I Want To Upgrade My XP 32 bit System To Windows 7 64 bit - Need Advice Please
Hi All,
My computer is 3 years old & I'm wanting to upgrade the OS from XP Home to Windows 7 64 bit. When I ordered the computer I was given the option of XP or Windows 7...32 bit or 64 bit. At the time I was leary of Windows 7 & 64 bit so I opted for XP Home & 32 bit. I've regretted it ever since I got my laptop which is W7 64 bit.
When I ordered my PC I made it clear that should I want to upgrade it should be easy to do with the already installed components. I'm on a modest budget so I want to keep the motherboard & processor I'm currently using. The video card I'd like to continue to use but if it needs to be replaced I'm OK with that.
Before I run off & buy an OS I need to make sure I'm not wasting my money due to lack of knowledge. I see there are OEM versions of W7 Home Premium 64 bit on ebay, NewEgg, etc. for a much better price than the regular retail version so that's what I want to get. I'm confused about whether or not I can use an OEM version. I've looked online, read some articles...it's all confusing to me & to many others as to if I can use OEM or not.
My Goal: Totally reformat the HD, Install W7, be a happy camper, lol. If all I have to do is get the OEM version & redo the system, I'm golden. But it's never that easy with anything for me so I really would appreciate some input on this. According to the girl who placed my computer order & from what I recall of our conversation, it should be just that easy. I just don't want to wipe out my drive, buy an OS I cannot use without it being a big PITA or even unable to use at all, wind up having to buy a lot of stuff to do this. Also, having to redo a bunch of MB and/or processor settings...not sure I can do that either on my own.
I am not a complete computer dummy but I'm no pro like many of you. Here are some relative specs on my system, if I leave anything out please tell me what else to provide. I have all documentation, packaging, itemized list of installed items, that came with the computer. Thanks in advance. ~Zendall
MB: Asus P5QL PRO Core 2 Extreme/Intel P43/FSB 1600/DDR2/A&GbE/ATX/EPU
Processor: Intel Pentium Dual-Core Processor. I don't see a model # on the pkg but it says "Intel 64 Architecture for 64-bit Computing" and under my Device Manager it says "Intel Pentium: Dual CPU E218@2.00 GHz" The list says: E2180 Allendale 2.0 GHz 1MB L2 Cache Processor.
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS 512MB DVI/HDTV PCI-Express (from Foxconn according to related papers included in the box)
Other Components:
Super Talent 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR-2 800MHZ PC-6400
Hitachi 500GB SATA2 7200rpm 16MB
Coolmaster Advanced CPU Cooler
Spire Dual Fan Cooler for Hard Disk
LG 22x DVD-RW Dual Layer w/Lightscribe
Thermaltake Ultra-Quiet Case Fan
Rosewill 600 Watt SLI Power Supply
8 Channel Sound Onboard: Question...would adding a soundcard make my speakers sound better? They are Harman Kardon but old so not sure if it's the speakers or if I need a soundcard but I think they can sound better.
Again, please keep in mind I am on a modest budget & can't afford to spend more than $200...$300 tops and that means cup of noodles for lunch for a while, lol.
My computer is 3 years old & I'm wanting to upgrade the OS from XP Home to Windows 7 64 bit. When I ordered the computer I was given the option of XP or Windows 7...32 bit or 64 bit. At the time I was leary of Windows 7 & 64 bit so I opted for XP Home & 32 bit. I've regretted it ever since I got my laptop which is W7 64 bit.
When I ordered my PC I made it clear that should I want to upgrade it should be easy to do with the already installed components. I'm on a modest budget so I want to keep the motherboard & processor I'm currently using. The video card I'd like to continue to use but if it needs to be replaced I'm OK with that.
Before I run off & buy an OS I need to make sure I'm not wasting my money due to lack of knowledge. I see there are OEM versions of W7 Home Premium 64 bit on ebay, NewEgg, etc. for a much better price than the regular retail version so that's what I want to get. I'm confused about whether or not I can use an OEM version. I've looked online, read some articles...it's all confusing to me & to many others as to if I can use OEM or not.
