Windows 7 ??

[seamorton]

Looking to upgrade my OS from XP to Windows 7 which I know nothing about? Does it come with 32/64 bit? Will it be able to download on my older XP os PC? Where would I be able to find the best deal on W7? You may send PM if you prefer. This and any other input & issues would be very much appreciated. Thank you very much! SM USAF 62-66

 

[JackMDS]

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...gclid=CKD2kfK14NICFVaBswod7MEM_w&gclsrc=aw.ds

http://winsupersite.com/article/faqtip/windows-7-faq

 

[Ketchup]

Tell us a little about your computer.

Hint: if you have less than 2 GB of RAM, it's gonna run like crap.

 

[seamorton]

Tell us a little about your computer.

Hint: if you have less than 2 GB of RAM, it's gonna run like crap.

P5GC-MX/1333 .... Intel945GC/ICH7 ... Chipset Support ..... Pentium (R) Dual Core CPU .... E5200@ 2.50 Ghz ... 2.50 Ghz 3.36 GB of Ram. Hope this helps & thanks for the input. SM

 

[VirtualLarry]

Yeah, Win7 64-bit should run right nice on that rig. E5200 with 4GB of RAM, yeah, that's enough to run it.
I would recommend getting a GT710 video card, or an RX 460 2GB if you want to play games on it.
The reason being is, the on-board graphics are a bit dated, and may be difficult to find up-to-date drivers for.

Edit: While you're doing an OS upgrade, throw in an SSD while you're at it.

You can run a SATA6G 2.5" SSD in SATAII IDE mode, if you have to. Or, you can buy a Syba PCI-E x1 dual-port SATA6G card, with an ASMedia chipset, that is auto-detected by Win7 64-bit as an AHCI disk controller, for around $10-20 at Newegg, on top of the cost of the SSD. $40-50 for a 128GB Adata SU800.

Edit: Once you upgrade to the SATA6G controller card, SSD, and a discrete GPU, it should run like a relative rocket for you.

Or, you could consider an H110 or B150 motherboard, and a Kaby Lake or Skylake Celeron CPU (G3900 Celeron is Skylake, G3930 Celeron is Kaby Lake.) You would also have to spend out on DDR4 though, get at least 8GB.

That would probably see you through another 5+ years worth of web browsing.

Edit: Don't let my suggestions scare you, though. But if you're upgrading, (if and only if you have the budget for it), then consider the bigger picture.

Also, consider that some motherboards will eventually start to wear out, especially if they are using electrolytic capacitors, rather than "solid" capacitors.

Then again, my friend's AM2+ board, which has solid caps around the CPU VRM area (it's an ASRock), and electrolytic caps elsewhere, is still going strong, and I got that for him, probably in 2008 or 2009.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Edit: Forget my prior upgrade recommendations. That board has no solid caps on it. I wouldn't want to try to rely on it for another five years. Time to retire that rig. (But only if you can afford to.)

If you buy OEM Windows 7 Pro 64-bit SP1 (the only one quasi-legitimately available from legit channels), then it will be "bound" to the motherboard, once you activate it with the product key. (You do have the option of installing it, and running it indefinitely, without a key, and still getting updates. Don't ask me how I know, though. No illegitimate cracks needed.)

But considering how long that you've probably had your system, you might consider doing a complete upgrade.

Another thing to consider, is buying a REFURB quad-core Sandy / Ivy Bridge PC, with 8GB of RAM, and adding an SSD and (optionally) a video card. You can get those, if you really look hard, for under $200, with the OS included. (Remember, if you were to buy the OEM OS through legit channels for your existing PC, you would be spending $120-140.) Also consider Haswell i3 refurbs too.

Maybe someone could like some cheap quad-core (2nd/3rd-gen Core) refurbs?

Edit: And if you only consider building new, here's what my G4560 browser build breaks down to:
Intel G4560 CPU ($60, Antonline on ebay, when it stock - currently, these are hard to find at list price online.)
Biostar B150S1 D4 micro-ATX mobo ($27 shipped, Newegg, they had a 50% promo code for a sale, and it was already marked down to $49.99. + ship)
8GB (2x4GB) DDR4-2133/2400 GeiL desktop RAM ($35, Newegg on ebay, bough these before the great RAM price increases took hold.)
Rosewill FBM-05 case ($25, Newegg or Newegg on ebay, on sale, these are like their other FBM cases internally, but they have a single USB3.0 port on the front, in addition to the two USB2.0 ports.)
Rosewill Stallion 400W PSU ($37 shipped, Newegg on ebay. This was in deference to the ThermalTake TR2-430 from BestBuy, often goes on sale for $40 + tax, or the EVGA 600W, often goes on sale at BestBuy's ebay site for $30 + tax, which wasn't available at the time.) Has a PCI-E 6-pin connector.
Adata SU800 Ultimate 128GB SATA 2.5" SSD ($40, Newegg on ebay, on sale, normally goes for $40-60. 3D TLC NAND, middle-of-the-road, but this was a great price these days, since SSDs have been increasing in price.)

