For all Windows 7, Vista and XP users, there are some great free software downloads available to you.

The first, is the Windows Live Essentials Suite.

It contains the new Windows Live Mail and Instant Messenger programs, as well as Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Parental Controls and Writer (for blogging).

This software is now separate from the operating system (it would have likely come with Windows 7) due to anti-trust issues. If you are looking for the built in instant messenger or mail program for Windows 7, you won’t find one and will have to download Windows Live Essentials to get the latest Windows versions of these products.

If you don’t have Windows 7, no problem, as t is worth a look by users of all three operating systems.

Head over to http://www.download.live.com/ to grab a copy. Don’t forget, you can pick and choose which items you wish to install.

The next piece of software worth a look is Microsoft Security Essentials. A free virus, malware and spyware solution from Microsoft. If you are tired of paying a yearly subscription for anti-virus, or are just plain dissasitisfied with your current provider, it’s worth a look.

Microsoft Security Essentials can be downloaded from: http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

Lastly, if you are looking for a little extra protection to defend against spyware, look no further than to Microsoft Windows Defender. Microsoft’s free solution to combat spyware. This product will work with your existing anti-virus solution and provide you with that extra bit of additional protection you may just need. It generally works well with other security solutions, but if you do already have built-in spyware protection, you may want to test the compatibility of Windows Defender. You need to remember, running two spyware products, much like running any security software of the same type, at the same time, can cause issues.

Note: Windows 7 comes with Windows Defender already installed.

Microsoft Windows Defender can be downloaded from: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/default.mspx

Looking to save money on a full fledged version of Windows 7? Why not try an OEM version.

OEM or “original equipment manufacturer “  software is designed for system builders who intend to resell the computer that the software is installed on. Thus, the software is discounted.

The software does  not come  in a nice box, or contain anything other than a disc and the serial number.

Newegg.ca has some great deals on these versions:

Windows 7 Home Premium: $116.99

Windows 7 Professional: $154.99

Windows 7 Ultimate: $205.99

There is nothing stopping anyone from picking up an OEM copy and they are exactly the same as the non-OEM versions. Of course, you’ll be re-selling the computer you installed it on…

Please pay attention to the disclaimer.

*Disclaimer: Use of this OEM System Builder Channel software is subject to the terms of the Microsoft OEM System Builder License. This software is intended for pre-installation on a new personal computer for resale. This OEM System Builder Channel software requires the assembler to provide end user support for the Windows*

If you own a previous version of Windows that is qualified for the upgrade version of Windows 7, such as Windows XP or Vista, you may want to install Windows 7 on a machine without one of those previous versions currently installed, in other words perform a clean install.

Prior to Windows Vista, this was very easy. All you had to do was start the install process and then during this process you would be prompted for your old copy of Windows to be inserted into the CD/DVD drive and then the installation would continue. It was simple enough and a system that worked.

With Vista, this all changed and you could no longer simply provide your old copy of Windows. You had to have a previous (upgrade compatible) version of Windows already installed. The same still unfortunately applies to Windows 7.

There is however, a way around this. It’s a bit more time consuming, but it gets the job done.

Step 1: Install Windows 7 normally with your upgrade disc (using the custom option), but do not enter your product key during setup. Make sure to deselect “automatically activate when I’m online” as well.

Step 2: After the first install is finished, run setup from your Windows 7 disc again, but this time choose “Upgrade” instead of custom (advanced) install.

Voila, you just upgraded from Windows 7 to… Windows 7?

Yes, that’s right, Windows 7 is an acceptable upgrade path to itself.

Here is a great opportunity to get any questions you have about Windows 7 and your current  computing situation answered by the experts for free. Just head over to the Microsoft or HP forum’s tomorrow, November the 5th.

Note: if you can’t make it tomorrow, the offer is also available again on November the 19th and December the 1st.

From HP Canada Support:

You have questions on Windows 7?

We have answers.

On Thursday, November 5^th from 12:01 am to 11:59 pm eastern time (November 5th from 5:01 am to November 6th 4:59 am GMT time), experts will participate in special boards called “Windows 7 and Printing“, “Windows 7 and Notebooks,”and “Windows 7 and Desktops” to answer questions and give you suggestions on how to get the most out of Microsoft’s latest OS and your HP products.

