")
> [@Silophant](#): > > Even if you have incompatible software, 7 Professional and Ultimate have XP mode. XP mode doesn’t always fix software compatibility problems. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/14 "2010-06-11T14:58:38Z")
I think the question you should ask yourself is “Why would I want to upgrade?” For 90% of the population the only good reason to upgrade is if you want to run a piece of software that doesn’t work under XP. I can’t think of another reason to alter a workstation that is working for you. Never upgrade just to upgrade. That’s just asking for a headache for no good reason. ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/15 "2010-06-11T15:19:47Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > XP mode doesn’t always fix software compatibility problems. That’s for sure. I’m looking at you Bioshock. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/16 "2010-06-11T15:28:58Z")
I went from XP to Vista to 7 (the latter two because I’d bought a new machine) and can definitely attest that you want to skip the middle step in that process. 7 runs fine, I’ve had no problems with it at all and have yet to encounter a piece of software that I couldn’t run. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/17 "2010-06-11T20:44:40Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > XP mode doesn’t always fix software compatibility problems. grumble…like inability to run old 16 bit programs… Had a couple customers who wanted 7 that were using old access 97 custom DB point of sale systems… Shit like that will drive you to drink …if I knew what that was gonna be like I would have started drinking before I got there. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/18 "2010-06-11T20:59:37Z")
> [@drachillix](#): > > grumble…like inability to run old 16 bit programs… > > Had a couple customers who wanted 7 that were using old access 97 custom DB point of sale systems… Could you run it in a VM? ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/19 "2010-06-11T21:18:46Z")
> [@Pabitel](#): > > I think the question you should ask yourself is “Why would I want to upgrade?” The main reason is because of my SATA drive. If I reinstall XP, i have to plug in my old 3.5" floppy (which barely works now) or buy a new, USB one (which costs a bit.) If I need to spend $40 anyway, why not kick in the 35 and upgrade. I don’t trust the ISO’s out there of XP with the SATA drivers. Imho, there’s too much risk of it having other programs. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743/20 "2010-06-11T22:07:21Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > The main reason is because of my SATA drive. If I reinstall XP, i have to plug in my old 3.5" floppy (which barely works now) or buy a new, USB one (which costs a bit.) If I need to spend $40 anyway, why not kick in the 35 and upgrade. > > I don’t trust the ISO’s out there of XP with the SATA drivers. Imho, there’s too much risk of it having other programs. You could also [slipstream your own SATA](http://www.digitgeek.com/how-to-slipstream-sata-drivers-into-xp-cd/) drivers to XP. But yeah, 7 is worth it as long as your hardware can keep up 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-from-xp/542743.md?page=2)