support.com Offers Cure for Windows 7 Migration "Migraine"

Online Migration Service Most Convenient Way to Get to Windows 7

The launch of Windows 7 on October 22nd is fast approaching and with it are anticipated problems for many who migrate to the new operating system from either Windows XP or Vista. Even tech-savvy PC owners may find making the switch a challenge.

For them, as well as harried moms, tech-challenged seniors and those more interested in spending their weekend watching football instead of dealing with computer problems, support.com, a leading provider of online technology support services, is introducing its Windows 7 Online Migration Service, a more convenient and less stressful way to upgrade to Windows 7.

A customized remote service, the support.com Windows 7 Online Migration Service is a real-time, one-on-one experience for those who desire extra help when switching from Windows XP or Vista to Windows 7.

Details of the support.com Windows 7 Online Migration Service: 1). A real-time online service by experienced Solutions Engineers; 2). Migrates programs, files and settings from Windows XP and Windows; 3). Vista to Windows 7 on an existing computer -- in-place -- without requiring a second computer; 4). Utilizes LapLink technology, a trusted leader in PC migration; 5). Supports 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7; 6). Available on October 22; 7). Costs $49 if purchased with either a Personal, Family or Home Office; and 8). Plan subscription from support.com. If purchased without a subscription the Windows 7 Service costs $149.

For the full press release, click here.

Backup Strategy to the Rescue (after hard drive failure)

There is nothing more catastrophic to a computer than a hard drive failure. Hard drives are the one component where failure can mean a complete loss of data. This is a cautionary tale from a real experience about the importance of having a backup strategy for your data.

Over the past few weeks one of my computers has been acting erratically - locking up at random every couple of days. I used my support.com subscription to get some advice and as I suspected my hard drive was on the verge of failing.

The computer in question is my media hub (that I wrote about previously) - the central store for all of our family's music, photos and home videos. 200+ gigabytes of memories and online purchases about to crumble into digital dust. Sounds like a tragedy - but it wasn't. It was a minor inconvenience in the end.

Learning from earlier mistakes, I protect this critical personal computer with a comprehensive (but not expensive) backup strategy. First I'll summarize what I did proactively:

Automatic backup to a USB-connected hard drive - using SyncToy (freely available from Microsoft's website) and the built-in scheduling capabilities in Windows Vista my computer automatically backs up personal folders nightly. That provides me with a fast way to restore files but was only part of my backup strategy.

Automatic online backup - there are multiple providers of online backup and I use one of the more popular options.

Why do both a USB drive backup and online backup? A few reasons:

• Redundancy - my data is in multiple places - on the PC, the USB drive and in the "cloud" or online backup provider (who also backup your backup in their network storage facility)
• Offsite (survives a fire or water damage)
• More comprehensive (online backup solutions backup items I haven't configured SyncToy to grab)
• Flexible recovery - it is faster to backup and store 200 GB from a USB drive than uploading / downloading 200 GB from the web

I didn't use to be so proactive about backup... the last time a hard drive failed I had to re-rip hundreds of CDs to build back my MP3 collection. Lesson learned.

With every failed hard drive there is an opportunity to rebuild a bit better - which I've done. I installed a new, larger, quieter and greener (less power) hard drive to replace the failed drive. I re-installed Windows Vista but upgraded to the 64-bit version to take advantage of a memory upgrade.

I then restored the bulk of my files from the USB backup drive and then restored the rest (the odds and ends you never remember to backup) from the online backup provider.

A bit of a nuisance - yes - but a crisis? No. Because everything that mattered was backed up - not once, but multiple times (and in multiple places). I was protected.

If you'd like help doing the same online technology service companies like support.com (where I work) can help get you there. With all memories now going digital it is important that families - not just corporations - proactively backup data now (to avoid tears later).