switching dell optiplex from xp to vista

ydono

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united states
Hi. I have a Dell Optiplex 360 that came loaded with xp and vista. It also came with a windows 7 upgrade dvd.

I opted for xp and it has been running on xp. I need to upgrade to vista for obvious reasons. As mentioned, it is already installed on the computer but I have no clue how to go about switching the computer over from xp to vista. Can someone walk me through this or provide a link to a support article that has step by step instructions.

If possible, including how and what to backup first so I don't loose emails, favorites, docs, etc. that would be great too.

thanks!

I will eventually throw in the windows 7 upgrade dvd that came with the computer as well but I'm figuring vista needs to be the acting os before I can do that, right?
 
Basically yes yes and yes to your questions although I have never had an "upgrade" that could be initiated from your computer. Any upgrades that I have had have been on CDS or DVDs. But yes being an upgrade it does have to have the previous OS up and running. In theory it should upgrade without losing any of your personal files and programs but in all honesty I wouldn't trust it to do that. Ensure that you have backed up all your personal files, you should be doing that anyway, and make sure that you have the original installation CDs/DVDs for any programa that are on your computer, just in case. If there is an upgrade on your computer then Dell should have made it easy to find the setup file that would start that upgrade and I would have thought that it would be somewhere in your program list, possibly in a Dell folder. Good luck and, as I say, do make sure that yor personal files at least are backerd up before starting. Also be aware that if you do upgrade to Windows 7 then, for a while at least, you will be eligible to a free upgrade to Win 10 and Mr Microsoft will keep badgering ou to do it. Some programs and hardware that run okay on XP will not run on Win 10, or Vista and 7 for that matter, so that is a consideration you have to keep in mind. As far as the upgrade to Vista is concerned you should have a disk or a setup file on your computer. It is just a matter of using that disk or finding that setup file and following the prompts. It might be worth your while putting the Win 7 disk in and seeing if it will upgrade Windows XP. It will tell you if XP is not upgradeable from that disk. But I do reiterate back everything up first.
 
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Your XP drivers aren't gonna do anything on windows 7. So that would be a waste of time.
Ether download the new drivers on the manufacturers website or let windows update handle it.
 
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Your XP drivers aren't gonna do anything on windows 7. So that would be a waste of time.
Ether download the new drivers on the manufacturers website or let windows update handle it.

That is why I do not think you will be able to do the upgrade from Windows XP. I think you will have to find the Vista upgrade starter file that should be in yor program list somewhere. It will probably be in a folder marked as Dell, do the Vista upgrade first. My other doubt is that I am not sure that you can do a Windows 7 upgrade from Vista. it does seem slightly odd that you have a Windows 7 upgrade disk and not a Vista upgrade disk.I could be completey wrong on those points though. As I have said put the disk in and follow the prompts it will tell you if it cannot do the upgrade before anything permanent happens. But don'tforget BACK UP YOUR STUFF FIRST. Not shouing just emphasising.
 
Another option would be going Linux.
That computer model is 7½ years old.
Lubuntu are designed for old computers.

One thing for sure, he has to upgrade to something. XP isn't secure anymore.
 
Yes but the problem with Linux is that you do need to be a bit of a geek to use it. I use Mint and that is okay to install it finds everything but putting programs on it is another matter all together. I know the Linux aficionados will say it is "easy" but it's only "easy" if you know what you are doing.

You are right in that he does have to upgrade I suppose but it depends on what wants to do with his computer. There are still anti virus and anti malware programs out there that will work with Windows XP and I am not at all sure that Microsoft's "security updates" actually did very much anyway.
 
About XP security:
yeah, you are properly right about that. I believe most of the important security updates goes to the firewall.
So that firewall would ofcause have to be changed to something like Comodo Firewall.

About Linux:
It's more difficult to use, i'll give you that. But once it has been setup and if he aren't using the pre-installed programs, it should be easy enough to adapt.
Then again, some people have a harder time adapting to new things than others. It was just a suggestion.
 
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On the Dell website it does have drivers for Vista but whether they would work with 7/8.1 or 10 is uncertain. When you install Windows 7 and newer versions, It does an alright job of getting drivers that do the job.

Optiplex 360 Drivers
 
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I have windows 10 64bit working on a Lenovo with the same chipset as the Dell Optiplex 360 (G33/31) and it works fine.

You do have to resolve the display issue, which involves using Vista drivers, but the method works after a quick google.

The Vista drivers do work for 7, 8, and 10 as I have had this machine through all of those operating systems.
 
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