Upgrading digikam

I am currently using digikam 6.4.0. I would like to upgrade to 7.1. Using Windows 8.1. Do I need to uninstall the old version before installing the newer version? Also the 6.4.0 version, many times will not start properly. Most times it says it cannot access the database and I have to shut down and try to restart. Will the new version start up without issues?

Usually, the old version is uninstalled automatically when you install the new one.

All good.
Thank you