Will upgrading my Windows 7 Home Premium eliminate OS errors?

I have a PC running Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit). It is owned by my wife and has encountered numerous problems over the past few months:
· Adobe Acrobat X Pro stopped working and it was impossible to reinstall. (My wife doesn’t recall the error, but we tried Adobe uninstallers, etc to no avail.) She was not able to install Adobe Reader and had to settle for a 3rd party PDF reader.
· When Norton Internet Security 2011 ran out, the Norton Internet Security 2012 nor the Norton 360 would install
· When I try to access the Printers through Control Panel, it keeps trying to build up the printer list for hours (and never succeeds.)
· I tried to download some Garmin maps but they would not install

Obviously, we have some serious software conflicts or registry issues. I know I could format the drive (or replace it), but I would love to save the time, if possible.

If I bought Windows 7 Pro (64-bit) upgrade, do you think my problems could be solved or would they likely be passed on to the new OS? (I believe the OS was pre-installed on the purchased PC, so I don’t have a CD to do a repair. There may be a Restore CD, but that will wipe out everything, too.)

You shouldn't need to buy anything, assuming you have the Windows 7 Home Premium Product Key for your wife's PC. And maybe even if you don't have it.

It should be on the bottom of the PC or maybe in a battery compartment. It's 25 characters in this format: xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx.

If you have that key, you can download an ISO of Windows 7 Home Premium, burn it to a disc, install from the disc, and activate with the Product Key you already have.

Got the Product Key?

Another choice: I assume it is a PC by a major outfit such as HP or Acer. If so, it should have a "recovery partition" that will let you restore to factory specifications.

Which do you prefer: clean reinstall with Product Key or restore to factory specs via recovery partition?

Welcome to Windows Seven Forums.

The upgrade will not solve your problems. Assuming you are talking about Windows Anytime Upgrade, all that happens is this: the files need to upgrade the system are downloaded and installed, which means any underlying problems will still exist.

A clean install should solve your problems and you don't need to buy an upgrade to do it. You can legally download a Windows 7 ISO and use your current product key to activate it, as this excellent tutorial explains.

Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7

I would also like to welcome you to the Seven Forums.

First thing I would do is Remove any and all Norton software from your this computer. It is the worst piece of software ever written. Either find some other AV product and don't use an AV product and just be more aware of what you do on the computer. I have not run any AV software for many many years and have never been infected. Why cause I don't do Stupid stuff.

If that does not solve some, if not all, of your problems then it may be time to format the drive and reinstall. First saving all your personal files to an external drive.

whs said:

edwar said:

I would also like to welcome you to the Seven Forums.

First thing I would do is Remove any and all Norton software from your this computer. It is the worst piece of software ever written. Either find some other AV product and don't use an AV product and just be more aware of what you do on the computer. I have not run any AV software for many many years and have never been infected. Why cause I don't do Stupid stuff.

If that does not solve some, if not all, of your problems then it may be time to format the drive and reinstall. First saving all your personal files to an external drive.

I don't think that you are right. Norton is about the best AV program around. G-Data or Eset would be my other choices. But with NIS I never had a problem (on several systems) - unlike with MSE (on another system) where I caught a couple of viruses immediately. And AVG destroyed 18 of our systems.

I completely disagree. It is the biggest resource hog on the planet. If it was so great why to you have to use a Special program to completely remove it from the systems it has been installed on.

Not sure where you go and what you do on the net but like I said above I have not run any AV programs in years, like 8-10, and have never been infected with anything. Of course I don't so stupid stuff on the net or with emails.

Sounds like creeping corruption requiring a perfect clean reinstall. Everything you need is in Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7.

Be sure to use the lightweight utilties and tools mentioned which work best with Win7, nothing else, to maintain Win7 indefinitely in its featherlight, instantaneous native state.

You'll never have to do another reinstall either since with Win7 backup imaging you can reimage your HD or its replacement in 20 minutes.