Two weeks after the launch of Windows 7 and I think we can safely say it went rather well. There was a successful build-up to the launch, a huge buzz created around the new operating system, and despite a few upgrade hiccups very few technical difficulties for end users. And first week sales figures suggest consumers responded by opening their wallets.

Microsoft has found a solution to a problem which caused some Windows 7 upgrades to freeze up before completion. But the firm has yet to solve a separate problem where machines are caught in a reboot cycle.

The advance hype is over and Windows 7 is now out in finished form (well, as finished as constantly updated software can be). Should you upgrade? That’s a question only you can answer, but we’ve got some tips and suggestions to help make that decision.

It took its time in finally arriving but it’s now here at last. Windows 7 went on general sale yesterday around the world. In many ways, the true test for Microsoft’s new operating system now begins. Beta testing is fine but it cannot ever hope to compete with millions of average everyday PC users installing and using the OS on their machines.

If you are upgrading to Windows 7 from XP, or if you are upgrading from Vista but changing editions (for example Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Ultimate rather than Windows 7 Home Premium), you will need to carry out a clean install. Unless you are going to partition your drive, this will mean reformatting your hard drive and wiping out all the data on it. Here are some pointers to minimize the hassle this causes.

Corporate sales of Windows 7 could get off to a good start if businesses follow the advice of a leading analyst firm. Gartner has suggested companies should skip the common policy of avoiding a new operating system until its first service pack.

The countdown to Windows 7 continues with news that Intel testers have given an overwhelmingly positive response to the system. Meanwhile several unorthodox editions are available: an official signature edition for party hosts and some somewhat less official editions on eBay.

The whole world is still locked into a recession right now, and one of the sectors hit for consumer spending is technology. But there could be a savior on the horizon, and it’s probably not the one most people would have pictured. That’s right folks, Microsoft is about to save us by releasing Windows 7, an OS that could potentially persuade us all to spend once more.

Windows 7 will be officially released in a matter of weeks, but if you’re in the market for a new PC, when will you be able to run the new system? We explain your options for getting hold of Vista’s successor and the relevant timelines for doing so.

Microsoft has told business customers that there’s no reason to wait until Windows 7 hits store shelves to begin upgrading. It’s bringing forward the release of tools designed to ease the process in a corporate setting.

Should you upgrade or do a clean install once Windows 7 hits? Which will take longer, which will cause more bother? I’m afraid those questions aren’t easy to answer because it all depends on what system you have, how much data you have saved and what applications you have running. Microsoft reports that one Vista to Windows 7 upgrade could take almost a whole day to complete.

In the month before Windows 7 is released, monthly figures show the biggest ever switch from XP to Vista. But the gulf between the two remains immense.

Windows 7 will get off to a flying start as buyers snap up new computers in the fall. Or, put another way, Windows 7 will struggle at first as buyers take a piecemeal approach to upgrading.

Among the thousands of articles about Windows 7 during its lengthy development process, it’s perhaps inevitable two writers would take the same approach. With pro- and anti- articles this week, it’s time to see whose “seven good reasons” to switch from XP to Windows 7 stands up best.

Windows 7 is being talked up with nothing but the utmost praise. In that sense it’s the antitheses of Vista. In fact, Vista would have given a few limbs to have even half the positive press Windows 7 has been blessed with. But this doesn’t mean consumers will pay over the odds for Microsoft’s new operating system. So, with interest waning, could new cheap Windows 7 pre-order deals be on the way?