Upgrading to Win7

BusyDee

Member
Hi all

Can anyone give me some help please?

I have a copy of Win7 (well somewhere) because I purchased my Dell laptop as Win7 was about to come out and for postage cost I was allowed to buy it.

I think it is time to upgrade but I am unsure if I am up to it.

I have run Win7 Upgrade Advisor Report and a few things are highlighted and I have no idea if they are needed.

System

Windows Mail and Parental Controls (web filtering)


These features are no longer included in Win7 - no one other than myself uses this computer so can I foget this?

More info from Dell Inc. - Dell Inc has a website that might give you more info about getting Win7 running on your PC

Devices

Marvell Yukon 88E8040 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller - Action Recommended - Before installing Win7 go to the device manufacturer's website to download latest drive. I do not know which device this is for.

Programs

Roxio Creator DE - I contacted Roxio and they say this Creator v10 is a unsupported version and incompatible with modern operating systems. We encourage you to reach out to our community forums.


If I knew what this program was for I can decide if it is needed.

All the other things flagged I think I can address.

Anyone help with any of the above please?

BD
 

My Computer

The best nethod is to make sure you can put your system back to its current state if the upgrade doesn't go well. You can find many free system imaging programs here:
Free Hard Disk Backup and Restore, Hard Disk Image and Cloning Utilities (thefreecountry.com)

You will need an external drive or a USB stick large enough to hold the image. I would use one that does compression like Macrium Reflect Free or EaseUS ToDo Backup Free or similar. With Macrium I find the backup image is usually about half the size of that shown on disk. If my C: shows 64GB used the backup image is usually about 33GB. Just to give you an idea how much you need.

Also you should make a boot disc or USB in case your system won't boot after the upgrade attempt. If the worst happens you can boot the USB with the external drive connected and restore from the backup image. Most imaging programs like Macrium or EaseUS will make this boot USB or disc for you.

Once you know you can recover then you can proceed with more confidence. Getting the latest drivers and all that is fine. As far as I know there is no way to have your installed programs still running after the upgrade if they have Registry settings. Stand alone programs that just use an .ini file for settings and are not located under Program Files should be unaffected except for losing their shortcuts.

I put small utilities in a folder C:\Utils so that they won't get wrapped up into Windows.old folder made by upgrade installs.

The most important thing is to have the safety net of a backup image.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion m9515y
    CPU
    Phenom X4 9850
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Some Radeon Cheapie with 512 MB Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    CRT
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    750 GB SATA 3G
    2 SIIG Superspeed docks w/WD Caviar Black Sata II or III
Hi

Many thanks for replying and for all the useful information.

I probably am out of my depth, I figured it would all be self explanatory and just on screen prompts from Win7.

I do have my system backedup and have an external 500GB hard drive.

A boot disk? I thought Vista was the only system that did not include a method to make a bootable disk, you will know more.

I will have my Vista system disk so if I fail to get Win7 working will I be able to simply put the Vista system back on the PC?

I did want a clean install and am happy to install or my software individually, a bind but worth it I thought.

Or my other thought was do the simply upgrade and if that works do a clean install at a later date.

I guess in the end its how confidante I feel, my fall back plan is a new pc which was really what I was going to do anyway but I thought I would have a try just to see if I could do it.

BD
 

My Computer

An imaging program like Macrium Reflect lets you create either a Linux based boot disc/usb or one based on WinPE. Even the free version does this. So if it comes to the worst you can restore the entire HD from the macrium backup image if you chose back up entire system. You could reinstall with the Vista DVD but this way you haven't lost all your tweaks.

It's a matter of preference. Vista to W7 should be pretty painless on the 32 bit side. I tried updating to W7 x64 from Vista x64 and even though the system would boot and run, stuff in the start menu acted weird. It wasn't really usable. I put the Vista image back on. But you may have a better experience.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion m9515y
    CPU
    Phenom X4 9850
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Some Radeon Cheapie with 512 MB Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    CRT
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    750 GB SATA 3G
    2 SIIG Superspeed docks w/WD Caviar Black Sata II or III
System

Windows Mail and Parental Controls (web filtering)

Windows Mail is a program used to do E-mail with, like Outlook Express was in XP. You can download Windows Live Mail as a replacement.

These features are no longer included in Win7 - no one other than myself uses this computer so can I foget this?

If you don't use, forget about them.

Devices

Marvell Yukon 88E8040 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller - Action Recommended - Before installing Win7 go to the device manufacturer's website to download latest drive. I do not know which device this is for.

This is your network card that allows you to connect to the internet. You Ethernet cable plugs in to it. You can download the updated driver here:
Marvell Yukon 88E8040 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller overview


Make sure you get the right one, 32 bit or 64 bit, depending on what you now have for Vista.