Total: $224 in hardware, before the Windows license cost. Which can range from $20 from a dealer on CDKeys.com or Bonanza.com (sketchy), or $80 or $100 from Newegg (depends on whether it's on sale that week).

So, assuming that you could replicate my deals, and got Windows 10 from Newegg on sale for $80, that would be $304 for the PC. Which is really not too shabby.

 

[seamorton]

Edit: Forget my prior upgrade recommendations. That board has no solid caps on it. I wouldn't want to try to rely on it for another five years. Time to retire that rig. (But only if you can afford to.)

If you buy OEM Windows 7 Pro 64-bit SP1 (the only one quasi-legitimately available from legit channels), then it will be "bound" to the motherboard, once you activate it with the product key. (You do have the option of installing it, and running it indefinitely, without a key, and still getting updates. Don't ask me how I know, though. No illegitimate cracks needed.)

But considering how long that you've probably had your system, you might consider doing a complete upgrade.

Another thing to consider, is buying a REFURB quad-core Sandy / Ivy Bridge PC, with 8GB of RAM, and adding an SSD and (optionally) a video card. You can get those, if you really look hard, for under $200, with the OS included. (Remember, if you were to buy the OEM OS through legit channels for your existing PC, you would be spending $120-140.) Also consider Haswell i3 refurbs too.

Maybe someone could like some cheap quad-core (2nd/3rd-gen Core) refurbs?

Edit: And if you only consider building new, here's what my G4560 browser build breaks down to:
Intel G4560 CPU ($60, Antonline on ebay, when it stock - currently, these are hard to find at list price online.)
Biostar B150S1 D4 micro-ATX mobo ($27 shipped, Newegg, they had a 50% promo code for a sale, and it was already marked down to $49.99. + ship)
8GB (2x4GB) DDR4-2133/2400 GeiL desktop RAM ($35, Newegg on ebay, bough these before the great RAM price increases took hold.)
Rosewill FBM-05 case ($25, Newegg or Newegg on ebay, on sale, these are like their other FBM cases internally, but they have a single USB3.0 port on the front, in addition to the two USB2.0 ports.)
Rosewill Stallion 400W PSU ($37 shipped, Newegg on ebay. This was in deference to the ThermalTake TR2-430 from BestBuy, often goes on sale for $40 + tax, or the EVGA 600W, often goes on sale at BestBuy's ebay site for $30 + tax, which wasn't available at the time.) Has a PCI-E 6-pin connector.
Adata SU800 Ultimate 128GB SATA 2.5" SSD ($40, Newegg on ebay, on sale, normally goes for $40-60. 3D TLC NAND, middle-of-the-road, but this was a great price these days, since SSDs have been increasing in price.)

Total: $224 in hardware, before the Windows license cost. Which can range from $20 from a dealer on CDKeys.com or Bonanza.com (sketchy), or $80 or $100 from Newegg (depends on whether it's on sale that week).

So, assuming that you could replicate my deals, and got Windows 10 from Newegg on sale for $80, that would be $304 for the PC. Which is really not too shabby.

Thanks for taking the time to post your observations. Very nicely done! All I have to do is to take some time to comprehend & absorb the information. I'll see what I can do and what we can come up with. I see there are OEM Windows 7 Pro 64-bit SP1 Offered on ebay. Also 32bit but not sure if there would be any mobo conflictions per se 32 bit & 64 bit software.

 

[VirtualLarry]

64-bit Windows 7 (any edition), will let you run 64-bit programs, as well as 32-bit programs. Drivers have to be 64-bit.

32-bit Windows 7 (any edition), will let you run 32-bit programs, as well as 16-bit programs. (16-bit programs, most often found in installshield installers for older applications, will NOT run on a 64-bit OS. Likewise, 64-bit programs, will NOT run on a 32-bit Windows OS.) Drivers have to be 32-bit.

Also, 32-bit Windows (non-server) versions, limit you to 4GB total addressable memory, of which some of the lower 4GB of physical address space is taken up by PCI devices. 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium lets you use up to 16GB of RAM, Pro or Enterprise allows 128GB or maybe 192GB, not sure.

Windows 10 64-bit Home, allows at least 128GB of RAM.

 

[Burpo]

You can buy Product key for Windows 7 on ebay, from scrapped or decommissioned PC's.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-WI...id=100005&rk=4&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=322453512240

Once you have a key, you can download a Windows 7 image from Microsoft.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Isn't it amazing how an OEM license for a eight year old nearly defunct (I still use it) version of Windows still goes for $140 in retail. It is the same price for Win10.

