Upgrade from XP to 7?

martyp

Hi all,

I'm still in the dark ages according to many, being on Windows XP on my laptop. I'm now using Windows 7 at work and quite like it but Windows 8 I'm not really fond of. Hoping that 7 might be a bit cheaper now I'm thinking I'd upgrade.

My laptop is as follows:
Dual core 2GHz
4GB RAM
Intel HD graphics

My main thought is XP 32 bit not using the full 4GB RAM. I wondered how the performance would compare if I went to Windows 7 and whether to go for 32 bit or 64 bit?

Many thanks

arathorn

Upgrading to Windows 7 would require a complete backup of your work and reinstallation of all your programs / applications onto your laptop. Yes you would benefit from the 64bit version of Windows 7 as it would access from 3gb of ram upwards.

forgotmyname

Depends on the software you use. I only upgraded to 7 because i helped others with their cmputer issues.

Otherwise i would still be on windows XP. Years gone by you upgraded to get something extra.

95 had no USB support, 95B had USB but limited so you got 98. ME had memeory issues. XP was a bit improvement and lasted a long time. Vista was a move to sell something new but it was junk. 7 was what vista should have been. But still nothing really new over XP.

Nothing wrong with XP it works.

Performance wont be much different. Can you get all the drivers for your hardware? If not you may regret trying to upgarde.
Some drivers may nto work as well in 7 as they did in XP.

If its not broken then it doesnt need fixing.

victor2

Run the Windows 7 upgrade advisor at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows/downloads/upgrade-advisor.
This will inform you if any existing hardware will not work and/or what will need driver updates.
You'll have to reinstall any existing software you use, so make sure you have the original disks for it and that it is Windows 7 compatible.
With official support for XP ceasing shortly, it will not stop working, but MS won't release any new fixes for it. Call me a cynic, but I believe the latest updates have deliberately slowed it down to "encourage" people to upgrade. I've dumped XP in favour of Linux on the old laptop I have which was running it.

Lum

The spec seems decent enough for Win 7 at a glance.

The 4GB thing is not so much of an issue with your setup. The issue is that the maximum total memory XP can use is 4GB and most graphics cards come with a chunk of their own memory that counts in addition to system memory. The Intel HD Graphics have no such memory and instead use your system memory anyway. You might lose a couple of hundred MB to memory mapped IO, but not enough to be a big deal.

That said, I'd still go with 64bit, as this gives you the option of adding additional RAM in the future for a cheap speed boost.

I doubt you'll find Win7 cheaply anywhere. A lot of people are complaining about Win8 and seeking out copies of Win7, even though most of the annoyances* with 8 can be fixed, and are likely to get an official fix when 8.2 comes out. Chances are you'll get 8 cheaper if anything.

The main reason to upgrade from XP is due to it going end of life in April, that means no more security patches when more holes are discovered (which they almost certainly will be) leaving you vulnerable.

* For most folk, the only real annoyance is the loss of the start menu, can be fixed for free with programs like Classic Shell. A certain person will be along in a minute to moan about the lack of transparency on the window borders which the majority of people couldn't care less about!

NiftyDigits

Brand name and model number?

I_have_spoken

Check the manufacturer's web site to see if they supported Windows 7 on the laptop model. Without drivers, chances are the laptop will not be too clever with Windows 7

martyp

NiftyDigits wrote: »

Brand name and model number?

Acer Aspire 2930Z

Thanks all for the responses, a lot of food for thought. The 3GB RAM limitation in XP and end of support in April were two of my key thoughts regarding the upgrade. I must admit XP has done me well for many years.
I have XP Pro on my main laptop, 7 starter on my netbook, 7 ultimate on my desktop PC which is hooked up to my TV and doesn't often get used.
I tried the 7 upgrade tool, it flagged up a few issues but not major concerns really.

Messa

If you borrow a copy of Vista (same version line as your XP version) you can upgrade your XP (depending on the version) leaving most settings in place, you can then upgrade the Vista prior to it requiring activation, up to Win 7, again retaining most settings from XP.

This can only be done with some versions of XP, which is yours ?

Lum

While you can do this, I don't recommend it.

Upgrade installs are never as clean as fresh installs, they tend to carry along clutter and cruft and encounter strange bugs. Doing two upgrade installs like this is just asking for woe (and a reinstall) further down the line.

Cycrow

at 4GB you may find you actually have less ram when running in 64bit than you do now.

as, even thou it will be able to access it all, 64bit software uses more memory than the 32bit versions