Upgrade Routes

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richhemmings

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Hi everyone!

Just a little one really... I've got a 3 month old from DELL, the 'FREE' upgrade is on the way, but I have a copy of W7 from MSDNAA, but when I installed it there was almost zero support for my drivers... DELL has promised a resource CD that will contain the necessary drivers, but I'm pretty sure that my after market adapter (NETGEAR WNDA3100) will not be supported.. which leaves me up the creek if a) I dont have any drivers shipped, b) they are out of date...

So... I'm thinking partition my HDD and do a clean install in the new partition to test.

but then, should I reformat the whole HDD and perform a clean install, or just upgrade on the original partition?
or... can I just transfer from the old to the new and remove the Vista partition and expand the Win7 one?
Is this ok? I know everyone says its always better to do a clean install, but it seems easier to just upgrade... and i've just finished installing my favourite apps etc...


Any thoughts??


Sorry for the ramblings! First post!!!


Thanks in advance!
:D
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell Studio 540MT
OS
Vista Premium SP1 64Bit
CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Core Q8300
Memory
Dual Channel 4GB (4x1024MB) 800Mhz DDR2
Graphics Card(s)
1024 MB nVidia GeForce GT220
Sound Card
Integrated HDA Dolby Digital
Monitor(s) Displays
23in DELL S2309W
Hard Drives
1TB Serial ATA (7200RPM)
richhemmings said:
Hi everyone!

Just a little one really... I've got a 3 month old from DELL, the 'FREE' upgrade is on the way, but I have a copy of W7 from MSDNAA, but when I installed it there was almost zero support for my drivers... DELL has promised a resource CD that will contain the necessary drivers, but I'm pretty sure that my after market adapter (NETGEAR WNDA3100) will not be supported.. which leaves me up the creek if a) I dont have any drivers shipped, b) they are out of date...

So... I'm thinking partition my HDD and do a clean install in the new partition to test.

but then, should I reformat the whole HDD and perform a clean install, or just upgrade on the original partition?
or... can I just transfer from the old to the new and remove the Vista partition and expand the Win7 one?
Is this ok? I know everyone says its always better to do a clean install, but it seems easier to just upgrade... and i've just finished installing my favourite apps etc...


Any thoughts??


Sorry for the ramblings! First post!!!


Thanks in advance!
:D
Click to expand...
What model is the Dell?
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Compal JFT02 (Custom Build Laptop)
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 - Mac OS X 10.6.4 x64
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 2.5 GHz
Motherboard
JFT02
Memory
4GB Kingston DDR2-800
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA Geforce 8600M GT (512MB Model)
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
WUXGA Standard Laptop Display
Screen Resolution
1680*1050
Hard Drives
Toshiba 320GB 5400RPM Laptop HD
PSU
Standard Laptop Power Supply
Case
Standard Laptop Case
Cooling
Standard Laptop Cooling
Keyboard
Standard Laptop 105 Key-Keyboard
Mouse
Synaptics Touchpad
Internet Speed
Verizion Online DSL 3360/864 kbs (dl/up)
Hi there, I'd recommend you to do a clean install. You can find drivers from support.dell.com and from intel.com
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit
CPU
P4
Motherboard
Intel 945
Memory
3GB
Graphics Card(s)
256MB ATI
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
19" Samsung
Hard Drives
320 GB WD
Studio 540MT
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell Studio 540MT
OS
Vista Premium SP1 64Bit
CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Core Q8300
Memory
Dual Channel 4GB (4x1024MB) 800Mhz DDR2
Graphics Card(s)
1024 MB nVidia GeForce GT220
Sound Card
Integrated HDA Dolby Digital
Monitor(s) Displays
23in DELL S2309W
Hard Drives
1TB Serial ATA (7200RPM)
richhemmings said:
Hi everyone!

Is this ok? I know everyone says its always better to do a clean install, but it seems easier to just upgrade... and i've just finished installing my favourite apps etc...


