I have been running the Windows 7 beta on my home computer for the last month. Last night I updated my main work computer from Vista Business to the release candidate of Windows 7.

It is not possible to upgrade from the beta to the RC – that is annoying.

But the upgrade from Vista Business to Windows 7 went almost without a hitch.

The upgrade will not proceed if there are incompatible programmes installed on your computer. In my case the only problem was Raxco Perfect Disk – in my opinion the best defragmentation utility available for Windows systems.

Unfortunately, the Perfect Disk uninstall programme leaves a number of files behind, so that even after you have uninstalled Perfect Disk, Windows sees programme files on your hard drive and will not permit the Windows 7 upgrade.

To overcome this (this may work for other programmes as well), uninstall Perfect Disk from the Control Panel and restart the computer.

Then go to My Computer, C Drive, Program Files and look for the Raxco folder (or other folder if it is another programme which is causing the problem). Delete the entire folder. Make sure you only delete the folder of the programme you have already uninstalled from the Control Panel! Then restart the computer again.

Or use a programme like Perfect Uninstaller, which checks for left over registry keys, programme files and settings.

You should now be able to proceed with the Windows 7 upgrade.

Once I got past that little hiccup, Windows 7 installed quickly and smoothly, and kept all settings and shortcuts in place. It was the easiest upgrade I have ever done.