Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

Question

Update dell from xp to vista

Mar 8, 2013 5:28AM PST

I purchased my Dell desktop about four years ago and it came with xp and vista os. I loaded up xp. I'd like to now switch it over to vista so that I can upgrade to newer OSs from Vista.

Can anyone tell me how to do this and also advise as to what will happen to all my settings/docs/other apps. (or link me to instructions)

One more question, My outlook express has been acting weird (not showing messages - just headers) so I'm wondering if the switch over will also reintstall OE and IE. And how to save my emails and favorites.

Thanks

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Answer
Be sure you have the drivers and software you'll need
Mar 8, 2013 5:51AM PST

Vista has a significantly different kernel (nitty gritty core part of Windows under the covers), so it requires a good many new drivers. There're also programs that run under XP that don't run any more under Vista, so be sure to run the Vista Upgrade Advisor to find out about those. One I know of for sure is your antivirus software. Another thing is there is no OE in Vista, there's Windows Mail. The good news about Windows Mail is it's pretty much the same as OE, but you may have to save your contacts and emails and reload them, so check on that.
From a hardware point of view you'll want to be sure you have enough RAM. You'd probably want around 3 GB for Vista whereas XP would run pretty well in 1 GB. RAM's cheap, but be prepared to deal with that.
Now I don't know if you're aware of this, but you could upgrade to Windows 7 from XP. I assume you're thinking Vista because you already have it and don't want to spend another $100 or so for Windows 7. There're not that many folks running Vista these days, and it never had a good reputation. I think it's OK these days but you should at least be aware of Windows 7. Certainly if you want a 64 bit version, Windows 7 would be highly preferable.

Good luck.

- Collapse -
would rather go directly to windows 7
Mar 8, 2013 7:42AM PST

I actually want to go directly to windows 7 but I thought I had to get my computer to vista first. Are you saying that I can go directly from XP to windows 7? How would I get my emails from OE to windows mail. And, how can I make sure my Dell will work with windows 7:?

thanks so much for the info

- Collapse -
Answer
To call this a switch is well, maybe you are right!
Mar 8, 2013 6:28AM PST

As you know there is no supported method to upgrade form XP to Vista that I'll write is that good.

Pretend like it's a new install and what's on the HDD now is going away. If the Vista is from Dell, they will have drivers on the other media or at the dell site.
Bob

- Collapse -
Go directly to 7.
Mar 8, 2013 7:49AM PST

There is no known upgrade path to 7. All the attempts I saw had the owner bald until they installed 7 fresh and clean.
Bob

- Collapse -
how much does a fresh install of 7 cost
Mar 8, 2013 8:02AM PST

I'm guessing the $100 cost is an upgrade. How much is the fresh install?

- Collapse -
See for yourself here
Mar 8, 2013 8:11AM PST