Mr. Rost,

I would like to upgrade from Vista 64 to Windows 7. I am concerned that I will lose the programs currently installed on my computer. My wife has like 10 Sims games on here and does not have the CS's to reinstall. I am wondering how I would save all of the programs on my hard drive and then be able to reinstall them on the Windows 7 OS? Should I just use something to clone my drive? I do not want to boot from the disk, I just wan to be able to have my software on the new OS.
Thank you very much for your time.
Rick

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Answer from Richard Rost:

99% of the time, the best thing to do is backup your DATA files (documents, game info, email, pictures, etc.) then reformat and install a FRESH copy of the new OS. Then reinstall all of your apps from their install CDs/DVDs. Then restore your backup. There is no EASY or RELIABLE way to copy all of your apps to a new OS without installing them. Beware of programs that claim to do so.