Hardware Upgrade Questions
Dec 10, 2009
I've upgraded all of my computers to Windows 7. Including my wife and children's older computer. I build all of my desktops myself so there's no particular model number or brand name for any of the desktop computers. After loading Windows 7 on my wife's machine I noticed that Windows 7 still seemed a bit sluggish. This is due to the fact that all of the hardware in it is pretty old.
So here are my questions. Is Microsoft going to give me a hard time for upgrading this computer after only a month of 7 use? Or am I going to be able to upgrade motherboard, cpu, graphics and memory with no trouble?
I should add that Windows 7 was installed using an Upgrade DVD if that helps.
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Nov 17, 2009
I am on Vista Home Premium at present. I bought the upgrade to Windows 7. I have two questions:
1) Is it true that when you upgrade from Vista to Windows 7, all of your installed programs basically remain intact and working, or do you have to re-install everything again from scratch? I believe that the documentation in the box said that if you are on XP, you would have to reinstall MS Office and some other programs. What is the situation in upgrading from Vista?
2) Partly in order to find out the answer to the above, I decided to upgrade my laptop first because it has relatively few installed programs on it compared to my PC. I tried on three separate occasions to do the upgrade. On each occasion, it went all the way through to the very end, completing all of the listed steps. However, it then stated that Windows 7 could NOT be installed on this computer and then unwound the entire thing, leaving me with Vista again.
Why, is a mystery to me because when I ran the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, it did not highlight any problems that would prevent the installation. Yes, it did point out one printer driver which might not work after the upgrade and advised me to uninstall it (which I did NOT do - might that be the problem?), but apart from that it seemed to be happy with the situation.
3) Do I really need a skilled technician to do this upgrade or can I not just do it all myself? If some major backup and re-installation of complex drivers is necessary, then maybe I need one. But is this really going to happen, or is the whole thing as self-explanatory as it seemed while doing it on my laptop?
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Oct 24, 2009
On my laptop i have a limited amount of HD space i currently have 37 gb free of a 160 gb drive. After i upgrade to Windows 7 is there any way i can delete my old vista files? and if so where would they be located and is it safe to delete them?
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Oct 27, 2009
I just a purchased a brand new laptop. I have had it less than a week and qualify for the windows 7 upgrade. I would prefer to do a clean install, but not wish to lose certain programs that came default on the laptop (ex: powerDVD for playing blu ray, will cost $160 to replace).
Questions:
1.) With my Vista install as fresh as it is ,will upgrading to 7 be that much worse than a clean install?
2.) If I choose to clean install, is there a way to recover the programs without a repurchase (some way to back up an installed program on a flashdrive in a way that it can be moved or installed on the new OS)?
3.) If i have to upgrade instead of clean install, will running a registry cleaning program like "Clean My Registry" clean out the goop left behind by Vista? Or will it likely cause more issues?
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Oct 25, 2009
can someone please clarify a few things for me.
1. the upgrade disks and the full disks are exactly the same EXCEPT the upgrade one requires proof that you own a copy of vista or xp.
2. what kind of proof does it require? does it just ask you for an XP/vista serial during the install?
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Aug 18, 2009
Anyways I've used windows xp happily for years, but I want to make the switch from windows 7 being in a slow, sluggish, crappy virtual pc to being setup as a dual boot. I've never set this up before so I have a few questions.
Firstly I've been trying to use gparted, but its not working. I know how set up an iso for burning and all, thats not the problem. Yes my computer is set to boot from cd first, I know that! But I don't understand why its not working.. Anyways for those that have used it, I've heard that you keep all your files on the hard disc when partitioning? Is this a load of crap? Or do you really? And if I can't get this to work what other program should I use?
Secondly whats the best way to back everything up. I did a complete backup using the backup utility, but at the end it said something about it could make an ASR because I don't have a Floppy Disc. I read online that all that does is help me boot the computer right into the backup incase something major goes wrong. If I ignore this then I will just have to install XP again and then back everything up?
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Nov 17, 2009
I've got a few questions regarding networking in general and then some issues that have popped up since upgrading (in place) to Windows 7.
1) Generic question: If I were to install a Wireless N router would the wireless network default to the slowest connection on the network? For example, if I had two N wireless adapters and one B adapter would the entire network run at B speeds? If so, would a dual band router allow me to circumvent the issue?
