Upgrading to Windows 7

Kimberley

I'm on Vista basic and want to upgrade my computer to Windows 7 family because my daughter also wants it for her laptop.

My computer is so slow thats why I want to upgrade. On the Microsoft website it says I can download a windows 7 tester to see if my PC is suitable but it says I need to plug in all my USB items such as the printer, Iphone, Digital camera etc first is that correct???

Also I want to do the upgrade version and not custom because I don't know how to back all my files etc.

Also where is the cheapest possible website for it? Would it be safer to buy direct from Microsoft?

busenbust

My computer is so slow thats why I want to upgrade.

^^the upgrade to win 7 might not necessarily resolve that problem.

esuhl

Kimberley wrote: »

Also I want to do the upgrade version and not custom because I don't know how to back all my files etc.

If you don't backup your hard drive you might as well delete your files! Eventually your hard drive will fail - that's 100% guaranteed. When this happens you will lose all your files anyway.

Also, it's usually considered more reliable to perform clean installations.

Creating backups is easier than installing Windows, so I'd look into this before upgrading. As mentioned above, if your PC is slow running Vista, 7 probably won' t be a great deal faster.

busenbust

a little bit more RAM (memory) always helps too .

penrhyn

You can use the Windows Easy transfer utility to dump all your user files onto an external drive.
Do a clean install of Windows 7, then copy back your user files.

As above this wont improve the performance of your PC very much, you should have the minimum of 2Gb of RAM to run Vista/W7.


http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=09d80814-2a73-4245-a63b-8e780d0430cb

If_it_can_go_wrong

First you need to backup I'm afraid. As has been said this is essential. At it's simplest you could just buy an external hard drive and drag your files onto it.

The windows 7 advisor tool requires you to plug all your usb items in so that it can inform you if windows 7 drivers are available for them.

If you do install windows 7 you are far better doing a full clean install so you will need that backup. You can still do this with the upgrade version. You will probably see an improvement in startup and run speed after installation but this may not be entirely due to the improvement in operating system. You would probably get some improvement with a fresh install of vista as you will have got shut of all the junk Vista builds up.

If you do go for Windows 7 you will see many improvements. One of which is a very simple backup system which you can use that new hard drive for.:)

Hope this helps.

Russel245

busenbust wrote: »

My computer is so slow thats why I want to upgrade.

^^the upgrade to win 7 might not necessarily resolve that problem.

Very true, if you are looking at upgrading the OS, you might find that a simple ram expansion would be better value for money in terms of performance

Sigh, the dangers of typing something, having a conversation and then coming back and clicking reply to see it's been said already.

what are your system specs anyway, and what is it slow doing?

busenbust

Russel245 wrote: »

Very true, if you are looking at upgrading the OS, you might find that a simple ram expansion would be better value for money in terms of performance

Sigh, the dangers of typing something, having a conversation and then coming back and clicking reply to see it's been said already.

what are your system specs anyway, and what is it slow doing?

lol, it's fine by me Russel

JamesK10

Kimberley wrote: »

I'm on Vista basic and want to upgrade my computer to Windows 7 family because my daughter also wants it for her laptop.

My computer is so slow thats why I want to upgrade. On the Microsoft website it says I can download a windows 7 tester to see if my PC is suitable but it says I need to plug in all my USB items such as the printer, Iphone, Digital camera etc first is that correct???

Also I want to do the upgrade version and not custom because I don't know how to back all my files etc.

Also where is the cheapest possible website for it? Would it be safer to buy direct from Microsoft?

Hi Kimberley

Could you go to Start/the Windows button and then right click on Computer, then choose Properties? That will tell us the Processor and RAM installed.
Even before buying Windows 7, run disk cleanup (in Accessories then choose System Tools) to get rid of general junk especially temp internet files before you do the upgrade- big slowdown can be a sign of having more than 100Mb across any of your browsers built up over time, and if it's 200Mb then your PC will be absolutely creaking and in need of a cleanout.

Had a quick look around on Win7 pricing for a mate yesterday and I couldn't see any improvement on £120 at Amazon for the family pack - Since the single upgrade on Home Premium (green box) is on sale for £75, you get at least one licence free OR it's the original 2009 launch offer of 40 quid per licence, however you want to look at it.

Kimberley

I have
1.00GB Ram Memory
32 bit operating system, intel(R) Celeron(R) system
420@1.60ghz 1.60ghz

It is slow on start up, shutting down and sometimes slow on getting into certain websites such as this one lol

esuhl

penrhyn wrote: »

you should have the minimum of 2Gb of RAM to run Vista/W7.

2 Gigabits? That's only 256MB! (I'll get my coat...)