In readiness for the release of Microsoft Windows 7 you can check the compatibility of your existing computer to see if it is likely to run Windows 7 effectively. This is achieved by downloading the Microsoft Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Beta.

Once downloaded this program will assess your computer memory, processor, video card, drivers, key software and other devices and present you with a compatibility result for your particular machine. Once started it does warn it will take a few minutes – on my machine it took about twelve minutes but at least you can leave it running on its own. Also, remember to connect and switch on any essential devices to ensure they are included in the tests. Once complete you can view the test results on screen or save them for later viewing.

Windows 7 does have a number of system requirements which Microsoft have announced on their website, including:

• 1 Gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1 Gigabyte memory for the 32-bit (usual) version or 2 Gigabyte memory for the 64-bit version
• 16 Gigabyte of available hard disk space for 32-bit or 20 Gigabyte for 64-bit
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

There are a number of other, more specific requirements, and more information can be obtained from the Microsoft Windows 7 System Requirements Page.

You can see in this report that my machine passed the four basic system requirements of CPU speed, memory, hard drive space, and Windows Aero support. My key devices also passed the tests however there are a number of programs which have been flagged for further investigation including Symantec Endpoint Protection, Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Professional, and a number of HP Tools which came with the laptop.

Download the tool and check your compatibility: Microsoft Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Beta.

Image Credit: Microsoft