2) Generic question: Would the same issue as outlined in #1 be a problem in a wired network? Can I mix 10/100 and gigE on the same wired network and achieve gig speeds between gig-enabled devices?
3) Specific: I have an HP dv9500t that I upgraded to Windows 7. HP has not released Windows 7 drivers for this machine but I have been able to work around the few issues that I encountered. However, my wireless connection to my Linksys AP (Wireless-G broadband router WRT54G2 with up-to-date s/w) seems to be dropping and recovering on a regular basis. I have not seen the issue on any other wireless network. If I am downloading a large file (say 1G) the d/l will proceed at full speed for ~45 seconds and then drop to zero for ~45 seconds. I'll usually get the "limited connectivity" alert but then the link will restore itself and begin transferring again.
I've run some of the Linksys diags when it is down and it usually tells me that the default gateway is unavailable and resets my wireless adapter and the whole routine starts again. Quite frustrating. I've worked with Linksys tech support (they claim no known issues with Windows 7) and their supposition is that it is an interference issue and they suggest I change wireless channels.
I've tried 6 different channels and the issue does not change. I have tried upgrading the adapter drivers the the latest available from HP (Vista drivers, not Windows 7) and have also tried drivers from the adapter manufacturer (Intel Wireless WiFi link 4965AGN, Win 7 drivers) but the issue is still there. I have also rest my AP back to factory defaults to no avail. It certainly could be that I have burned through yet another wireless AP but before replacing it I wanted to see if anyone might have suggestions.
4) Since, as far as I know, Homegroup cannot be used unless all of the PCs on the network are Windows 7 I am trying to utilize Workgroup settings to config my network. The problem is that my wirelessly connected laptop does not seem to have access to my wired workgroup unless I set the SSID of the AP to the same name as my workgroup. Is this normal operation or is there a good tutorial around showing me how to set this up?
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Dec 27, 2009
Really know nothing re Drivers, except that it is apparently a good idea, always, to use the latest.
Anyway, was thinking of possibly downloading the latest drivers for my Radeon graphics card from the ATI site.
(But my questiosn really relates to any drivers, not just those for my graphics card)
My understanding is that one is supposed to delete the present drivers from the control panel prior to downloading and installing the new ones.
BTW: I looked in "Control Panel," but it is not clear to me how one deletes, safely, the present drivers for a particular program. How is this done, please ?
So, what happens immediately after the deletion of the present drivers before any new ones are installed ?
Will my graphics card (or any other program where I have removed them) still function even without "any" drivers at this point ? How is it possible ?
If someone could explain this for me, would be appreciative.
Also, I read that one should use in addition a "driver cleaner".
Why is this (also) necessary ?
What would be your recommendation for a good free or inexpensive one that is
also safe ?
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Nov 16, 2009
I am going to dual boot Windows 7 (Home Premium) using a separate new Hard Disk Drive, with XP already installed on the old existing Hard Drive and using the instructions in this link:-
Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP
As it is the first time I have tried something like this could someone answer a couple of questions for me?
1: The XP drivers (Chipset, Graphics, LAN, Audio etc.) and an Antivirus, together with any required software/programs, are already installed on the original XP HDD.
When I have installed Windows 7 on the second/new HDD, do I then boot the Windows 7 OS and install the Windows 7 drivers (Chipset, Graphics, LAN, Audio etc.) and an Antivirus together with any software I want to run on Windows 7 (even if that software was already installed previously for XP?) It seems funny having two sets of drivers (XP & Win 7) and Antivirus on the one machine.
2: XP runs all the programs that I need and I am just trying out Windows 7 at the moment so Win 7 restore points are not very important to me.
If that is the case, can I just ignore the fact that XP may delete the Win 7 restore points, in a dual boot, and not bother with the procedure (explained in the above link) to prevent this from happening?
To stop XP from deleting your Windows 7 System Restore Points everytime XP is started, then see System Restore Points - Stop XP Dual Boot Delete to hide Windows 7 from XP. I intend to drop XP and move over to Win 7 eventually so this will just be a temporary setup. Many thanks for any replies.
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Nov 20, 2009
Homegroup or Sharing?
