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Studio 540 upgrade to Win10 - ?
Hi
Dell Studio 540, Intel Core 2Quad, CPU Q8200 @ 2,33GHz, RAM 4GB. 64bit.
The mark of my Dell isn't shown - so I posted here - please feel free to move my post to the relevant section.
Have an ancient if very reliable Dell Studio 540 with full antivirus but there are now security alerts. I have downloaded relevant MS downloads but they will not open - just go into an opening loop which does not resolve.
Have resisted Win 10 for this pc because it runs a brilliant, obsolete Win 7 compatible video editing software - best I have ever used.
Can the 540 upgrade to Windows 10 or do I need to lose it please - as a security risk?
Thanks
kr236rk02
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January 26th, 2021 07:00
Thanks, 2032 - have loads of those, use them for other devices, luckily.
r72019
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January 26th, 2021 07:00
"It was an Win 10 'OEM' disc, not an upgrade - run onto a clean SSD."
A win 7 key won't work with a win 10 install. You needed to have upgraded from an activated win 7 install. There were 2 options. If you choose wipe and clean install fron win 7, then win 10 won't activate when you enter the win 7 key at the win 10 install page.
r72019
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January 26th, 2021 07:00
When you upgrade it digitally activates only via the upgrade path. One you get the activation on the mobo id it is saved on their servers and you could then wipe and clean install. Also fyi you can't go from home to pro for example.
r72019
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January 26th, 2021 07:00
There's a cr2032 battery on the motherboard. A startup 5 beep code would be that one. You can try reseating it while you get a new one.
kr236rk02
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January 26th, 2021 08:00
Might be 4 beeps - indicating Ram. Makes no sense.
Beeps are rapid & faint - not a very good system.
No error messages.
RoHe
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January 26th, 2021 12:00
@kr236rk02 - So replace the battery and reseat the RAM modules at the same time. And hopefully the beeps are gone.
kr236rk02
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January 26th, 2021 13:00
Thanks - will do this when the 3GHz cpu arrives - on its way - what is the best heatsink paste to get please? Thanks again.
RoHe
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January 26th, 2021 14:00
Depends on who you believe about thermal paste (everyone has their own favorite) and how deep your pocket is.
There are reviews here and here, and likely others too. Note: some thermal pastes are not suitable for an aluminum heat sink. No idea what yours is made of so be cautious...
kr236rk02
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February 9th, 2021 09:00
All done.
CPU came with paste sachets.
All heell broke lose when I booted - black screen with white script warnings all over the place - went into set-up, selected main drive boot, corrected the time shown, which was wrong, exited, Windows 10 booted as normal showing new cpu at 3 GHz.
Still getting 3 rapid, faint bleeps.
Have replaced the battery & double checked the Ram modules, they are all secure. Am hoping that upgrading from 4 to 8 GB Ram may solve the issue - fresh modules?
Even with the bleeps, the 540 works fine - this was my go-to edit pc for digital videos for years, never an issue.
RoHe
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February 9th, 2021 12:00
Can you try a different (wired) USB keyboard and/or connect it to a different USB port on rear of PC?
(Or just don't listen...! )
kr236rk02
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February 9th, 2021 14:00
All usb devices were disconnected & reconnected - different ports - after the cpu upgrade.
It's 4 bleeps, but they are faint, rapid, and do not occur with regular intervals, so it's very difficult to catch their number.
Notwithstanding, if there is anything seriously wrong with this pc, is there not a diagnostic I can run please?
Many thanks.
RoHe
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February 9th, 2021 14:00
@kr236rk02 - You can run diagnostics online here.
Did you try a different keyboard?
4 beeps = RAM error, so if you have add-in video card, that may be indicating a problem with the video card's RAM, rather than system (motherboard) RAM. At least reseat the video card in its slot.
If PC is working ok, just back up your files and/or image the drive(s) on frequent/regular basis and get on with life...
DELL-Cares
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February 9th, 2021 14:00
Hi, I’m your Dell Virtual Assistant. I see you’re looking for technical assistance. If you require our help, you could initiate a private/direct message with us, and we’d be glad to assist you.