So I have an XPS M1530 that's a bit over a year old. I take good care of it so it's still very fast after a long startup process. I'm currently running vista 32bit home premium, but I'm also dual booting windows 7 RC, and before that I was using the beta. My question is, do I upgrade to windows 7 32 bit (upgrade, not clean install), leave vista and clean install windows 7 professional over the RC on the other partition (I got the professional version for free from my school and the upgrade for $30 if I want), or do I just forget about windows 7 and wait for the RC to expire?
Also, I COULD clean install the 64bit version just because my processor can handle it and I already have 4 gigs of RAM (is this a good move or will 32bit do just fine?), however I want all of my files, settings, applications, saved game data, and everything else on my hard drive to come back (I have TONS of programs that are crazy expensive to replace). Would this be possible? I back up regularly, but can these backups restore everything on top of a new OS? If that is possible, how does it work, can someone break it down as much as possible? Ideally I want get rid of my other partition so I can put that free space back onto my main partition.
And if I were to do a regular upgrade, can that be reversed through a backup like a system restore or do I need the vista disk? I am usually very good with computers, but I haven't had to deal with OS changes so I am pretty clueless when it comes to the risks of data loss and would appreciate any and all help. I know my computer can handle windows 7, I know it can handle 64-bit, I know how windows 7 works, I just need to know if an upgrade would be worth it
Computer specs:
XPS M1530 : Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit
Processor: 2.4GHz core 2 duo
RAM: 4 GB
Video card: nvidia 8600 GT
Hard drive: 250 GB (which is why I want the other partition gone)|||Saved games are usually kept in your Documents folders or in the Programs folder of the game, so tracking them down shouldn't be that difficult. Many online games keep your info on the server (like Diablo II for example), so again, nothing to worry about. As far as the programs that you're worried about, don't you have the install disks for them? If you have legitimate copies of them on your computer, I see no reason you couldn't torrent to get a copy for re-installation, just be careful of where you get it. For instance, I have all The Sims 2 expansions, but I don't like dragging out ALL those boxes and CDs, so I use torrented .iso's to install the game when I need to since I can fit all the EPs on three DVDs and the mounted .iso's install about 5x faster then from the CDs. I use my purchased keys to install, of course (copied to a text file on the burned DVDs). This also keeps my CDs in perfect condition since they just hang out in their cases.
Anyway, for your situation, Make an image of your Vista install using something like Macrium Reflect and then do a clean install of 7 Pro x64. It will allow you to use all 4 GB of your RAM and you won't have to worry about upgrading anything again for a very long time...
_|||I have a XPS M1330 so the smaller version of yours with a slower processor and only 2GB of Ram but other than that pretty much the same.
I have just installed the Win 7 Ultimate after having the Beta and RC on there and I have been hugely impressed. I was a vista fan...one of the few...but Windows 7 is a smaller OS, seems much quicker and basically just a refined version of Vista ... well worth it in my opinion.
As for the 32/64 bit question ... if you have compatible hardware and software for 64bit then go that way. A mate works for M$ and he got 64bit on his and is very impressed, again he had the Beta and RC too.
As for rolling back from Win 7 to Vista ... no i don't think so. But you won't want to!!
I did an inplace upgrade and all my data was kept, that was with the RC so I was WELL impressed, but I took a backup just in case...and would suggest you do to ;)
I hope that answers all the questions ... there were a lot of them ;)
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