Which should I do. Its my home office computers. I'd like to be able to access files between both machines. Doing this, what precautions should I make that noone can get into my system? I'm a little hesitant to share ALL files on both computers between each other. But i'd like to!
I'm playing with Sharing now but i'm noticing that sometimes when I save a file on one computer it isn' accessible to the other computer until I right click and SHare it. I thought by sharing the folder it would just share every new file. Is there a way to do that?
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Nov 6, 2009
Basically i will have:-
HDD no 1 with 1 partition;
C:/ - Win 7 Pro x64 installed
HDD no 2 with 2 partitions;
D:/ - Data (files.....pictures, documents, programs i've d/l etc) around 80Gb of data
E:/ - Recovery partition (Vista HP x64 factory recovery, as the laptop came supplied)
If you run the Windows 7 system image only backup and do all your HDD's and partitions can you restore individual files from that image?
Or do you have to do the data backup of all drives and tick the system image tickbox as well and then still you can only pick from the files you chose to be backed up from under the data backup?
If you understand that.
Basically can i back it all up and choose what i want to re-install upon recovery eg booting from the Windows 7 DVD and choosing repair?
Also i have a netbook with Windows 7 Ultimate RC installed, trying to back up to my laptop over the network it still asks for a username and password when setting it up (OK box is greyed out otherwise) but i dont have a username or pw (single user so didnt input a pw). what do you do in this case?
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Apr 26, 2012
When a link is launched from IE9 and needs to open in a different application, then a couple of security questions are presented before launching it for the first time. How can I reset these questions? (the selection made) Preferably, just for that type of link. Or alternatively, for all such questions.
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Aug 11, 2009
I currently have an old P4 running 32-bit Windows 7 RC. I don’t think I can put 64-bit on that machine, but I am considering 64-bit on the retail version when it is released in October. I tested about thirty 32-bit shareware and freeware applications on 32-bit Windows 7 RC and they all work well. My questions concern 32-bit drivers and unsigned 32-bit and 64-bit drivers on Windows 7 64-bit retail.
I have seen references to a BCedit command. I ran Bcdedit /set Bcdedit nointegritychecks ON on my Vista SP2 machine and it ran successfully. I have not tested what it will let me do as I now have no Vista driver issues. Here are my questions:
Which of these is the correct command to disable the signature check on Windows 7 RC?
bcdedit /set loadoptions DISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS
bcedit –SET TESTSIGN NO
Is there any reason to use the correct command rather than using F8 during the boot process?
Does the correct command work for both unsigned 32-bit and unsigned 64-bit drivers on a 64-bit Windows 7 system?
Is the correct command useful on both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 for driver signing issues generally?
I assume the command works for only 1 boot cycle. Given that, is there any reason to run a command to re-enable the driver signing check if one reboots again after the driver installation?
Is there any other solution other than third party software, which I would prefer to avoid as I don’t expect to run into a driver issue frequently?
What is a decent estimate of how many of my 32-bit applications that work well on 32-bit Vista SP2 will install and work well on 64-bit Windows 7 retail, assuming I use the correct command to disable the signature check?
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Dec 20, 2010
i was really hesitant since XP worked what i at least THOUGHT was well. But Windows 7 is so much quicker and seamless. Anyways, 1st question is on XP i would drag a shortcut to the taskbar and it would then be usable and work as the original shortcut did. With windows 7 it doesn't wok.
For example, i have a text file that i keep on another drive and i put a shortcut to it on my taskbar. In XP i'd click it and the file would pop up as you'd expect. On windows 7 if i drag that text file to the taskbar, when i click the resulting shortcut instead of the file i just get a new empty notepad.
If i right click it (i THINK it was by R/clicking) then a list of various notepad files i've viewed pops up and i can choose it from there. But i just want it to be a shortcut to the particular txt file. Is there a way? second, i see shortcuts don't have the file's pathway or "address" if you will in them. I miss that for a number of reasons such as being able to tell where the file it's pointing to is, or adding switches in the target line etc etc. Is there a way to make them show the pathway?
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Oct 25, 2009
My 350 gig HD has 7 partitions. C: is Vista (186 GB) D: (87GB) is HP factory image. The others have most of my programs, files, photos, etc. I have avoided installing most of the larger important programs on C: and they are on other partitions. I plan a clean install of 7 upgrade on C: (also considering 64 bit as my comp qualifies). By "clean" I assume that you and I both mean that partition C: has been formatted prior to inserting the 7 DVD to begin installation.
