Upgrading To Vista From XP

[ThisIsAnExample]

Hey! I wanted to know if it's a good idea to upgrade to Vista (Vista Advisor does not work anymore)

 

Here are my specs...

 

System:

Microsoft Windows XP

Professional

Bersion 2002

Service Pack 3

 

 

Computer:

Intel®

 

Pentium® 4 CPU 2.60GHz

 

2.59 GHz. 504 MB of RAM

 

 

Thanks.

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[KenB]

If you are going to upgrade to Vista then you are going to need more RAM.

Take a look here for minimum specs:

Windows Vista system requirements - Microsoft Windows

[ThisIsAnExample]

I have 504 RAM. For Vista Home Basics it says (512 megabytes (MB) for Home Basic)

 

Do you think it's safe to upgrade? Or just buy an extra GIG?

 

Even though, will it still run okay - the 8?

[Synapse]

Personally I wouldn't spend money on Vista, I'd go straight to Windows 7.

 

I have an old Dell kicking around that I tried Win 7 on, 3.2 GHz Celeron, 1.5GB memory, and Win 7 ran ok, but after the novelty had worn off it did seem a big sluggish and I noticed I was waiting for things to happen that had been snappy in XP.

 

Vista will be worse than that.

 

Personally I think it is just a bit too far behind to make it worthwhile, others may disagree.

[ThisIsAnExample]

The main reason I wanna change my OS is because I'm getting sick of the problems I'm facing with XP.

At first, all was okay but then weird things started to happen. Example:

Some programs started to fail.

(Apparently) Something was wrong with my service pack. (SP2)

 

So I got my CD out and reinstalled it. All was working fine again but now afew stuff are going wrong again...

Example:

Some programs won't install and some games that previously installed with no problem just won't install.

I seriously doubt it's viruses since my computer is always being watched by programs and I don't go near the odd stuff online.

 

Nothing is wrong with the hardware in my computer cause (As I said) this happened before but I reinstalled XP and it ran like new with no problems.

I keep cleaning my registry files and everything...

 

But the problem first started when I did a system restore...

[RandyL]

The problems you describe have nothing to do with the operating system. The fact it ran ok after a full reinstall proves that. It's probably the programs you installed or your "cleaning: methods. Cleaning registry files for example is a recipe for disaster. As far as malware goes there are hundreds of ways to get infected and not all prevention programs are equal nor foolproof.

 

As suggested read the vista specs. You're going to need a whole lot more than just RAM. Better off buying new. Also as suggested if one were to attempt an upgrade go with 7. For that matter run the Windows 7 upgrade advisor. There's not much difference between the two.

[Plastic Nev]

The biggest clue to your problems is in the statement you run registry cleaners. Please please stay away from them, regardless of what the program vendor says, there is no such thing as a good registry cleaner. What is also important is the fact that the registry in itself will not slow the system just because there may well be many odd useless files in it. Windows knows to skip them and ignore whatever is in the dead or orphaned file. Companies and organisations who tout registry cleaners are to my mind legalised scammers, taking your cash for something that is of little or no use, and more likely to destroy your registry by removing needed files.

 

Next thing is to think seriously about upgrading to Windows 7 rather than Vista, a lot of us feel Vista was at best a trial version that didn't work very well or at least a prototype for Windows 7.

So, even if you stick with the idea of going Vista, you will certainly need more RAM and 1Gb is only basic for it to run well. If your motherboard will take 3GB or more go for the most you can afford.

However also weigh up the processor before even buying that RAM, the modern quad cored processors are much better able to handle Vista or W7. Ask yourself can you afford to upgrade the processor as well? and will the motherboard support that extra processor power?

What about the graphics? do you have a separate card in, and if so is that good enough? If going to go for bigger and better, you may need to upgrade the power supply to run it.

You may well find too many shortcomings elsewhere in the system, you don't say how big the hard drive is for example, although not necessary to run Vista or W7, if it is only say 80 or 120 GB it may be getting full so a larger drive may be a good idea.

It all adds up, and you may well be better off buying a new machine in the end. At the top gaming end of the market even, new desktops are getting cheaper yet more powerful all the time.

In fact some laptops are beginning to see decent performance on gaming.

Nev.