Installing W7 64 bit on a Vista 64 bit machine

I have this tower machine: GPC36 E8600 Overclocked Intel E8600 Core 2 Duo @ 4.0Ghz 6MB Cache 1333FSB CPU / Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Crossfire DDR2 Motherboard / ATI 4870 512Mb / OCZ 4GB DDR2 PC8500 1066Mhz Memory / 500Gb SATA Hard Drive / 22x DVD-RW/Vista 64bit. At the moment I run MS Flight Sim 2004 on it.

I am giving it to a friend with a 24" monitor, who has Wet Macular degeration, in the hope he will see things easier than on his 12" laptop. However it needs to have a usb wirless dongle fitted but I cannot find one with Vista drivers. I'm told new dongles will not have Vista drivers.

So - I have bought a W7 installation disc to replace Vista with W7 to accomodate a wifi dongle. I have tried the upgrade advisor but it will not use Firefox (with latest update) & I got no advise.

I'm told the W7 disc will have an option that will upgrade Vista as long as I follow the instructions. Is this correct.

Thank you for any advice received - Terence Wallis.

Hi Terence

Your best bet is a Clean install
BIG NOTE reset Bios to default FIRST

There is/was a way to auto-upgrade to W7 but i think thats gone
Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version


W7 comes driver equiped so hopefully the Wifi dongle will "auto-install"
Which one is it??

The other question
Where did you get the Product key for W7
(unlikely to be genuine - but we can get to that AFTER your install)


further info W7/W10
MS have an Ease of Access option for people who have sight/sound difficulties and do offer discounted,
(and sometimes FREE Upgrades)

Roy

I think most dongles support everything from XP to Win 10. For instance, here's one at Amazon-

https://www.amazon.com/Waxden-Adapte...NsaWNrPXRydWU=

It's a bit on the high side, pricewise.

Hello Roy,

I'll do a clean install & reset - thanks.

The adapter I tried to install was the tp-link T2U. tp-link in China told me it wasn't Vista supported & to return it to the retailer, which I did.

As for drivers, I'm assuming other drivers used by other things don't get removed during installation?

The cd came with a label & product key which the seller assured me in pukka. Time will tell.

I've investigated the Ease of Accsses options but thanks for the reminder. Now I must copy the stuff I want to keep before going ahead with installation!

Cheers,
Terry.
PS I have 3 other W7 machines all custom made (incl a beauty by PCSpecialists) running MS Flight Sim 2004. I make all my own airfields.

W2.
A computer technician at PC World told me 3 days ago that all new manufactures don't, regardless of what the packaging says, support Vista since it stopped being supported by MS. The dongle you linked to is the price I paid for the tp-link T2U adapter that tp-link in China told me is not Vista compatible. This is why I'm installing W7.

I've noticed on the product key sticker the words DELL. I'll contact the seller but thought I'd see what you have to say...........

"The adapter I tried to install was the tp-link T2U. tp-link in China told me it wasn't Vista supported & to return it to the retailer, which I did."

I'm still skeptical that the problem is specific to all dongles. I was looking at this (for Win 7) and there are a couple of solutions-

Wireless USB Dongles Not Working On Windows 7. - Microsoft Community

Of course, I don't know what happened when you tried installing that dongle.

There's loads of posts about that adapter - none extolling its virtues, or their customer support

The ebay cd seller (large ebay shop) has just emailed this "Hi please see ad these are from scrap PC for PC Fitters, it doesnt matter what make ie DELL ,HP etc they all install just the same and update exactly the same all working fine."

My custom builds have retail product keys, btw. I use them in sequence & go on line for updates, etc.
I'll give this a whirl & will be back if trouble stikes if I may?

I'll look around for another dongle/adapter and will research options.

Thanks for your invaluable advice...........

Terry.

If you have a Walmart, Best Buy, KMart etc., in your area, they have numerous ones. I even see them in grocery and drug stores but the prices are too high.