There is a learning curve involved. I'm definitely not a power-user, but I'm liking it better than I did. (Still not wild about it, but the shrinks say I'm resistant to change, go figger) People that know computers shouldn't have too much difficulty.

Microsoft has an upgrade adviser I plan to use when the time comes and I found some vista vs 7 reports that were useful.

Thanks for your input gravdgr.

So what caused that cable damage? What is it we are not supposed to do to avoid what damage?

http://cellar.org/2010/videocardproblem.png

Here we are looking into the upright tower case. with its side cover removed. The front of the system is to the right.

The green is end of the SATA data cable, which connects into the drive. The video card is large and heavy (it takes two slots) and also contains a fan - a moving part. Over time, it sagged and pushed down on the data cable connector.

Win 7 came with April's laptop that we bought just before Xmas...I love it, and she does too. This is what should have came after XP.

I see. Same type problem is also seen in so many power connectors to laptops. Eventually the PC solder joint, connector, or plug fails.

I was rather surprised to learn how much engineering goes into the design of connectors since that is most often the point of failure including the wire and how the solder holds that connect to the PC board. Those intermittents can be difficult to find.

Just ordered 7 pro 64 bit from newegg. Hope I don't regret it.

I believe I inadvertently deleted some rather crucial registry files during a wipe of a backup drive. I got a little trigger happy with Duplicate Cleaner. A whole bunch of software wouldn't load, I couldn't run the uninstaller, Ccleaner didn't help, things were pretty f-ed.

I tried a system repair (xp) and it seemed to go ok according to XP. Things still didn't work. I ran Quickbooks repair and it didn't help, but I was able to reinstall it.

Adobe CS3 on the other hand wouldn't repair, wouldn't uninstall, I finally had to manually remove everything after taking ownership of the hidden and protected files. And it still won't re-install. I ran Ccleaner until it wouldn't clean anymore and ran a windows registry wipe in safe mode, basically, I tried nearly everything I could.

Faced with a system re-install I am thinking now is the time to upgrade to 7.

Here's my Question:
Is it worth it to get the full version rather than the upgrade, considering I am coming from a (possibly) compromised OS?

Is it worth it to have the pro version which allows me to also run XP?

Tony, which version did you install and was it on a separate drive than XP?

I'm tempted to go out this afternoon and buy it at staples even though it is about $40 more than ordering it.

Any opinions?

Thanks

You won't, that's what I'm running and it's been a dream so far. Most stable, clean and easy to use OS I've ever had. Runs like a champ.

Aa, a little research and even though I have a dual core pentium processor I can't run 7 on this box. The processor is 32 bit and I'm guessing the motherboard is not adequate. Dell and Windows told me to upgrade my hardware. I'm wondering if I can just upgrade the CPU and the MB.

Probably, what is the current motherboard?

I have Home Pro. You can't upgrade from XP...

I installed on a new drive entirely.

a Dell 0HJ054, here are the technical specs:
http://support.dell.com/support/edoc....htm#wp1052310


//CPU: Intel® Pentium® 4 5xx and 6xx processors with Hyper-Threading Technology
- up do Prescott P4 Kit, 650, 3.4G, 800FSB, 2MB
//Memory :400 MHz and 533 MHz DDR2 unbuffered SDRAM
256 MB, 512 MB, or 1 GB non-ECC( up to 4Go)
//chipset : Intel 945G Express
// audio : SigmaTel® STAC9220
//Expansion bus :
Bus type PCI 2.3
PCI Express® x1 and x16
Bus speed PCI: 33 MHz
PCI Express:
x1 slot bidirectional speed – 500 MB/s
x16 slot bidirectional speed – 8 GB/s
PCI Connectors Two
Connector size 120 pins
Connector data width (maximum 32 bits

PCI Express Connectors One x1
Connector size 36 pins
Connector data width (maximum) One PCI Express lane

PCI Express Connectors One PCI Express x16
Connector size 164 pins
Connector data width (maximum) 16 PCI Express lanes

// Power : 305 W,1039 BTU/hr, 90 to 135 V and 180 to 265 V at 50/60 Hz.

I was able to reinstall Adobe, just finished. I ran Belarc Adviser and was confused to see that my CPU is 64 bit ready, but the specs for the PCI connector width say 32 bits max. Are they talking about the same thing? Most online sources say the CPU is not hyper threading, but Dell says this is, though some aren't. Belarc says:thsi isn't.

I'm gonna put off the switch to 7 for now since it is more than an upgrade, though I was thinking of getting the builder's version (w/o support) since it is almost half price.

As long as things are working again, I'm going to be happy. And much more careful with Duplicate Cleaner.

The PCI bus <> CPU bits
 

The PCI bus itself is only 32 bits in consumer machines. This has no bearing on the CPU, which can run 64-bit Windows fine. They refer to completely different things.

Honestly, if I were you, I'd run XP on that P4 and get a new PC with 7. 7 will run, and I have run Vista on a similar machine, but I'd recommend 7 for a newer multicore PC.

If you have the money that's a good way to go. You can even buy a KVM switch (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) to use one display and keyboard and mouse with two systems at the same time, if that's your desire.

Nah, there's no new computers in my future. I'll keep this one until I have no other choices or until I have more disposable $.