 

[VirtualLarry]

You can buy Product key for Windows 7 on ebay, from scrapped or decommissioned PC's.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-WI...id=100005&rk=4&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=322453512240

Once you have a key, you can download a Windows 7 image from Microsoft.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7

Slight problem with that, Burpo.

Surplus PCs have OEM Win7 keys.

MS's Win7 download site only accepts RETAIL keys, not OEM.

Good thought, though.

 

[XavierMace]

And I wouldn't expect that key to last forever either way.

 

[Mike64]

Slight problem with that, Burpo.

Surplus PCs have OEM Win7 keys.

MS's Win7 download site only accepts RETAIL keys, not OEM.

Good thought, though.

I have no idea if this'll work (it's not something I've ever tried or bothered to research), but can one use those OEM keys with the various pre-built PC "reinstallation" discs that are also sold (rather widely) on Ebay and other sites, or are those somehow tied to the specific companies machines?

 

[tidy]

.

 

[John Connor]

Do you even know how to install the operating system?

 

[techmanc]

I saved money a lot of buying Window 7 at Ebay just make sure you buy it from someone selling a lot of them not someone selling one piece of Windows software and check there comments to see if the people bought the same software and are happy.
Also get from a US seller as I totally dont trust buying that from any oversea seller.

Last purchase bought 3 Windows 7 Pro 64bit which I upgraded to Window 10 Pro 64bit.
You can still make that conversion today.

 

[mikeymikec]

OP, your current board supports a max of 4GB RAM, so if you were thinking of putting a more modern version of Windows on it, it ought to be the 32-bit version as that uses a bit less RAM than the 64-bit, and as 32-bit Windows only supports a max of 3-4GB RAM, you're not losing out in that respect. As you're still using XP I doubt there's any question about whether you require 64-bit compatibility.

 

[techmanc]

I see thats it is a 64bit cpu so you can use the 64bit OS which requires the 4gb of RAM and I am assuming you never ran the upgrade advisor which I do on all PC unsure if it will work and what problems you might need to fix.

 

[seamorton]

I see thats it is a 64bit cpu so you can use the 64bit OS which requires the 4gb of RAM and I am assuming you never ran the upgrade advisor which I do on all PC unsure if it will work and what problems you might need to fix.

That's an interesting observation & thought. There has been a lot of information & suggestions that have been provided. I feel pretty sure what has been said, if I got this right, is that I should be able to install & run win 7? The update advisor should confirm this. Some time ago I purchased a Windows OS 7 Beta circa 7 May 2009 before it came out. I don't believe it is supported and not able to be activated. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[seamorton]

OP, your current board supports a max of 4GB RAM, so if you were thinking of putting a more modern version of Windows on it, it ought to be the 32-bit version as that uses a bit less RAM than the 64-bit, and as 32-bit Windows only supports a max of 3-4GB RAM, you're not losing out in that respect. As you're still using XP I doubt there's any question about whether you require 64-bit compatibility.

Came across this on ebay ....

!Brand New DVD!


Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 32 Bit

Comes with Product Key and COA

Full Version & Upgrade

Service Pack 1


Would this DVD work? I've done a number of XP installations with formatted HD's ... also with erased HD's ... some with New HD's, etc. All legitimate! If I understand, this correctly, Support for the W7 32 and 64 according to MS For those running Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 applied..... the end of mainstream and extended support dates are the same -- January 13, 2015 and January 14, 2020, respectively -- given there is no Windows 7 SP2. Hope this helps! SM

 

[mikeymikec]

Do you trust the seller? The problem is, they could have used that product key (or are currently using that code) elsewhere. If so, the inevitable result is that they'll say "ah, try this code instead" and keep going through until you get a successful activation. Then say a few years later you need to do a reinstall and that code may not activate.

A way around a problem like this might be to go and bin-dive at the local dump (whatever they call where normal people bring rubbish that's not suitable to just put in the bin), and look for a laptop with a Windows 7 product key sticker on and note down the number. As for the CD, someone else said that the Windows ISO creator site will only work with a retail code, I don't think that's true. I might try feeding it one of my spare codes and see if I get an ISO in response.

 

[you2]

If you don't require windows you might consider linux. It is free; runs great on your machine and doesn't have funky license issues.

 

[Azuma Hazuki]

OP: As VirtualLarry said, that board is a mess of electrolytic capacitors. If you can get any sort of replacement within budget it would be wise.

Consider EBay's "Buy it Now" deals on corporate (and ONLY corporate) off-lease business machines; I got an excellent deal on an Elitebook 8470p for about $90 with no hard drive and threw an SSD and Linux onto it.

If you want to keep going with your current hardware, please open the case and inspect every single capacitor for signs of bulging, leakage, or scorching.