My Goal: Totally reformat the HD, Install W7, be a happy camper, lol. If all I have to do is get the OEM version & redo the system, I'm golden. But it's never that easy with anything for me so I really would appreciate some input on this. According to the girl who placed my computer order & from what I recall of our conversation, it should be just that easy. I just don't want to wipe out my drive, buy an OS I cannot use without it being a big PITA or even unable to use at all, wind up having to buy a lot of stuff to do this. Also, having to redo a bunch of MB and/or processor settings...not sure I can do that either on my own.
I am not a complete computer dummy but I'm no pro like many of you. Here are some relative specs on my system, if I leave anything out please tell me what else to provide. I have all documentation, packaging, itemized list of installed items, that came with the computer. Thanks in advance. ~Zendall
MB: Asus P5QL PRO Core 2 Extreme/Intel P43/FSB 1600/DDR2/A&GbE/ATX/EPU
Processor: Intel Pentium Dual-Core Processor. I don't see a model # on the pkg but it says "Intel 64 Architecture for 64-bit Computing" and under my Device Manager it says "Intel Pentium: Dual CPU E218@2.00 GHz" The list says: E2180 Allendale 2.0 GHz 1MB L2 Cache Processor.
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS 512MB DVI/HDTV PCI-Express (from Foxconn according to related papers included in the box)
Other Components:
Super Talent 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR-2 800MHZ PC-6400
Hitachi 500GB SATA2 7200rpm 16MB
Coolmaster Advanced CPU Cooler
Spire Dual Fan Cooler for Hard Disk
LG 22x DVD-RW Dual Layer w/Lightscribe
Thermaltake Ultra-Quiet Case Fan
Rosewill 600 Watt SLI Power Supply
8 Channel Sound Onboard: Question...would adding a soundcard make my speakers sound better? They are Harman Kardon but old so not sure if it's the speakers or if I need a soundcard but I think they can sound better.
Again, please keep in mind I am on a modest budget & can't afford to spend more than $200...$300 tops and that means cup of noodles for lunch for a while, lol.
0
Comments
Buy OEM version, format, reinstall, enjoy W7 x64.
Drivers page (though Windows 7 does a pretty good job of pulling them, you may want to double-check if it pulls latest drivers ... it generally will not for video drivers)
The one upgrade that will help you significantly if you game or do any graphics-intensive thing is a new video card. The 8000 will run just fine, but will show their age in newer tech.
Thanks! Even better is NewEgg just sent me a code that's good for 48 hours bringing the price down to $85 so I plan on placing my order as soon as I can figure out which video card to buy with it.
Yes I do gaming & would like to get a better graphics card. I'm looking at them on NewEgg but not sure what to get & still stay within my budget. It's confusing to me, there's 64 bit, 128 bit...DDR2, DDR3... Do I get DDR2 because that's what RAM I have installed or does it matter? Any suggestions please? Thanks.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-102-874&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127541
If anyone thinks this isn't a good choice, please let me know. I'll wait a while before placing my order. Thanks.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127585
Boot from CD, tell Win7 to use the whole drive (I'M ASSUMING YOU HAVE BACKED UP ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SAVE AND ONLY HAVE ONE HDD), install, victory.
Hi Tushon, Thanks so much for your reply. Actually, I did attempt this the other night & ran into some problems. I changed the BIOS to boot from CD first & when the computer was booting back up it got hung up on the 1st splashscreen. I tried many reboots afterward without luck. I read up on how to reset CMOS (remove battery, move jumper back & forth) without any luck. Then I remembered a problem with my Logitech G110 KB that makes my MB hang up on hi-speed USB setting. Changed that back to fullspeed & all was good again. I think because of this I lost my confidence & just needed a little reassurance. I'm back on track & will be going at it again either tonight or tomorrow. Thanks again. ~Zen
Guess what...it's installed!! Boy oh boy am I a happy camper right now, lol.
