I have windows vista on my dell laptop - the laptop is probably a year old. i was told to switch to windows 7 because it would fix alot of the bugs i get currently on vista (i.e.: plug hdmi cable into laptop then projector, then i gotta unplug and plug hdmi cable back in to get sound to work on movies)
i have no clue what it means to switch to windows 7 (and if i decide to do it, believe me i wont be the one to install it) if i already have vista loaded on my laptop. is it easy to do? willl it f'up all my stuff? what do you all recommend?
go to DOS prompt and type the following:
C:\>Del *.*
and hit ENTER.
thanks su - now that we got that out of the way.....
btw - i'll try it on my work pc first.
you can install windows 7 w/o having to delete your hard drive. it just replaces vista. you basically put in the windows 7 cd and install it.
but will it f anything up if i do that?
jimi, what they meant is that you can just upgrade to windows 7.. it won't delete a thing. windows 7 is great, fixes alot of the issues that vista had.
that nyk, dont know why djdouchenyc couldnt say that in the first place...
sorry, i was just taken a bit aback that a woman didn't create this thread...
jimimou wrote:that nyk, dont know why djdouchenyc couldnt say that in the first place...
its easy man, you'll be fine
djsunyc wrote:sorry, i was just taken a bit aback that a woman didn't create this thread...
oh dj i still love you.
From what I've read, and from experiences with prior versions of Windows, it's preferable to do a clean install of Windows 7. This can be a drag if you have a lot of software installed, but it gives the best results.
OVERVIEW
01. Make sure you have a good backup of all your files. (do this first before you do anything else.)
1a. (Make sure you have all your passwords for your favorite web sites like UK. Roboform is nice for this.)
02. Make sure you have CDs for all your software
03. Get the latest Windows drivers for your DELL computer from the DELL web site & put them on a cd
04. Get the latest bios/firmware updates for your DELL from the DELL web site and apply them to your computer
05. Using a Windows 7 install CD, do a complete new install. When you get to the part of the installation where it wants you to choose a partition, delete the old one (you do have a good backup, don't you?) and create a new fresh one
06. Continue with your windows installation
07. Once Windows is installed, install your DELL drivers
08. Start reinstalling your apps
09. Restore your data files.
Done.
jimimou wrote:awesome. thanks man.
If you go that route, please make sure you know you have a good backup first. Actually, you should always have a good backup, but it's critically important when you're going to start over from scratch, because when you reformat your partition you're deleting all your files. The "upgrade" route might be a bit safer (you still need a backup though!) but I think the results won't be as good. Your call - depends on your computer skills really.
i would just backup my files & reinstall the OS... it will get rid of all the crap that's clogging up your registry & HD that u no longer use... unless of course u have a lot of software installed that u don't have the install disks for that u really need to keep
with XP and previous, I seemed to do fresh installs every 6-9 months. I'm a pro at it now.
martin wrote:with XP and previous, I seemed to do fresh installs every 6-9 months. I'm a pro at it now.
damn martin how much porn were you looking at?
Clean install is better, more work, but definitely better. So if you can manage it....or if you have a friend that can help you, that is the better way.
A friend of mine tried to just upgrade to Windows 7 and ran into problems. So he did a clean install (reformatted the Hard Drive) and Windows 7 works like a charm.
I have done numerous clean installs and they aren't that bad to do.
With XP you have to do a clean install.
With Vista you can upgrade directly but like others mentioned a clean install is the way to go. Win 7 is nicer than Vista and runs better so I highly recommend it.
Make backups and do the clean install and you will be covered. Do you have an external drive you can throw all of your files on?
thanks for all the advice fellas. I will give it a go.
jim, I'd recommend buying an external hard drive that auto-backups. Just right click your harddrive and check it's properties for size and tell the 5'7" 205 kids with pimples at Best Buy you want a full back up for that size and you want to not think about it
the follow Jones's steps to the T
