Windows 7

Stumped

Stumped

Proper Accy
Weaver
Having been convinced that Windows Vista was the be all and end all to computing problems, I must admit to being less than pleased with it after almost two years of being frustrated by the stop/start functionality and the amount of space it takes up on my hard drive. The pundits are now extolling Windows 7 as the antidote to all the previously encountered problems and pushing users to upgrade. My version of Vista is 32-bit and I am advised that I will need to clean install Windows 7 as only the 64-bit version can be upgraded, which makes me reluctant to attempt it as I will need to rehash/reload all my peripherals which may or may not work with the new system. I welcome any advice subscribers can offer.
 
windows 7 is a big improvement on vista, i wiped vista of every pc or laptop i or my family and some friends owned and put xp on it because vista was nothing more than pure garbage

i am now using windows 7 ultimiate 32 bit and it is easier to navigate , easier to turn off annoying features, fatster performance and even if your manufacturer hasnt started providing driver support for win7 i have had no problems using vistas drivers for win7 as of yet.

try/borrow/aquire a copy off a friend if you can before you pay for it and never do a simple upgrade they never work as well as a fesh clean instalation just back up all your favourites and important files and strat a fresh.

another big problem vista had was that most manufactures sent out pc units and laptops with only 1gb of ram as it is teh minimum needed to run vistabut in reality you need a bare minimum of 2gb

my laptop is about 18 months old and has 2gb of ram and gets a higher performance score running win 7 than what it did running vista

loads of nice little features with win7 as well which can be seen on youtube if you look around windows 7 videos on there
 
why did you use the 32 bit version and not the 64? I am asking because I am about to try out 7 but not sure if I should use 64bit
 
Neil said:
why did you use the 32 bit version and not the 64? I am asking because I am about to try out 7 but not sure if I should use 64bit
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Though quite adept atn using the various programs on my computer, I admit to being hopeless on the finer, technical side. My current PC came preloaded with Vista. I only checked the format when prompted to do so by my grandson. Reckon I might get him to wipe my hard drive altogether and load the 64-bit version of Windows 7 at the earliest opportunity.
 
well if your pc is 64 bit use 64 bit version.....other way around isnt possible ???

Windows 7 is like a fixed vista.. its great. Best thing they have produced since XPsp2
 
Restless said:
well if your pc is 64 bit use 64 bit version.....other way around isnt possible ???
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most systems over the last 3 years have 64bit processors but run 32bit operating systems just fine

i use 32 bit because i like my life easy and hassle free and besides i dont have enough RAM in my laptops to handle 64bit lol

did a quick google

Q. What about all of my peripherals?
A. As with PC support, most peripherals manufactured in the Vista era work with 64-bit Windows 7. However, legacy hardware support is a hit-or-miss proposition. Some manufacturers -- for example, vendors of network interface cards or disk storage controllers -- are more up to date than others, thanks in part to the fact that they've been supporting 64-bit computing under Windows Server since the 2002-2003 timeframe. Devices that don't have obvious ties to the datacenter (such as custom input devices, multimedia hardware, and some printers) can be harder to integrate since they were manufactured at a time when 64-bit desktops were a rarity. Your best bet is to do a Web search to see if the manufacturer has published a 64-bit device driver and, barring that, if other users have come up with a solution.
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yeah i have 4GB in mine so it needs 64bit windows

mancie. Windows 7 rules, Vista was ****e. You will find a lot of people agree. I fixed my friends mum's pc other day (shes 80) and even she agrees hehe
 
Guess I'm more baffled than ever now. My system has a 224GB Hard Drive and 2GB's of RAM. If that will support the 64-bit Windows 7 operating system, then I reckon my best bet would be to clean install it after backing up all my important files - which will no doubt mean my having to reload Microsoft Office and my HP Photosmart Printer Disks, not to mention my internet modem. Buggar.
 
2gb of ram isnt enough ,it will work but not very well, eveywhere i have read up on it says 4gb of ram minimumn

personaly i would go for 32bit because you will probably get problems with some software unless they have a specific 64bit version of it like photoshop does foe example
 
accyman said:
2gb of ram isnt enough ,it will work but not very well, eveywhere i have read up on it says 4gb of ram minimumn

personaly i would go for 32bit because you will probably get problems with some software unless they have a specific 64bit version of it like photoshop does foe example
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My geek grandson reckons that rather than mess about, it would be easier for me to invest in a new PC.
 
Stumped said:
My geek grandson reckons that rather than mess about, it would be easier for me to invest in a new PC.
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According to 'The TechGuys' @ PC World - where I bought my current set up 2-years ago - the Windows 7 upgrade has discs for both 32 and 64-bit versions, which, they insist, would work satisfactorily with my system and periphals. They state that if my 6-month old HP printer, my Speedtouch modem and 350-GB external drive work with Vista, then they will most certainly work with the Windows 7 upgrade. Do I believe them?
 
if that is the case when you go to install windows(the process may wipe your HD) it will ask you which version you want to install 32 or 64.......least it was the same with my disc
 
Restless said:
if that is the case when you go to install windows(the process may wipe your HD) it will ask you which version you want to install 32 or 64.......least it was the same with my disc
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Do you think the disk I saw that asked if you wanted Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate was a dodgy one :rolleyes:
 
Restless said:
if that is the case when you go to install windows(the process may wipe your HD) it will ask you which version you want to install 32 or 64.......least it was the same with my disc
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I admit to being somewhat sceptical about advice from PC World's 'Tech Guys' and until totally satisfied that my peripherals will work as before, I will remain with the status-quo. Thanks to all for the input.
 
Stumped said:
I admit to being somewhat sceptical about advice from PC World's 'Tech Guys' and until totally satisfied that my peripherals will work as before, I will remain with the status-quo. Thanks to all for the input.
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Try going to the website of the manufacturers of your peripherals. check the support and see if they have drivers available.

I have Windows 7, and my Lexmark printer & Hauppage TV tuner, both work fine with vista drivers. But the USB video capture card, from Roxio, doesn't work.

All usb storage devices (sticks and external hard drives) should work without problem. They have generic drivers and have been supported since Windows 2000 and Millennium.

You can't use 32 bit drivers on a 64 bit system, and vice versa. Many keyboards have extra buttons that need drivers to work, this goes for laptops as well. Unfortunately, support for 64bit drivers on keyboards, is almost non existent.
Also Adobe don't support flash player on 64bit browsers.

At the moment the only benefit of 64 bit over 32 bit, is the amount of useable memory. 32 bit has a ceiling of 3Gb. Most programmes are still 32 bit, but this should change in the next few years, with 64 bit programmes becoming more mainstream.
 
Neil said:
Do you think the disk I saw that asked if you wanted Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate was a dodgy one :rolleyes:
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i also think you will ne nagged for activation after a few weeks lol and despite getting teh fix it will re-occur

get a better copy mate :)
 
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accyman said:
i also think you will ne nagged for activation after a few weeks lol and despite getting teh fix it will re-occur

get a better copy mate :)
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I ended up sticking with my original XP.

2 install disks kept causing my PC to reboot while copying files from DVD to hard disk.

Its a shame because if I liked it and wanted to keep it I was going to get my lad to buy me a genuine copy for £30 with his student discount
 
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