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How can I upgrade my netbook from XP to Windows 7?

Windows XP is coming to the end of its life and Dave wants to know how to replace it with Windows 7… though there may be better options

Windows XP
Windows XP Photograph: Mark Sykes/Alamy

Windows XP goes out of support in April, so I’m looking for guidance on how best to go about replacing it with Windows 7. The Microsoft site has a tutorial, but is still somewhat baffling, and it seems fairly time-consuming. Would I be wasting my time pressing on? I am not keen on replacing an otherwise satisfactory netbook with a tablet.

Dave Horne

Microsoft will soon stop releasing security patches for Windows XP, though it will continue to provide updates for its anti-virus program, Microsoft Security Essentials. XP will keep on working, but it will be more dangerous to use it, because malware writers will be able to find security holes in XP by examining the patches for later versions of Windows. Someone with safe surfing habits and good backups could keep using XP, though I wouldn’t recommend it. Less knowledgeable and less vigilant users should change.

Some netbooks and laptops already include a solution in the form of a separate Linux-based operating system called Splashtop. This is installed under a variety of names: Asus ExpressGate, HP QuickWeb, and so on. It’s not very nice, but you could use Splashtop online and Windows XP offline.

Picking Windows

The first step with a Windows upgrade is always the same: download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, or the Windows 8.1 Upgrade Assistant. These will check your current system for compatibility. Most PCs that run XP should run Windows 7 or 8, but if you only have 1GB of memory, it would be worth expanding this to 2GB, if you can.

I’d consider Windows 8 because it is a better operating system than Windows 7. It’s more economical in its use of resources, smoother in operation, has improved security features, and will be upgradeable to the next version of Windows. Yes, the Start screen works better with touch, but you can set 8.1 to boot straight to the desktop, and/or install utilities that make it work more like Windows 7. Examples include Start8 and Classic Shell.

You don’t have to worry about Windows Modern (aka Metro) apps because they will not run on a netbook’s limited 1024 x 600 pixel screen display. They need at least 1024 x 768 pixels, unless you use “downscaling” as explained at

However, you missed the launch upgrade offers, so Windows 8 could cost you more. Checking, the best offers at the moment are 32-bit Windows 7 Ultimate on DVD (OEM edition) for £49.99 and the Windows 8 Pro Upgrade Edition -- which includes both 32-bit and 64-bit versions -- for £99.99. OEM editions are provided for system builders or Original Equipment Manufacturers so the price does not include any support.

Note that you will need the 32-bit version if your netbook has the usual Intel Atom processor, though a 64-bit processor and operating system would obviously be better.

Doing the upgrade

There are two main problems with upgrading to Windows 7. First, Microsoft only supports one-step upgrades and (because of Vista) Windows 7 is two steps from XP. So, you can’t do an “in place” upgrade, only a “clean installation” that replaces XP completely. You will therefore need to back up all your data beforehand and re-install all your programs afterwards. Microsoft provides the Windows Easy Transfer for Windows XP program to help, but it will still take some time.

Second, your netbook does not have a built-in DVD drive, so you will have to find another way to install Windows 7. The simplest is to add an external DVD drive via a USB port, but if you don’t already own one, this would be another extra cost. The usual solution is to create a bootable 4GB or larger USB thumb drive, and use a second PC to copy all the files from the Windows DVD to that.

It’s a bit tricky to create a bootable USB thumb drive formatted with the Windows NTFS file system. The TechSpot website has a comprehensive guide, but it’s probably simpler to use one of the utilities designed for the purpose. WiNToBootic is fast and versatile because you can use a DVD, a hard drive folder, or an ISO disc image as the source. Alternatives include Rufus, WinToFlash, and Windows Bootable Image (WBI) Creator.

Microsoft also offers a free utility: the Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool. This assumes you only have one PC, and that you will download an ISO disc image of Windows 7. If you can access your Windows DVD on a second PC, you can create an ISO image with CD/DVD burning software, such as ImgBurn.

Once you have the Windows 7 files on your USB thumbdrive, change the boot order in your netbook’s BIOS chip to boot from USB, then install Windows in the normal way. Bear in mind that if it all goes wrong, you will need to restore a back-up image of XP from an external hard drive.

Is it worth it? Not really…

Is it worth all the time and effort on top of the financial outlay? It depends whether messing about with PCs is a hobby or, if not, how much you value your time. If you have to restore a lot of data, re-install software and re-download a dozen or more utilities (Firefox, SlimClean, FreeFileSync, Dropbox, Kindle etc) then it’s going to take at least a day.

Either way, the upgrade is not a good financial investment. Second hand netbooks usually fetch from £25 to £100 on, and even an immaculate, year-old Asus Eee PC X101CH only fetched £102 this week. There are thousands of netbooks sloshing around, and many of them go by without attracting any bids.

If you want to continue using a netbook, I think you have two rational options: either run a free Linux such as Lubuntu -- which will still take time to install and learn, and won’t run your old software -- or sell it and buy a second hand netbook running Windows 7 or Windows 7 Starter. This is not the full version, but it does the job.

Unfortunately, netbooks provide a very limited computing experience compared to light Windows 7 laptops and Windows 8 hybrids. For example, you could get a brand new “netbook” such as the Asus X102BA for £276.18. Admittedly it has a very slow 1.0GHz AMD A4-1200 processor, but compared with your current machine, it has more memory (4GB), a bigger hard drive (500GB), faster comms (USB3), better graphics (Radeon HD8180), better screen resolution (1366 x 768 pixels), a touch-screen, 64-bit Windows 8, and a free copy of Microsoft Office 2013 Home and Student worth £115. It will also save you a lot of time by booting, hibernating, and shutting down faster, and it should load web pages noticeably faster. There are many similar machines around, including hybrids with detachable tablet screens.

It’s good to make things last, up to a point, but sometimes they become obsolete. A new mini-laptop like the Asus X102BA is cheaper than many tablets and smartphones, and should last much longer, so it will provide better value in the long run.

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