Any thoughts??


Sorry for the ramblings! First post!!!


Thanks in advance!
:D
Click to expand...

As you use your operating system, small problems arise; corruption, etc. If you upgrade you keep these problems. Second, you said that you have a lot of appls. Do you really think the people at MS, configured for every possible upgrade scenrio?
I did a clean install. My advice to you, bite the bullet take the time to do it right. When you have everything installed, are activated, and happy. Make a system image. Any future problems just reinstall the image, make any changes that you did since the image was taken ( keep notes of changes) and you will be very happy with your surfing and other activities.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell XPS 420
OS
Windows 10, Home Clean Install
CPU
Intel Core2 processsor Q8200(2.33Ghz 1333FSB) Quad Core Tech
Motherboard
Dell
Memory
6 gb
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Radeon 256MB HD3650
Sound Card
Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell SP2009W 20"
Hard Drives
640 GB Serial ATA Hard drive
Cooling
Fan
Keyboard
Dell USB Keyboard
Mouse
Dell Premium Optical USB
Internet Speed
DSL 2.85

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit
CPU
P4
Motherboard
Intel 945
Memory
3GB
Graphics Card(s)
256MB ATI
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
19" Samsung
Hard Drives
320 GB WD

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Compal JFT02 (Custom Build Laptop)
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 - Mac OS X 10.6.4 x64
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 2.5 GHz
Motherboard
JFT02
Memory
4GB Kingston DDR2-800
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA Geforce 8600M GT (512MB Model)
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
WUXGA Standard Laptop Display
Screen Resolution
1680*1050
Hard Drives
Toshiba 320GB 5400RPM Laptop HD
PSU
Standard Laptop Power Supply
Case
Standard Laptop Case
Cooling
Standard Laptop Cooling
Keyboard
Standard Laptop 105 Key-Keyboard
Mouse
Synaptics Touchpad
Internet Speed
Verizion Online DSL 3360/864 kbs (dl/up)
Thanks all... Me thinks I'll install to a new partition to start with, just to make sure my w/less will work... then at least I have online support if I need for any other apps/drivers.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to the default disk partition 'RECOVERY' on OTS boxes?
Bin this when I upgrade?
It's only 14Gb / 1Tb and I don't think it has any bearing on the other partition until you go to restore to how it came out of the factory.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell Studio 540MT
OS
Vista Premium SP1 64Bit
CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Core Q8300
Memory
Dual Channel 4GB (4x1024MB) 800Mhz DDR2
Graphics Card(s)
1024 MB nVidia GeForce GT220
Sound Card
Integrated HDA Dolby Digital
Monitor(s) Displays
23in DELL S2309W
Hard Drives
1TB Serial ATA (7200RPM)
All,
is it possible / a good idea to install Win7 on a new partition.. copy all files from the old, then delete the old partition, extending the new to cover al lthe disk?
is this as clean as a 100% disk wipe? the new partition was cleanly formatted prior to installing W7.

Rich
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell Studio 540MT
OS
Vista Premium SP1 64Bit
CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Core Q8300
Memory
Dual Channel 4GB (4x1024MB) 800Mhz DDR2
Graphics Card(s)
1024 MB nVidia GeForce GT220
Sound Card
Integrated HDA Dolby Digital
Monitor(s) Displays
23in DELL S2309W
Hard Drives
1TB Serial ATA (7200RPM)
I Have never done that, but it will be clean. All that remains is that you must enjoy.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell XPS 420
OS
Windows 10, Home Clean Install
CPU
Intel Core2 processsor Q8200(2.33Ghz 1333FSB) Quad Core Tech
Motherboard
Dell
Memory
6 gb
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Radeon 256MB HD3650
Sound Card
Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell SP2009W 20"
Hard Drives
640 GB Serial ATA Hard drive
Cooling
Fan
Keyboard
Dell USB Keyboard
Mouse
Dell Premium Optical USB
Internet Speed
DSL 2.85
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