Dell Precision 690 Workstation - upgrade advice

Question

I was hoping to wipe my (10 year old) Precision 690 Workstation, which is currently running XP, and update the system.

The plan was to take it back to factory settings, then install Windows 10 - a total upgrade so I could use it in my home office to give my laptop a break.

However, I'm missing the CDs that came with the computer - these were lost way back when by the shop I originally purchased the PC from (when I took it in as they'd messed up the harddrive partition).

I'm a total novice when it comes to this sort of thing, and after reading up on the pitfalls of performing this task both with and without the original CD, I'm wondering if my best course of action is avoid a system wipe that might result in me being stuck with a non-working system and just strip back as much as possible on superfluous software before installing a new operating system.

I'm assuming the system disc was tied to the specific product key - and I wouldn't just be able to download a vague replacement and burn it as an .iso to a blank CD?

Likewise, I see a lot of old forums discussing putting various drivers on a floppy disc, and having them in the computer during boot-up, but my 690 never had a floppy-drive in the first place (it's old - not ancient! ;).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

speedstep · Answer

First there is no burn ISO for XP and Vista. You can find these on Ebay but its pointless because there is no UPGRADE to windows 10 from these OS.

A recommended upgrade path would be Precision T3500.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/858831178

2nd you will not be happy with the PCI-E 1.0 performance of the 690 and NEWER CARDS aka PCI-E 2.0 and 3.0 WILL NOT POST or work EVER.

I would Recommend getting a Windows 10 System Builder DVD.

Its going to be $109 or more for Home and $139 or more for Pro.

Be very Wary of prices lower than this because it usually means pirated disks that die after 30 days or less.

Also you may not be able to use 64 bit versions because the CPU does not support CMPXCHG 128 or LAHF SAHF in 64 bit mode which means it won't install 8.1 or 10 in 64 bit mode.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZSHDJ4O/

There are NO RETAIL DVD's

WINDOWS 10 OEM 1709 DVD disks are available I buy these from my local Refurbisher.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZSHDJ4O/

DELL-Jesse L · Answer

Beables,

You may run into issues with no drivers to support the hardware by upgrading to Windows 10. You would have to search the internet for Windows XP disk or if you choose to install Vista. Both Operating Systems are no longer supported. The drivers for these OS for your computer are at the link below.

Precision 690 Drivers, Downloads and Manuals

Beables · Answer

Many thanks for the advice.

What I might do, to get a bit more use out of the war-horse, is spend £20/$30 on Windows 7, so I can run the 690 for a bit longer, and just upgrade to a new Workstation by the end of the year.

By the sounds of it, without the original CDs that came with the system there's no point even entertaining the idea of Windows 10.

speedstep · Answer

Windows 10 does work on these systems but the old PCI-E 1.0 video cards are very poky slow. Windows 7 or 8 or 10 is also not "supported" but that doesn't mean it does not work.

Also may not install 64 bit version of 10 depending on which specific CPU you have.

Precision Fixed Workstations

Dell Precision 690 Workstation - upgrade advice

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