I have three Win7 upgrade questions

[arredondo]

1. Look at my current PC specs below... by upgrading to Win7 Home Premium, I imagine I can now use up to 16GB of RAM or is there an issue with my hardware I need to resolve that I am not aware of?

2. If I upgrade from Vista to Win 7 HP, will most of my current software (Games, Adaware, ZoneAlarm, etc.) simply "work" or will I have to reinstall every program manually?

3. I was looking at the Media Center info... if I want to record TV shows on my PC, I know I need tuner hardware, but I only have two cable connections in my room: one connected to the cable box and one to my cable modem.

Do I need a cable splitter coming from my wall to get a TV signal into the PC, do I simply connect that to a tuner card to pass through the PC on the way to the HDTV (via a second cable), or is there some other solution?

Thank you!

 

[Binky]

1. No. You are using Vista 32bit so I assume you mean upgrade to Win7 32bit. The ~3.2gb max memory still applies unless you move to 64bit Win7. I don't believe that a 32bit Vista can be upgraded to Win7. This would require a full reinstall.

2. Games-yes, other stuff-maybe. If it works on Vista, it probably will work on Win7.

3. The TV tuner would pull its recording via S-video cable from the cable box. You could use the tuner itself with a splitter like you mention, but you wouldnt get all the channels with that method. The other (better) alternative is to use a HDTV antenna and pull it from your local broadcasters, in addition to using your cable box like I mentioned first.

TV tuners don't generally pass the signal through. So you'd have to split it if you wanted it to go directly into the computer like that.

Edit: typo

 

[alkalinetaupehat]

Originally posted by: Binky
1. No. You are using Vista 32bit so I assume you mean upgrade to Win7 32bit. The ~3.2gb max memory still applies unless you move to 64bit Win7. I don't believe that a 32bit Vista can be upgraded to Win7. This would require a full reinstall.

2. Games-yes, other stuff-maybe. If it works on Vista, it probably will work on Win7.

3. The TV tuner would pull its recording via S-video cable from the cable box. You could use the tuner itself with a splitter like you mention, but you wouldnt get all the channels with that method. The other (better) alternative is to use a HDTV antenna and pull it from your local broadcasters, in addition to using your cable box like I mentioned first.

TV tuners don't generally pass the signal through. So you'd have to split it if you wanted it to go directly into the computer like that.

Edit: typo

What he said ---^

1. You must do a full installation of Windows Seven if you plan to move to 64-bit.

Dailytech Article on XP and Vista upgradability to Seven

 

[arredondo]

Thanks, but a bit more info please so I'm not confused....

Are you saying there are TWO versions of Win7 Home Premium (32-bit and 64-bit)? I thought there was just one. I don't want to purchase the wrong version. I want 64-bit, and I assume I have no hardware limitations to take advantage of it.

So if I do want the 64-bit version, I understand it requires a clean install (and a full manual install of all my programs and data files). However, if I take advantage of the limited pre-purchase special, does that offer work for the full purchase or is it only for upgrades?

 

[imported_Shaq]

All versions contain the 32 bit and 64 bit DVD's and pre-purchase is just for upgrades.

 

[arredondo]

OK, I think I'm almost clear. I can't upgrade but have to do a full install for 64-bit Win7. My last questions:

- Can I simply select "Full Install" from Win7 and have 64-bit mode enabled from the start?
- Is this pre-order special only for upgrading, or can I buy it and select "Full Install" for 64-bit mode completely overwriting my drive?

If the answer s are what I think they are, my only solution to have 64-bit Win7 is to wait for the full release off the shelf (pre-order won't work), purchase it, and then do a full install, right?

 

[egale]

The 32bit and 64bit versions are on separate DVDs. You can't upgrade from 32bit to 64bit so you must do a fresh install. But, you can do this with the upgrade version as long as you own a previous version of Windows.

I am not sure if you will have to just enter the previous key or insert the previous dvd as well but you will be able to install the 64bit version as a clean install using the upgrade version.

 

[arredondo]

OK, I will pre-purchase Win7 Premium. When it arrives, I will back up my data on an external drive, install Win7 64-bit from scratch on my computer, then re-install all of my programs manually while retrieving the data from the external drive. I should then be able to add more than 4GB of RAM.

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[sgtwiltan]

This is a completely noobtastic question which nobody at Microsoft seem to have a definitive answer for and also applies to this thread.
What is the maximum number of CPU cores Win7 Home Premium will support.
I'm trying to get in on the upgrade offer since I have unused XP Pro COAs since those systems have been Linuxised. I also still have the RCDs and might do a dual boot with Win7 (games compatibility sucks on linux or are hit an miss in wine plus have to deal with an emulation layer)

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: sgtwiltan
What is the maximum number of CPU cores Win7 Home Premium will support.

Windows XP and Vista are licensed by the number of PHYSICAL processors, and not by cores. A thousand-core CPU still counts as one physical processor.

XP Home and Vista Home and Home Premium supported a single CPU with multiple cores. XP Professional and Vista Business and Ultimate supported two CPUs with multiple cores. I haven't seen the specs for W7. If you only have a single-socket motherboard, I doubt you'll run into trouble with any version of W7.

 

[sgtwiltan]

You da man!!
I wonder why Microsoft is so cryptic or unknowledgeable about this topic.
I gotta check one more thing before I preorder 2 upgrade licenses using the RCs as a base instead of re-installing XP into my linux systems.

Found this dated 27 june 2009

Upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 7

For Windows 7 Milestones, Microsoft has revealed that:

- Windows 7 M3 to Windows 7 Beta in-place upgrade is supported;
- Windows 7 M3 to Windows 7 RC in-place upgrade is NOT supported;
- Windows 7 M3 to Windows 7 RTM in-place upgrade is NOT supported;
- Windows 7 Beta to Windows 7 RC in-place upgrade is supported;
- Windows 7 Beta to Windows 7 RTM in-place upgrade is NOT supported;
- Windows 7 RC to Windows 7 RTM in-place upgrade is supported.

At the same time, the company notes that, ?Beta to RC paths are not supported.? and that, ?RC to RTM paths are not supported.? For the jump between Windows 7 RTM editions, Microsoft has defined three paths: ?RIU = Repair in-place upgrade is supported. This is a Microsoft Customer Service and Support scenario where the user performs a ?Windows 7 SKU? to ?Windows 7 same SKU? in-place upgrade as a means of repair (for example, upgrading Windows 7 Ultimate to Windows 7 Ultimate. RIUx86 = Repair in-place upgrade is supported for x86 only. WAU = Windows Anytime Upgrade is supported. WAU uses the Transmogrifier platform to transform a lower Windows 7 SKU to a higher Windows 7 SKU (for example, Windows 7 Home Basic to Windows 7 Ultimate.)?