Vista to Windows 7

StereoLove

Hi all,
I have a laptop that I got about three years ago, which has Windows Vista but it's been very slow lately and I was just wondering if I got the Windows 7 package would it help speed it up?

danjo-xx

The answer seems to be 'probably' have a look here,

http://blogs.computerworld.com/14763/should_you_upgrade_from_vista_to_windows_7

RolandIRL

http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner
http://download.cnet.com/Auslogics-Disk-Defrag/3000-2094_4-10567503.html?tag=mncol;1

Try running CCleaner and Auslogics Defrag to see if that helps speed up vista.

ejmaztec

It could well be that the laptop processor is capable of 64 bit, but is restricted to 32 bit operation in Vista. I installed 64 bit Windows 7 on an HP Pavilion, and contrary to what some people told me, didn't have to edit the bios to enable 64 bit. The W7 install dtected the processor and installed the 64 bit OS accordingly.

BostonB

ejmaztec wrote: »

...contrary to what some people told me, didn't have to edit the bios to enable 64 bit....

Never heard of needing to do that. 32bit OS'es work perfectly fine on 64bit hardware.

coylemj

You say it's been very slow 'lately', does that suggest that performance was ok up to a little while ago? If that's the case then upgrading the OS may not buy you anything.

How much memory is on the machine?

Do kids have access to it? They are notorious for installing all sorts of rubbish like sound effects which can clog up memory and possibly come with Adware/Spyware.

Do you do any kind of occasional clean up or defrag?

Do you uninstall s/w that you no longer use?

StereoLove

Thanks everyone for the replies on this thread, I'll try what you guys have suggetsed:)

coylemj wrote: »

You say it's been very slow 'lately', does that suggest that performance was ok up to a little while ago? If that's the case then upgrading the OS may not buy you anything.

How much memory is on the machine?

Do kids have access to it? They are notorious for installing all sorts of rubbish like sound effects which can clog up memory and possibly come with Adware/Spyware.

Do you do any kind of occasional clean up or defrag?

Do you uninstall s/w that you no longer use?

Yeah, it was ok up to recently.

I don't have kids, so no, kids don't have access to it

Yeah I usually try to.

ejmaztec

BostonB wrote: »

Never heard of needing to do that. 32bit OS'es work perfectly fine on 64bit hardware.

I didn't say that this wasn't the case.

My laptop originally came from HP with 32bit Vista, so the cpu was never capable of reaching its 64bit capability in that situation. When I installed W7 64 bit, it obviously was 64 bit capable.

Tails142

I had Vista on my PC and upgraded there recently to Win7. I had a lot of frustrating issues with Vista such as excruciatingly slow load up times, strange issues where wifi wouldnt connect and somewhat sluggish application performance, particularly as windows loaded up after login and the background services all got loaded.

After upgrading to Win 7 these problems have gone away so I would reccommend it if you're experiencing similiar issues.

I have a sour taste left in my mouth about the whole though, after buying Vista Ultimate, having to buy Win7 Home Premium within such a short time. It cost about €70 for an upgrade package for home premium, and for Win7 Ultimate they were looking for €100 for an upgrade.

Luckily you can just copy over a lot of files from an ultimate install into a home premuim to active features such a remote desktop and these can be found on the net fairly handy so at least I can give them the two fingers as I hand over my cash!

BostonB

ejmaztec wrote: »

I didn't say that this wasn't the case.

My laptop originally came from HP with 32bit Vista, so the cpu was never capable of reaching its 64bit capability in that situation. When I installed W7 64 bit, it obviously was 64 bit capable.

Whats any of that got to do with the bios? What did people tell you to change in the bios?

Some machines may have 64 bit CPU's but have a 32bit memory limitation due to the chipset.

PogMoThoin

How much ram have You got? Could just be that You need more ram.

ejmaztec

BostonB wrote: »

Whats any of that got to do with the bios? What did people tell you to change in the bios?

Some machines may have 64 bit CPU's but have a 32bit memory limitation due to the chipset.

I was originally told to get a bios editor to edit the HP bios, so that it could be 64 bit enabled, but this wasn't necessary, as the W7 64 bit installation detected a 64 bit chip and installed accordingly.

A bios editor was probably suggested because the user interface on the HP bios is practically non-existent. You can't adjust any settings.

What do you mean by a 32 bit memory limitation on a 64 bit chipset?

BostonB

I didn't say 64bit chipset.

The memory controller from some 945 chipsets is only 32 bit even though the rest of it is 64bit including the CPU. The result is a 64 bit OS will run but can only use 3.25GB RAM.

I've not heard of a 64bit enable setting in a Bios before. Maybe they were confusing it with VT or PAE or something.