Upgrading from XP in Snow Leopard

[sinser]

I have several macs with Snow Leopard on which Windows Xp is running under bootcamp. I have downloaded Windows 7 .iso files from Microsoft Dreamspark, but I'm confused about the correct steps to do in order to upgrade. Can someone please help ?

 

[Altemose]

I have several macs with Snow Leopard on which Windows Xp is running under bootcamp. I have downloaded Windows 7 .iso files from Microsoft Dreamspark, but I'm confused about the correct steps to do in order to upgrade. Can someone please help ?

Are you trying to do clean installs or an "upgrade" installation. An upgrade install will move the older XP installation into a Windows.old install. I would start fresh if I were you. Ensure you have enough Windows 7 keys too!

 

[sinser]

Are you trying to do clean installs or an "upgrade" installation. An upgrade install will move the older XP installation into a Windows.old install. I would start fresh if I were you. Ensure you have enough Windows 7 keys too!

Sorry, I noticed your answer just now. For several reasons the upgrade has been delayed, but now we are ready.
We can install win 7 but also win 8. Can I upgrade from xp to win 7 simply from xp using the installation software ? And if I want to upgrade to Windows 8 ? Should I update Os x too in that case ? As I wrote we are still running snow leopard.

 

[Altemose]

Sorry, I noticed your answer just now. For several reasons the upgrade has been delayed, but now we are ready.

We can install win 7 but also win 8. Can I upgrade from xp to win 7 simply from xp using the installation software ? And if I want to upgrade to Windows 8 ? Should I update Os x too in that case ? As I wrote we are still running snow leopard.

What I would do is download the proper Windows Support files from Apple's website and load it onto a USB stick. That way you can update the Windows partition without needing to keep opening Boot Camp Assistant under OS X. I recommend formatting the partition rather than a upgrade as I find Windows upgrades to be sloppy.

 

[sinser]

What I would do is download the proper Windows Support files from Apple's website and load it onto a USB stick. That way you can update the Windows partition without needing to keep opening Boot Camp Assistant under OS X. I recommend formatting the partition rather than a upgrade as I find Windows upgrades to be sloppy.

It's just not clear to me if OS X Lion/Mountain Lion is needed to upgrade. What I'll try to do is install Windows 8 while running Windows XP and then download bootcamp drivers on an USB stick. Formatting is out of question, because as far as I know, there's not a real upgrade from XP to 7 or 8, just a clean install and I don't care about keeping old data (there are only old student Excel and Access projects).

 

[Altemose]

It's just not clear to me if OS X Lion/Mountain Lion is needed to upgrade. What I'll try to do is install Windows 8 while running Windows XP and then download bootcamp drivers on an USB stick. Formatting is out of question, because as far as I know, there's not a real upgrade from XP to 7 or 8, just a clean install and I don't care about keeping old data (there are only old student Excel and Access projects).

No. You could erase the whole drive if you wanted and run just Windows. OS X is completely independent from Windows even in Boot Camp.