First, am I correct with this assumption? Second, if only C: is going to be affected by the formatting and installation of 7 is there any mandatory reason to backup all of my programs and files that reside on the other partitions? (other than just being prudent, that is). Also, how much can I reduce the size of C:, as it currently has 132GB free? I also intend to empty D: when this is over.
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Oct 23, 2009
1) I currently am running Vista on a laptop on which it is the only OS. I want to install 7 on a second partition for dual boot. However, to keep things tidy, I would like to make Windows 7 Drive C: (which currently contains Vista). Is there a way to image the hard drive then reload it onto drive D: after I install 7 on C:?
2) I guess my other option is to install 7 on the formatted HD, then create a D: partition to run the Vista recovery disks on at least that would restore my drivers, etc. But I really wanted to keep my current configuration around for those programs that are slow to catch on to the new OS. (Or do I even have to worry about this?)
3) If all this dual boot stuff is too complicated or if I really don't need to worry about the driver/software compatibility, I might just do away with that idea and clean install it on the C: drive and forget about Vista. (reluctant to do so since I rely on this computer for school). I will be keeping my C: drive image that I took yesterday so taht I can recover to Vista if need be.
Edt: 4) I just had anther thought. If I install Win 7 clean could I then take my Vista hard drive image and make it into a VHD? that would pretty much solve all my troubles I think. Unless I would need to reinstall Vista onto the VHD.
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Nov 13, 2009
I installed Win 7 RC on a new build and purchased Vista Home Premium 64bit OEM with upgrade to Win 7 Home premium. The Win 7 upgrade disc has arrived. I understand that Vista must be installed and activated for the upgrade to work. Attempts to install Vista with Win 7 RC running or booting from the Vista disc lead to error code 0x80070103, insufficient free space. My HDD has > 450 Gb free space in 2 partitions. Do I need to reformat the HDD in order to install Vista over Win 7?
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Aug 7, 2009
I ordered the 50$ Windows 7 upgrade disk. I realize that Windows 7 will need vista or XP already installed for the upgrade version of Windows 7. But if I want to upgrade my Vista 32-bit to Windows 7 64-bit, Will I be able to do it with this upgrade disk? after all I will need a fresh install (because 32 to 64) and this is the upgrade version...
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Nov 30, 2009
Customer dropped off a laptop telling me that his Windows upgrade had failed.
It's a new HP DV6 that had Vista pre-installed on it.
I've taken a look at it, and there's a "Windows.old" folder on the root of C:, which is of course a back up of all his data.
There's also a batch file inside the folder with the following inside of it:
"REM Dummy file for NTVDM"
I'm wondering if there's a way to "continue" the upgrade / merging process? He has asked me to re-install all of his software the way he had it. So i'm hoping there's an easier way to continue where he left off.
I know Windows 7 creates a "Windows.old" folder when upgrading from XP. Not sure why one was created for a Vista to Windows 7 upgrade though.
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Dec 24, 2012
I have a pc with Windows XP pro 32bit retail version. First I have made an image, just in case. Then I have upgraded it to windows 8, 64bit by using the retail upgrade DVD and clean install. However, I found out that my motherboard is so old (5 years old) that there are no drivers for win8 and after asking ASUS they said that the motherboard is not supported any more and that there will be no new drivers for it. I tried using win7 drivers but it did not work and without correct drivers a lot of things does not work (in particularly hdmi port).What I want to do now is to revert to my image (windows xp), buy a Windows 7, 64bit upgrade retail DVD and upgrade windows xp to windows 7 for which there are drivers for my motherboard.
1) Can I use windows xp retail (whose product key has already been used to upgrade to win8) image to upgrade to windows 7 retail? will the activation of windows 7 succeed? I want to use clean install again since i upgrade from 32bit to 64bit
2) If the answer to question 1 is a yes, how does microsoft prevent users from using the same windows image file to upgrade different pc's? I mean, theoretically, I can make an image of pc1, copy it to a hard drive of pc2 (even if it will result in erroneous installation due to different specs) and upgrade both systems by using two VUP product keys which are cheaper than one VUP + one retail product keys
3) Can I use windows 8 upgrade DVD which is not used any more to upgrade another PC?
