Windows 7 upgrade, black screen

I have added my spec, do you need more? Not syre I can get any more info as I cannot boot up lol!

When I turn the laptop on with the disc in, the drive does kick in and the read led flashes a bit before turning off

How do you intend to activate the Windows 7 installation?

Did you make Dell recovery disks before attempting to install Windows 7?

If you now attempt to install Windows 7, exactly what happens--where does it fail or do you see error messages? Or does it simply go directly to a black screen with NOTHING ever appearing on the screen?

I put the disc in last night before bed, and once it got to the installation part of the process, where it says the system will randomly restart during installation, I went to bed. When I checked this morning, the screen was black. Fan running, no cursor, and only the power light on. I switched the laptop off, and turned it on again. The screen stays black, and doesn't even appear to attempt at booting. With the disc in, it reads the disc (i think) for a few seconds, and then the same black screen. Fan runs and power light on. That's where I'm at now

I'm thinking I may need to get a windows recovery disc, but would I get a vista or a win 7 disc!

You need to contact Dell and pay for a set of recovery disks for your machine, since you apparently did not make them yourself when you had the chance. They will restore you to Vista.

If that succeeds, considering buying a legitimate version of Windows 7.

Or just forget about the recovery disks and buy Windows 7 now.

Ok thanks. If I buy win 7 (probably will) I assume I just put it in the dvd drive and start up from there. Does it matter what version of win I buy?

You must set your DVD drive to be the first boot device.

If you do not do that, the PC will not boot from the installation disc and you won't install Windows 7.

I would buy a retail version of Windows Home Premium. That should include 2 discs: one for 32 bit and another for 64 bit, along with a 25 character Product Key.

You can install either 32 bit or 64 bit, but ONLY ONE AT A TIME. The Product Key works for either version.

Since you have only 2 GB of RAM, I'd install 32-bit. If you later upgrade to 4 GB of RAM, you might want to change over to 64 bit, using the other disc in the retail package.

The more expensive versions of Windows (Professional and Ultimate) have more features, but there is not much chance you need those features. The more expensive versions are not "faster" or "better". They just have some extra features.

Here is what Ultimate has that is not available in Professional:

BitLocker, BitLocker To Go, AppLocker, Direct Access, Branche Cache, MUI language packs, boot from VHD.

Here is what Professional has that is not available in Home Premium:

Domain join, Remote Desktop host, location aware printing, EFS, Mobility Center, Presentation Mode, Offline Folders, Group Policy (GP) controls, advanced backup, XP Mode, support for 192 GB of RAM, and support for 2 CPU sockets.

If you don't know what those features are, don't buy Professional or Ultimate.

Thanks again. One last thing (I hope), how do I allow it to boot from the dvd if I can't change the boot order. Remember, all I see is a black screen. For others reading this thread, only buy a legitimate copy of anything. I have learned the hard way!