The Windows 7 launch was bound to do good things for PC sales. Vista was awful and Win 7 has been lauded by reviewers as the best new Microsoft OS since XP. No one will be surprised to hear that last month's launch lead to a bump in PC sales. What is surprising, is just how much they bumped up by.

Electronista reports that a Morgan Stanley analyst has come out with the first sales data on the Windows 7 launch. NPD sales data points to a 40% boost in PC sales during launch week, compared to sales at the same time last year. The exact nature of the sales hints at a huge amount of Windows 7 sales, rather than a rapid liquidation of existing Vista hardware.

This is great news for Microsoft and PC manufacturers the world over. Everyone in the industry has to have been praying for a big boost from Win 7. Profits have been down sharply this year, thanks in part to the recession and in part to the dropping cost of notebooks. At this point, it's too early to say if Windows 7 will lead to increased PC sales over the holiday season, but this news is at least a good sign. Things may finally be on the mend.