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Feb 27, 2010
I purchased Windows 7 Professional through the Ultimate Steal.
Downloaded it, put it on a disk also.
It will go through the start of the setup and copy files etc, and then it will give an error and say to install from a current version of windows I need to use the upgrade anytim through windows.
But when I go to upgrade anytime it asks for an upgrade key, but all I have with the purchase was a product key and it says that I can't use the product key.
any help?
edit: also i have windows 7 home premium installed right now
and here is exactly what it says:
"To upgrade from one edition of Windows 7 to another edition of Windows 7, use Windows Anytime Upgrade. Cancel the upgrade, open the Start menu, and search for Windows Anytime Upgrade. "
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Aug 26, 2011
can i use the windows 7 professional student upgrade to upgrade from windows 7 home premium?
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Jul 7, 2009
If I bought Windows 7 Upgrade for 49.99... could I use it to upgrade windows 7 RC instead of vista or XP assuming it even supports XP.
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Oct 27, 2009
I have Windows 7 Home Premium installed on my my machine, but is is not activated yet. I will be getting a Windows 7 Professional key from the student offer, and I would like to use that. Is it possible to use that key in Anytime upgrade?
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Mar 20, 2010
I'm considering whether to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7. IMHO, the new OS seems to be not sufficiently "mature" yet, and it is better to wait for the first service pack to come out before actually upgrading.
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May 30, 2009
I have a I7 920, with 12GB DDR3-1600 Memory, 2 x 300GB Raptors in a RAID 0, 1 x 300GB standalone and 640GB Standalone, and a ATI 4870x2 video card. I am upgrading using a DVD, and basically it's taken 7 hours before I aborted the upgrade (62% completed migrating folders and files).
All my other upgrades have gone reasonably quickly (Though not as quickly as some other installs and upgrades seem to go on lesser hardware) though the other 6 builds I have run. I don't really want to run a fresh install, can anyone suggest a solution? Does Windows 7 not really like ICHR10?
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Jun 29, 2009
I run Windows 7 on my ex-Vista laptop, and would bite off someones hand if it I had to revert. But on my desktop, I dual boot XP and Windows 7, and am just as happy using XP as Windows 7. There are a few things I like prefer in Windows 7, but the same is true for XP.
M$ is already charging me to replace the piece of @@@@ that was Vista with Windows 7, why would I want to pay to upgrade XP? And the Pro upgrade price is OUTRAGEOUS, especially as I am based I the UK.
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Jul 14, 2011
I accidently installed 64, and It seems to handlr it ok so far.I am thinking my computer was origanally a 64 bit, but had 32 bit vista installed.I got the Ultimate Premium and I like all the Bells and Whistles It seems to handle media files better than vista.I have a Acer Laptop with only 150gb hd and I dont have a dvd burner, so I propose to get a internal HD500gb from ebay 20bucks there abouts and get a dvd burner around the same price, I will later get another 500gb internal hd and get a SATA converter kit with USB and then I have 1tb system really cheap compared to buying a tower... I would like to know if it possible to upgrade my cpu, I got 1ntel celeron 540 1.86ghz, I know I cant get the latest, and I dont want the latest, just a miodel or few up from what I got.. I think the celeron is Pentium 3 I think, I am looking intop Pentium 4 2.86 ghz, I got the chip on another machine, an older machine...
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Aug 10, 2009
i am always over on vista forums as i have vista as my main OS, but here is my question.
i have 7 Enterprise X64 running in VMWARE runs great except it does not reconize my video card as it is running in a virtual enviroment.
i have vista ultimate X64, when 7 X64 ultimate or enterprise comes out retail wise, I can do a upgrade from vista ultimate X64 to 7 Ultimate or Enterprise X64? correct?
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Aug 13, 2009
I currently own a copy of Win XP Pro that I purchased via MSDN (through school). I used Windows 7 RC for awhile, and decided to buy it
I looked into the features of each version and I should only need Home Premium.
Am I able to purchase a Windows 7 Upgrade instead of a full license?
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Sep 8, 2009
i have some question about upgrade ..
1- can i upgrade from x32 to x64 and also from x64 to 32 ?
2- can i upgrade from vista x32 to windows 7 x64 ans also from vista x64 to wondows 7 x32 ?
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