Programs

Roxio Creator DE - I contacted Roxio and they say this Creator v10 is a unsupported version and incompatible with modern operating systems. We encourage you to reach out to our community forums.

Roixo is used to burn CDs or DVDs, create music discs and other stuff having to do with your Optical drive.


The only thing you really need to be concerned about is the Marvel Yukon PCI-E Network Card. Download the driver and save it somewhere. Your external drive would be a good place.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 3401 Mhz, 4 Core(s)
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750, Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 27" C27F398 Curved Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 (HDMI)
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB
    Seagate ST2000NM001 2TB
    Seagate ST31500341AS 1.5TB
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Lenovo USB
    Internet Speed
    50MB Down, 10MB Up
  • Operating System
    Windows 7 Pro X64
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP xw4400 Workstation
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D Dual 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    HP 0A68h
    Memory
    5GB
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI FireGL V3300
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer KN242HYL 24" (KVMS)
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Seagate ST3120026As 120GB SATA (boot)
    Toshiba DT01ACA200 2TB SATA
    Mouse
    Logitech via KVMS switch
    Keyboard
    Dell USB via KVMS switch
    Internet Speed
    50 Down, 10 Up
    Other Info
    Apache Web Server since 2001
System

Windows Mail and Parental Controls (web filtering)

Windows Mail is a program used to do E-mail with, like Outlook Express was in XP. You can download Windows Live Mail as a replacement.

These features are no longer included in Win7 - no one other than myself uses this computer so can I foget this?

If you don't use, forget about them.

Devices

Marvell Yukon 88E8040 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller - Action Recommended - Before installing Win7 go to the device manufacturer's website to download latest drive. I do not know which device this is for.

This is your network card that allows you to connect to the internet. You Ethernet cable plugs in to it. You can download the updated driver here:
Marvell Yukon 88E8040 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller overview


Make sure you get the right one, 32 bit or 64 bit, depending on what you now have for Vista.


Programs

Roxio Creator DE - I contacted Roxio and they say this Creator v10 is a unsupported version and incompatible with modern operating systems. We encourage you to reach out to our community forums.

Roixo is used to burn CDs or DVDs, create music discs and other stuff having to do with your Optical drive.


The only thing you really need to be concerned about is the Marvel Yukon PCI-E Network Card. Download the driver and save it somewhere. Your external drive would be a good place.

Many thanks for your help and info, still undecided if I am brave enough to upgrade.

BD
 

My Computer

Download the free Macrium Reflect, make an image of what you have now and put in on an external hard drive. If you screw things up, you can put everything back with the image.
But do not worry, the upgrade is very easy.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Download the free Macrium Reflect, make an image of what you have now and put in on an external hard drive. If you screw things up, you can put everything back with the image.
But do not worry, the upgrade is very easy.

Many thanks, I am going to have a go.

BD
 

My Computer

I quickly looked over the posts that have been made. No one suggested the you pay for anything. Do not agree to make the purchase.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
I quickly looked over the posts that have been made. No one suggested the you pay for anything. Do not agree to make the purchase.

Hi again

Fix my pc, said something like it would fix 8 errors for free and then to buy to correct the rest of a ton or errors, it made it sound like my PC is in very poor shape. I have not done that.

BD
 

My Computer

They are trying to sell something. Do you think they are going to say, your computer is fine, send us money so we can make it better. If the problem is software, we will direct you to a free or very cheap way to get it fixed. Do not send money to anyone.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Listen to what I have to say. It is very easy to upagrade. Any problem that can be fixed by that pay service that you mentioned will be fixed by a clean reinstall. Use macrium reflect as I suggested. If you screw up and screw up really bad, it can be fixed with Macrium. I suggest you go with the upgrade AND everyone who has 7 or 8 can get a Free 10 this Summer. Please do not miss this opportunity.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Listen to what I have to say. It is very easy to upagrade. Any problem that can be fixed by that pay service that you mentioned will be fixed by a clean reinstall. Use macrium reflect as I suggested. If you screw up and screw up really bad, it can be fixed with Macrium. I suggest you go with the upgrade AND everyone who has 7 or 8 can get a Free 10 this Summer. Please do not miss this opportunity.

+1 Most of those fix it sites try to scare you into buying some tool that may work or may not. Don't panic and you'll be OK.

b0220.gif
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion m9515y
    CPU
    Phenom X4 9850
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Some Radeon Cheapie with 512 MB Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    CRT
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    750 GB SATA 3G
    2 SIIG Superspeed docks w/WD Caviar Black Sata II or III
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