You’ll have access to more than 73  experts on Windows 7. Talk with the best and brightest minds at HP, Microsoft, and Symantec. Highly knowledgeable members from this Forum as well as Microsoft’s Forum will also answer questions and share their insights.

This day will be especially helpful for those interested in:

• An introduction to Windows 7;

• Upgrading existing systems to Windows 7;

• Connecting your wireless printer to a Windows 7PC;

• And much more.

The conversations will be hosted on new boards that will be created specifically for this day. They will be found in the “Welcome to the Forum” section next to this Announcement board and the “Tips and Tricks” board.

Hope to seeyou on the 5th!

*In case you are not available on November 5^th, we will be repeating this opportunity on November 19^th and December 1^st. *

HP Forums: http://h30434.www3.hp.com/psg/

Microsoft Forums: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/windows7

Looking to make the jump to Windows 7, but have no idea which version is the right one for you? Well look no further, for a quick and simple breakdown to help you make that choice without any of the extra fuss.

Step 1: Deciding what features you really need.  This is really the most important step, as it will largely determine which product  you ultimately select.

For the vast majority of regular users, you can forget the following versions altogether:

• Windows 7 Basic (for budget/third world country PC solutions)
• Windows 7 Starter (for budget computers, contains a stripped down version with limited features)
• Windows 7 Ultimate (for power users that need encryption and more language supprot)
• Windows 7 Enterprise (for businesses).

Your real choices are: Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Professional. The big difference between the two, boils down to parental controls and “XP mode”. For whatever reason Windows 7 Professional does not support parental controls, if you need them and the features of the Professional version, you’ll have to get Windows 7 Ultimate and pay extra.

The big advantage Professional has over Home Premium is that of XP mode. The ability to run older Windows XP based applications/programs in a special “mode” that essentially emulates (replicates) a Windows XP  environment. This is great if you have a  number of programs from Windows XP you still want to use and you are worried about them working on Windows 7.

However, Windows 7 is pretty good in terms of compatibility and moreover, there is a catch (surprise, surprise). Your computer’s processor/CPU must support “hardware-assisted virtualization”. What exactly this is, isn’t important, but knowing whether your computer supports this, is essential.

The easiest way to find out, is to run GRC’s Securable. It will tell you in an instant if you meet that requirement.

Step 2: Do I get a 64-bit version or a 32-bit version. The simple answer is:  get the 64-bit version. Virtually all new computers have had support for this for some time now and there is no reason not to make the change, as this is the way things are heading. Not to mention if you plan to upgrade your computers memory down the line, or even have 4 GB or more of memory right now, you wont’ be able to use all that memory without a 64-bit version. If you are unsure if your computer’s processor/CPU will support a 64-bit version of Windows, look no further than to GRC’s Securable again.

Step 3: Should I get an upgrade or full version? The two big differences between an upgrade version and a full version boil down to price and how you’ll end up installing Windows. The upgrade version is considerably cheaper than the full version, so if you own a computer with Windows XP or Vista already on it, the upgrade version is likely the way you’ll want to go.

Installation can be tricky, depending on what you want to do. With an upgrade version, you have two options: a clean install (start from scratch) or an upgrade.

For the clean install, you are still required to have an existing version of Windows (either XP or Vista) installed to work. You cannot simply provide the disc during installation. This has been a major inconvenience brought upon since Windows Vista. There is, however, a workaround to this (more on this in a future post).

When it comes to upgrading, you can only run a true upgrade  (keeping all your files and settings)  from Windows Vista. This must be the corresponding version though, so Windows Vista Home Premium can only upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium for example.

For the full version, you can install however you please. All previous options apply, as well as a clean install option that you can use without the need for any prior version of Windows needing to be installed. If you do get a full version, look for OEM (original equipment manufacturer) discounted copies. These are really designed for “mom and pop” computer building operations, but often you can find and order these deals as an individual (and of course you are building computers in your basement).

Step 4: How many copies do I need? The last things to consider, is the number of copies you’d like to purchase. If you need more than one copy, look for discounts by purchasing “Family Packs”. These provide  3 licenses (or more) in one package, so you can install Windows 7 on multiple computers.

At the end of the day, remember, if you do choose the wrong version by mistake, you can always use the Microsoft Windows anytime upgrade feature. Just launch it from within Windows 7 and upgrade to a better version for the difference in cost.