I've purchased and downloaded Windows 7. Right now, I have the beta version that will expire in one hour. What will happen to the thousands of photos I have stored on my hard drive? Will the install wipe them all out? I've never done this before and I'm a little anxious.

On Tue, 1 Jun 2010 04:02:50 +0000, BH0617 wrote: > I've purchased and downloaded Windows 7. Right now, I have the beta version that will expire in one hour. What will happen to the thousands of photos I have stored on my hard drive? Will the install wipe them all out? Yes. It will wipe out everything on the drive. > I've never done this before and I'm a little anxious. Two points: 1. Before installing the RTM version, copy all of your photos and anything else you can't afford to lose to external media. Then, after installation, copy them back. 2. Your question indicates that you have no backup of your photos. If that's the case, you are playing with fire. Installation of RTM version or not, it's not matter of *whether* you will lose everything on your drive, it's a matter of *when*. I recommend that you read this article I've written about backup: "Back Up Your Computer Regularly and Reliably" at http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=314 Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003 Ken Blake

You can also set the clock back on your computer in BIOS Setup, unplug your internet connection so Win 7 RC doesn't automatically reset the clock from a internet time server, then backup all your personal data. Once that's done, set the clock back to it's correct value and install the retail version of Windows 7 you downloaded. See here for a method you can use to upgrade RC to a RTM version of Windows 7 that works well: Upgrade Windows 7RC to any retail version This is not a recommended thing to do, but it does work. It is a much better idea to do a clean install of the new version of Windows 7 after saving you data, but if that is not possible for some reason, you can try it. I've used it and it did work for me, bur there is no guarantee that something won't go wrong during the process and you end up with a non usable system. Backup your data now as Ken said, before doing anything else.Rich Why can't I be different and original like everybody else? - Vivian Stanshal

Your data will not get wiped out unless your reformat the drive. Installing a fresh copy of Windows 7 will move your data to a Windows.old folder if you do not delete the partition and/or reformat the drive. However, just in case, you should copy the data you do not want to lose to several different storage devices. Because your hard drive will fail, and the backup will fail also. (allways assume this to be true, or you will have regrets).

1. Back up you user accounts with windows easy transferer and save the file to DVD or USB. 2. Back your personal stuff with explorer as standard file copying to a DVD or USB stick so if the easy transfer fails you still have something. When you install the RTM will have a choice for which partittion to install it to. Don't format the partition and the RC will be moved to a folder "windows_old". After the RTM is up and running you can dig into windows_old and find your photos music etc. Even so, back up using both methods above this paragraph.

You can also use Easy Transfer to back up your profile and data. Then you can format the system partition and reinstall the Official version. Windows 7 Features Windows Easy Transfer Arthur Xie - MSFT