Experience upgrading and installing Windows 7 to Windows 8

What does Windows 8 bring to you? Most people think of Metro first. Have you heard this name countless times recently? In this article, we will not talk about the upgrade and installation of Windows 7 to Windows 8. Let's see how easy it is for users to install and use Windows 8 and how it is to experience it.

 

You can install Windows 8 in the following ways:

• Start and install from a CD/USB flash drive/mobile hard drive:Copy the files in the installation image to the media and start the computer.
• Start the installer in Windows 7: Release ISO as a folder or load it to the virtual optical drive. Double-click to run the installer.
• Download and install from Windows 7 online: Visit the website to download the online Installer (only 5 MB) and download and install it online.

At the same time, I believe most people still want to retain the existing system and experience Windows 8. After all, the test version is only used for experience. For this requirement, we recommend the following installation methods:

 

Installation Method	Advantages	Disadvantages
Select partitions other than Win7 during installation	Dual-System Selection	An additional partition is required. It is not easy to detach an important file in a partition.
Install and run in a virtual machine	Differences between two generations of systems can be compared at any time No partitions required, easy to delete	Slight performance loss Need to run in the original system Not easy to use as the main system
Install and run in a virtual hard disk file (For details, refer to subsequent articles)	No partitions required, easy to delete Zero performance loss	Win8 does not support sleep and other features.

This article uses another installation experience:Upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 8Windows 8 can be directly used as the main system.Original system settings, application software, and personal files are retainedYou do not need to configure it again.

First, Windows 8 optimizes the installation process. For example, you do not have to choose between "Upgrade" and "Custom" from a vague perspective like Windows 7, it is described as "what to keep in Windows 8 ":

Users only need to make a choice from their own perspective. This detail is sufficient to reveal the design ideas of Windows 8 "getting new again" and "user-centered.

Here, I select "Windows Settings, personal files, and applications". Therefore, the installer automatically recommends installing Windows 8 Based on my current system conditions, this process is very rapid, just like an experienced old doctor looking at the patient and then hitting the lesion:

According to the instructions, I uninstalled some applications that may be incompatible with Windows 8. Some of them, due to the inclusion of the underlying driver of the system, need to restart the computer after uninstallation, this operation violates the human nature principle and is obviously a technical limitation. Currently, this operation can only be done. In the future, the operating system will certainly not need to be restarted.

It is commendable that the Windows 8 installer that runs again after the restart remembers my previous choice, rather than starting with a new one, it makes up for the risk of user experience reduction caused by restart:

During the installation process after the restart, you only need to click the "Install" button throughout the process. The upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8 is fully automated, and what I need to do is take a good rest ......

 

Postscript:

I believe everyone is concerned about two points. One is the time it takes to upgrade, and the other is the degree of data retention. This upgrade took a total of 18 minutes. Except for the operating system upgrade, all of them did not change. For the first time, I felt as easy as changing the operating system: