Mexstan

My sister is using Windows XP on an old computer. It is Celeron D CPU 3.20 Ghz. 3.99Ghz, 1.93Gb of RAM. Can anybody suggest what to do to upgrade?
I have suggested to her that she dumps her desktop and buy a small, cheap laptop and connect her monitor and keyboard to it. The problem is, which O/S to install?
All she uses it for is for email, a few programs for her hobbies and games. Have already told her that some of the old programs she is using will not work on any new computer because they were designed for W95, 98 and XP.
Thanks in advance for any help.

Jeff in TD

First off, I'm no expert.

If it were me, and she needs to keep programs that only run on XP, I'd run a good virus program, use Chrome or something other than Explorer, and remove Java unless you need it.

I'd still be aware of the risks of running an unsupported operating system, and maybe pick up a new computer and only use the XP machine for those XP programs.

6.7L MegaCab

Mexstan, her computer is easily upgradeable to Windows 7. Chances are her video card may need to be upgraded to fully support the Aero theme, but it is doable. If all she is wanting do is what you mentioned then it will run pretty decent. In fact it will probably run even better than my Dell desktop that I purchased in 2001. I upgraded from the built in graphics to a 1GB AGP card that is compatible with Windows 7 and I swear it runs better than it did with XP (i'm still using that dinosaur too). Oh, my Dell is only 2Ghz with 1.5GB Ram. I have upgraded multiple older computers of friends and coworkers over the years with no problems. There is really no reason to can it.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Lary Ellis (Top)

Hi Stan, Hope you are enjoying your vacation and the opportunity to visit with family

Download the Windows 7 Advisor and run the program it will check out her PC to see if it will upgrade to Windows 7 without any issues.

I am upgrading my second one today and so far no real issues to speak of other than having to manually locate drivers online for some of the older hardware.

You can download the Windows 7 Advisor free here http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/downl...ils.aspx?id=20

Be sure to backup everything when updating, things like bookmarks and email are easy to keep but you MUST address the issue BEFORE you upgrade or risk losing them.

If I can be of any help just give me a shout

6.7L MegaCab

Lary made a good point about the drivers. For the motherboard, if the PC manufacturer doesn't have drivers for Windows 7, you may be able to get them directly from Intel. For my Dell, I was able to get updated drivers from Intel for the motherboard, some components I wasn't able to, but I was able to install them in compatibility mode set to XP and haven't had any issues. A couple weeks ago while out in NM, I upgraded my brother's 6 year old Dell. Everything installed without a hitch and the upgraded drivers from Intel improved the performance. The only thing we had to ditch was the wireless USB dongle due to incompatibility with Win7. Also, before upgrading, open up the device manager and make note of the type of motherboard (listed under system devices), sound processor, display adapter, modem, network adapters, IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers, sound controllers, storage controllers, etc. It'll go a long way knowing what's there prior to upgrading. Some of the items may be taken care of with the driver set from Intel, others may need to come direct from the maker of that component. Sound for example may be part of the motherboard, but you may get better driver support from the chip manufacturer. Hope this helps. Windows 7 advisor really only looks at performance and specs. My Dell wasn't compatible, but it runs great.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

DieselDaze

Hey Stan, if your sister is open to change, convert her over to a good Linux distribution.
I prefer Linux Mint with the Mate desktop due to its simplicity and reliability.
Also, due to its reduced demand for hardware, its able to run on both new and older hardware.
I use it at work and at home. For that matter, I've been using either Ubuntu or Mint for the past decade or so without security or reliability issues.
However, it is a change from Windows and will need some adjustment time if you choose this route.

HMX-1

Microsoft has a data transfer utility, just make sure you have an external hard drive to use it. It makes the upgrade process really easy.

Run the Windows 7 Advisor to see if you can upgrade, which I think you could but because of the lack of RAM (it has only 2GB) it will be a bit slow.

A cheap laptop is an alternative, but most have Windows 8 and that goofy smartphone feel to it. Try to stick to Windows 7 if you can find someone that sells it installed.



-Kris

Scotty

My suggestion is to wait for windows 9 on a new laptop.
Portability may be a good idea.

On second thought. Hook her up with a huge screen so Lary and I can send her pix of our LEGGS

railroaderone

Windows 8 is A PITA not at all simlar to windows 7. And with a touch screen computer it's way out there man.

Jeff in TD

Yes, it is.

I have no idea what they were thinking.

j_martin

Win8 actually runs a bit better than Win7, and is easier on memory. If you run a free app called classic shell on Win8, it feels like Win7.

Jeff in TD

Thanks. I don't really care for the giant phone feel of Windows 8, so I may have to try that.

Busboy

Get the free 8.1 download it's much better than win 8, it takes a little getting used to and the email editor that comes with it also takes some getting used to but after trying quite a few this works the best.

FiverBob

By the time you pay something like $120 for Windows 8, why not put that toward a new computer that all ready has Windows 8 installed? If hers is older, might be the best bet. You can afford to do it for her - - loosen up, tightwad...........

Bob

Busboy

That's what we did and Microsoft was giving an extra $100 off the price for the XP hold outs, however the two lap tops we picked up only had win 8 and it's quite a pain to upgrade, we picked up another tower with 8.1 already installed and way easier. Get the 8.1 if you can.