Windows 7 Enquiry.

[andy111]

I have two computers, one is six years old and the o/s is Windows XP HOME and Professional 32bit with a 200 gig HDD and 1 gig RAM. The second is two years old and the O/S is Vista Home Premium 64bit, it has a 640 gig HDD and 4 gig RAM. I have used the Windows 7 upgrade advisor on both systems. The Vista system has no problems with the upgrade as all hardware is adequate. However the XP system needs an upgrade of the graphics card and although it has 1 gig of RAM I could install 2 gig. I am considering Windows 7 Ultimate and installing on both systems and having a dual boot on the Vista system. What I would like to ask the community is their advice before I continue with the upgrade.I own both of the genuine XP discs but wish to upgrade but is it worthwhile as to cost and effort. I am tempted but unsure whether to continue. I am not in any way aufait with computers and would describe myself as a novice, any knowledge I have has been thanks to sites such as this.
I may be asking the obvious but would appreciate any advice and comments from more experienced
persons than me. I am 74 years old and although this is my third computer I am still a novice.
Thank you . Andy.

[Saracen]

Hi Andy,

I've moved your question here because you're more likely to get an answer. The forum you posted in is just for welcoming new members and not for asking technical questions, so the people best placed to help you tend not to look there.

Welcome to Hexus

[Splash]

To be honest I see no real reason to keep the Vista install at all if you're paying for a Win7 license anyways - it's not like you'd be running a 32/64 bit dual boot and while I personally thought Vista was great it's not doing anything that Win7 can't do. I'd be looking to backup your important data and then do a clean install on each, then restore your important data.

[Leggie]

Hi Andy,

First of all, I'd check whether you actually need the Ultimate Edition of Windows 7. Is there something in it you particularly need? I work with computers and use Home Premium: it's very rare for me to come across something that I need from Ultimate. You would save a lot by opting for Home Premium: the upgrade to Ultimate costs about £160, but Home Premium costs about £90!

Secondly, this leads on to the question "why are you upgrading"? Yes, Windows 7 is a lot better (and in my view easier-to-use) than either XP or Vista, but is there a particular reason you're upgrading? If not, I'd save the money and put it towards a completely new system in a year or two.

On your query about dual-booting Vista - I don't see any sizable benefit in doing so. You're unlikely to find any program that runs in Vista but not in 7. You'd also then have to buy a full retail version of 7, instead of a cheaper upgrade version (I believe).

Finally, if you decide to go down the Home Premium route, check out the Microsoft Windows 7 Family Pack. This allows you to upgrade 3 XP or Vista computers at your home. At a shade under £110 from Amazon it's a big saving - the normal upgrade edition would cost about £85-£90 by itself = about £175 for both your computers = immediate £65 saving, plus you can upgrade one more computer.

Hope that helps,

Leggie

[VinceSamios]

heh - I will be the token mac fanboy - OS X will change your life, and then you can run windows in parallels for the occasions piece of windows software you can't live without :-)

[Brewster0101]

To be honest I see no real reason to keep the Vista install at all if you're paying for a Win7 license anyways - .

2nd

I moved from Vista 64 to Windows 7 64 and after a week sold my vista license as I knew I would never go back to using it. Vista was still throwing up bugs all over the place. Windows 7 works alot better and smoother. Anything vista can do, windows 7 does better.