I put the MB CD in to have it install the drivers & it gave me a message saying it doesn't support this operating system. I went to the Asus site & I don't see my exact MB model when I do a search. Here is the list they have:
P5QL-VM DO/CSM
P5QL SE
P5QL
P5QL-CM
P5QL-E
My MB is a P5QL PRO. I don't know what to make of this & since there are no yellow ! marks in Device Manager, do I need to worry about doing anything regarding MB drivers? The only thing I can see so far that is missing is the 2nd splash screen, it has (or had) some options on what you want to do like "enter OS" "go to BIOS" (I liked that part) and some other stuff I never needed. I can live w/o this.
Next is the NVIDIA video card I installed. Graphics seem to be just fine but I can get a more current version of drivers. I put the card in a couple days ago when I still had XP Home 32 bit running. I kept getting the "found new hardware" pop-up but it never actually fixed it. In Device Manager there were yellow ! marks saying something about a HD audio device. I finally wound up disabling this & the annoying pop-up stopped. The current driver option says it will install "HD Audio driver version 1.2.23.3" so what I'm wondering is if I get this latest driver, will I still have this problem like before? Sorry to say but I'm not sure what a HD Audio device even is, lol.
I know I have a lot of tweeking to do but for now I just want to be good on the drivers for important things like the MB & graphics card. While I wait for a reply I'm going to pick up drivers for my KB, mouse, printer, etc.
BTW, almost forgot to mention...I am not (so far) experiencing the KB problem with it causing the MB to hang on 1st spalshscreen...woo hoo!
Side Note: My laptop came with MS Works, I am not seeing this as part of my new OS on the PC. You happen to know if this is included with my new OS or do I need to look for an alternative program? I have a VERY OLD version of MS Office, think it's from 2003 so I doubt it'll work on my new OS.
Thanks in advance. ~Zen
Just go to NVIDIA.com and get your newest video drivers, and you should be all set. It should contain the proper HD audio driver for the HDMI port on your card.
As for MS Works, it's a program that may not even be available any more, and certainly doesn't come WITH Windows. It's one of those cheap word processing apps they used to feed people, and use as a lure into buying Microsoft Office. So, either get Microsoft Office (not free), or try OpenOffice (which I think you'll really like, and is 100% free).
Installed the NVIDIA drivers as instructed. I am happy to say there are no issues with it at all. No annoying "found new hardware" like before, not a single yellow ! on my Device Manager, yay! Also, after reboot, still no problems with the KB hanging up my splashscreen.
I take it I am good on the MB drivers too, if not I think you would've said something about it besides to not install from the CD which it won't do anyway, lol.
I will look into Open Office. I have a friend who uses it & says it's very good. Thank you so much! ~Zen
Thank you for the driver link! I have the 3 drivers you said to get installed now. It went very smoothly. There are a couple of things on the driver list I have question about.
EPU-4 Engine - I remember it being on my computer before I upgraded but to be honest, I have no idea what it did. Do I need this?
Express Gate - This seems like an accessary to me. It brings up a 2nd screen (after the blue ASUS screen) during the bootup process with options to things that never interested me. I found it useless. It hangs for 10 seconds & if no option is chosen it proceeds to the OS. Also, when I boot up the computer I see a message about Express Gate not being installed but the screen is so brief I never get to read the entire thing. There is a setting in BIOS to disable Express Gate.
If I need either of these so my MB functions properly I will get them. If they aren't needed then I won't bother.
So far everything is running great, I'm thrilled it's gone so well, yay! I really appreciate all the help I've received here it made the process a lot easier.
As far as I understand (correct me if I'm wrong) Express Gate allows you to boot in to an OS that is installed on your motherboard and it'll let you surf the web, check your e-mail and use Skype. It boots very fast, but are limited to those actions. I guess it's a fair option if you just want to see if you got that e-mail reply and nothing else..
Glad to have been of service and hope you find some other stuff you like
I think this wraps up my post. Again, thanks everyone who took the time to help me with my upgrade. Take care & have a great day!! ~Zen
PS: Almost forgot to mention this. I put my old Office '03 disc in expecting it to be rejected & much to my delight it installed without a hitch. Cool huh?