So, i got a new computer, it's great but the only problem is that it uses a windows ME OS. I have a windows 7 OS disc, i tried to install it, but apparently windows ME cannot upgrade to 7. i'm thinking of reformatting the harddrive and getting rid of the ME OS completely. I've read in places that i'll need to back up the drivers, i just don't know which one's i absolutely need to save and where to find them. So does anyone have any advice, or any kind of help? If anymore information is needed please let me know and i'll give you what i can.

Get Everest, an app that can scan your hardware and recognize the manufacturer and such, and print out a report. Download the drivers you need and burn them on a disc before you reformat so you can install them on the new Windows 7 OS.

Make sure the hardware can run Win7 before doing anything. If it's running ME, most likely it won't be capable of running 7. (XP would be the better choice in that situation)

I'd actually prefer vista, but A friend of my sister's got me the disk. but yea, i'll hook that one up in the morning and see if it can even run 7. (as far as i remember it may only need some ram, i think it only has 256 MB on it. pretty sure 7 needs at least 2Gb, and a little more for other necessary things.)

Ok, so first off, why would you want Vista (the worst security risk Microsoft ever released, not to mention the biggest bugs & memory leaks) over 7?

Second, 1GHz processor (for Starter edition, it's worse than running XP) or any dual core or higher (for Home Premium or higher), 1GB RAM (32-bit) or 2GB RAM (64-bit)(recommended for 32-bit is 2GB, 4GB for 64-bit), 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit), DX10 compatible video card for any version above Starter.

I only want Vista because it's what I've been using for the past year, i never even tried 7 yet. I just want an OS that will give me the smallest headache when it comes to gaming and general internet stuff.

Then you want 7. Same general layout as Vista, just none of the massive problems Vista has.

So, does your computer meet the requirements (same between Vista & 7) for the upgrade, or not?

the amount of RAM doesn't meet the requirements. 2GB are required(64-bit, 1GB for 32-bit). my *friend says the RAM needs to be of the same type that's in there because that's the kind the computer will run. I looked on Newegg and couldn't find IBM PC2100U, So is there a different site that would sell it, or is there a different type that the computer will run that's similar to it?

* I forgot to mention that it was Custom built By my friend, Cal. So he may have put a ME OS on it, but it probably has the potential to run more. I'm going to hook it up a little later, after my dad's done with this computer, to check what that computer has on it.

Okay, it's using an AMD 2000gigahertz(or maybe that's MHz, i'm not too sure.) processor, Soyo Dragon KT 400 motherboard, And a BFG series Asylum graphics card. So it should all be fine, but the Ram is like 186MB, i think, or somewhere around there.

Edit, about the crossed out stuff: Nvm, I'm an idiot, it needs some kind of PC 2100 ram, which i'm going to look up, i was looking up specifically IBM PC2100U cards till i read up on it. XD

Edit2: I found one for decently cheap: http://www.pricewatch.com/gallery/syste ... pc2100_1gb i'm going to get 2 or 3 of these(i'll just get the $26 one on Newegg if it turns out that pricewatch isn't trustworthy), once they come in i should be all set. ^ ^
Well, except for getting the full version of Win7.

Yeah, once you get around 2 GB RAM you should be good. I doubt you'll need more since 32bit systems have some limitations when it comes to using RAM.

Only problem I see for windows 7 is that it's pointless, since the maximum that any of your pieces of hardware is designed for is XP. XP will utilize all of the hardware to it's fullest without bogging down the system, but 7 will use far more resources for no improvement. If you really wan the look of Vista/7 there are small mods out there for XP (I used to use them myself) that make it look very similar. Also, don't believe anybody that says that XP isn't as 'secure' as Vista/7, it is, and in some ways it is a bit more secure. (mainly because the newer viruses aren't being designed for XP)

Also, if you're getting from Pricewatch, be careful, and never buy the 'Generic' or 'PREMIUM - QUALITY'. Look for name brands, and do a little research into them. The ones on Newegg are good though, I have used them before.

One last thing, if you don't go and get a brand new video card that has DirectX 11 support, you really don't want to get anything higher than XP anyways. (there is no reason to go higher, and many to not go higher)

What's worst about this is that the computer was promised to be a "top gaming computer". Seems more like a budget computer to me.

Actually, about 10 years ago (when all of these parts came out) it was a top of the line gaming computer.

Problem is, that was a decade ago. Now it's obsolete, and putting a modern OS on it is not going to make it more useful.

Oh well, at least he can play UT on it.

True.

@Alyxx: What does "UT" stand for?

Also, that's a bummer. The main reason I wanted a new computer was so i can play games like Gmod or Skyrim without any problems. I'm still going to use the computer, and i'm going to put XP on it, but i probably won't game on it...

I'll keep this thread open in case i run into any more problems with anything related.

Unreal Tournament.

Anyway, I definitely had a suspicion all along, but wasn't sure about it. Thankfully, BTG could confirm it.

You can run Gmod, but not Skyrim. The best you can do is probly gonna be minimum settings on HL2EP2.

If you ever need a design for a custom budget gaming system, I can do that for you.

This is just a subjective account and is maybe just bad timing, but I'd disagree. My computer got compromised multiple times on XP (even though I had multiple spyware scanners and cycled through different antivirus solutions at the time). I'm pretty sure I can trace it back to viruses being delivered using flash ads as a vector. The last straw for me was I remember visiting mobygames.com and have the virus scanner immediately go off once it loaded. The infection rate dropped DRAMATICALLY after using ad blocker, but it still would happen every once in a while. Since I've been on 7 I haven't had any infection issues, so it's been a smoother experience overall. I mean you could just blame it all on flash exploits that Adobe fixed around the same time, but since the issue hasn't happened to me on 7, I personally lean towards Vista / 7 having SOME security bonuses over XP just from the results.

It is worth noting that BEFORE 2008-2009 or so I can't remember ever having security issues from the internet on XP. I really think Flash has done more to undermine system security than anything else in the past decade.

Yeah, that was all Adobe Flash stuff if those are the circumstances... XP had almost all of it's holes filled before 7 came out. The few remaining were filled shortly after XP ceased being supported, everything else is due to other programs, not the OS.

Well I'm just wondering what the chain here was. I was using XP until 2011 and I still remember occasional viruses slipping by, though by far the biggest reduction was from Ad Blocker. I use Avira Antivir, which has a very high detection rate (may have more false positives though):

http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/s ... ug2011.pdf

Once I switched to 7, this pretty much ended. So whether my contraction method was from an actual OS hole or not is debatable. Some of it was DEFINITELY from Flash, but even if all of it was, my point is that there seems to be more protections within 7 to block the virus contraction in the first place. So even if XP may not have holes in it, 7 seems to have additional protections so that even programs with holes in them, like Flash, can't get as far as they would otherwise. Again, this is objective, but I do feel like 7 is the more secure OS given my experience with it. And also, I never had security problems with XP for probably the first 6 years or so of its use.