Upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 8

Question

My computer is a 9 year old Dell Dimension 3000 running XP Home Edition SP3 v. 2002. Pentium 4 with 3 GHz Hyper-threading (dual core) processor, 2 GB RAM and 500 GB HDD. It works fine, but I would like to migrate to Windows 8.1 or at least Windows 7 for obvious reasons. I have run Windows 8 Compatibility Assistant, which found 38 devices and apps as compatible, but listed several compatibility issues: - Install an app to play DVDs - Processor doesn't have NX turned on, or might not support NX, PAE, or SSE2, which can be accessed in BIOS setup. - Screen resolution needs to be 1366 x 768 to snap apps. - iTunes - remove authorized PCs. - Microsoft office 2013 paid update available (currently running Office 2003) - Music Match - go to website for help - Windows Live Essentials - Update available (don't use) - Windows Live update assistant - update available (don't use) - Widows Live Messenger 5.1 - go to website for help (don't use) - Sound Max Integrated digital audio - update available. Will it be possible to upgrade OS on this computer, and if so, how do I proceed?

kirkd · Answer

It will upgrade and run. See my D9100 below. Performance is OK, but I wouldn't use it as a primary machine. You will need to do a clean install going from XP. Install over XP, but dn not reformat the hard drive. Won 8 will install any necessary  drivers. Machine specific drivers, such as the chip set driver will remain. Many say to reform at first, but this looses all drivers, and these will need to be reinstalled. This is not the way to go.

Philip_Yip · Answer

Windows XP and Office 2003 reach end of life in April 2014. You will need to install the 32 Bit version of Windows 8.1 or 7.

This is a pretty old system and is not really Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 compliant. Personally I would not put much money into upgrading it. I would recommend looking into a new system such as the Inspiron 660 which will come with Windows 8.0/8.1 or a second hand OptiPlex 760 which has a Windows 7 license. Many businesses are selling OptiPlex 760's second hand on eBay, these have far superior hardware to the Dimension 3000.

The Dimension 3000 has only DDR RAM and a PATA/IDE hard drive controller. This means hard drive replacement is going to be costly and the hard drive is the most common component of a PC which fails especially on such aging hardware. Next the onboard Intel graphics adapter is Intel 82865G and Intel did not create a driver for it beyond Windows XP. Windows 8.1 will install a generic driver however the video performance will be worse than that of XP. A graphics card can later be inserted in the system to take care of the video problem however.

Next the CPU you should update your BIOS to version A03: http://ftp.dell.com/bios/D3000A03.EXE if its not already at the latest version. Then you should change the setting within the Dell BIOS as shown in the screenshot here:

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/software-os/f/3524/t/19464741.aspx

To enter the BIOS setup power down the system and press F2 when powering up. If you cannot find the setting the processor is not up to scratch and it won't work with Windows 8.1 but will work with Windows 7.

Still if you are pretty determined to install Windows 8.1 and can change the NX setting in the BIOS. I would suggest you install Windows 8.1 32 Bit (after changing the processor settings) using the Windows 8.1 Enterprize 90 day trial:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/evalcenter/hh699156.aspx

Alternatively you can use a Windows 7 Digital River .iso without inputting a product key for a 30 day trial:

http://philipyip.wordpress.com/download-microsoft-windows/windows-7-sp1-iso-download/

See Windows Reinstallation Guide/A Clean Install of Windows 8.1/7 for detailed instructions regarding the Windows installation:

http://philipyip.wordpress.com/dell-community-forums/

The trial will allow you to assess the performance of Windows 7 or 8.1 to see whether you want to buy it or whether you want to keep the money to spend towards a new desktop.

vishoka · Answer

Thanks. You recommend going right to W 8 and bypass W 7? My set up on this back-up machine is indeed very similar to your D9100. It looks like the 32 bit is the appropriate version of W 8. Just download W 8 that handles everything, but don't go for the reformat option right?

vishoka · Answer

Do you think W 7 would install without all of the headaches, assuming the BIOS has the ability to reset the NX to on? The HDD is a only a couple of years old. I have a Dell 620, and I'm just trying to keep wife's D3000 going to avoid XP death, and until we can afford a replacement. Thanks.

Philip_Yip · Answer

The Dimension 9100 has DDR2 RAM and a SATA interface for the hard drive. It also has a dedicated graphics card. The hardware of the Dimension 9100 is significantly better than the Dimension 3000.

Windows 7 32 Bit will install as mentioned use the .iso to try it out before deciding whether to spend money on the Windows 7 license or not.

Windows 8.1 32 Bit will only install if you have the correct BIOS settings for the processor and/or if the processor supports the requirements.

Driver wise for both OS more or less everything should work out of the box except for the video which will use a basic driver and the audio (which might need a driver from the Microsoft Update Catalog).

kirkd · Answer

You may have fewer problems with Win 8. Win 8 actually runs better than 7. The only problem is speed with apps optimized for more than one core; speed may be slow with some programs. In addition, enabling indexing can cause longer boot up times. Note that some Metro photo programs require indexing to be on. Win 7 does not have as many drivers and program support available during installation as does Win 8. MS had much complaints for the poor support of older hardware/software in Win 7, so they made a real effort to improve this in Win 8. I would not use Win 8 on your 3000 as my primary unit, but as a backup, it will be OK. Older hardware had much more crashing issues, and this has been greatly improved in Win 8. You will see many poor reviews and negative comments about Win 8; there were/are problems with the Metro side which are being improved. However, the desktop side is significantly better than Win 7. It's a poor carpenter who blames his tools!

Windows General

Upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 8

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