# Windows 8 Upgrade advice



## simon726 (Dec 13, 2010)

Hey folks,

I have at least two computers - one desktop, the other is a laptop.

The desktop is about 5 years old and it has these specifications:
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200 processor at 2.2GHz
- 2GB DDR2 Dual Channel RAM
- 250GB Western Digital SATA Hard Drive (SATA-II) where my OS is store on one partition and some random data on the other partition 
- 500GB Western Digital SATA Hard Drive (SATA-II) where my music files, videos, pictures and other stuff is stored.
- ASUS M2A-VM motherboard
- Integrated ATI Radeon X1250 graphics
- RealTek High-Definition Audio

This desktop is currently running Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 32-bit. I also have an APC Back-UPS 550VA connected to the computer.

As for my laptop - it's a newer that I got - almost three months ago. My laptop is an ASUS R500A series laptop with these following specifications:
- Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit OS
- 8GB Dual-Channel DDR3 RAM
- Intel Core i7 processor at 2.30GHz
- Intel HD Graphics 4000 (Integrated Graphics)
- Realtek High Definition Audio

Anyways, I was wondering if one of these computers in this particular scenario will be capable of running Windows 8? The reason of that is because I was suddenly lured with a promotion going on right now from Microsoft - and I understand that one of those systems must be purchased from the beginning of June 2012 to qualify for the promotion. In the case of my desktop, that promotion doesn't apply toward it.

Could you at least give me some general advice on upgrading Windows 8? If necessary, do I need to perform some hardware and/or BIOS upgrades in order to make Windows 8 run on both of these systems? 

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

I wouldn't run Windows 8 on the desktop... I am currently running it on my desktop and, for all of it's nice features, the Start Screen kills it... I prefer the old-fashioned start menu interface...

There should be no issues running the laptop, though. Perhaps there will be a BIOS update in the future to support some features of Windows 8, but it should run fine on your unit as it is.

What promotion are you referring to, could you provide a link?


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## simon726 (Dec 13, 2010)

GZ said:


> I wouldn't run Windows 8 on the desktop... I am currently running it on my desktop and, for all of it's nice features, the Start Screen kills it... I prefer the old-fashioned start menu interface...
> 
> There should be no issues running the laptop, though. Perhaps there will be a BIOS update in the future to support some features of Windows 8, but it should run fine on your unit as it is.
> 
> What promotion are you referring to, could you provide a link?


This is what i'm referring to: Windows Upgrade Offer - Landing Page


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

That offer looks like it is only good for the laptop. And, it being an Upgrade version, is only good for use on one PC.


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## simon726 (Dec 13, 2010)

GZ said:


> That offer looks like it is only good for the laptop. And, it being an Upgrade version, is only good for use on one PC.


Well, thanks for the prompt response. I might consider taking part in the aforementioned offer soon - up until it has expired. Anyways, I want to know how can I dual boot between Windows 7 and Windows 8?

I'm sorry that I didn't mention my hard drive size earlier on the laptop - it's about 750GB.


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

Your best bet is to repartition your drive... Shrink the Windows 7 installation as far as possible, then you can install Windows 8 on the free space at the end of the disk.

I would create a Windows Image Backup of your drive before hand so you can restore functionality if it is needed.


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## simon726 (Dec 13, 2010)

GZ said:


> Your best bet is to repartition your drive... Shrink the Windows 7 installation as far as possible, then you can install Windows 8 on the free space at the end of the disk.
> 
> I would create a Windows Image Backup of your drive before hand so you can restore functionality if it is needed.


How can I create a image backup in Windows 7 and what are some utilities that you highly recommend on creating, managing and resizing partitions?


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

Windows 7 has a built in backup utility.

Press the Windows key (or click the windows button on the taskbar).
Go to "Getting Started" then "Backup your files"
In the left pane there will be the option to "Create a system image"

Follow the prompts... You can create the image on a removable drive or a group of DVDs... Even though the image is compressed, it can be quite large... I suggest doing it on an external HDD if you have a lot of used space on your Windows drive.


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## simon726 (Dec 13, 2010)

Sorry for the delay, but thanks for the prompt response. I'll be looking at some other options apart from your suggestions elsewhere.

This thread will be marked as "solved".


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## BillyPhil66 (Jan 2, 2010)

*Re: [SOLVED] Windows 8 Upgrade advice*

GZ are you saying that the AMD 64 won't run Win 8 or you don't like the way it runs? I'm considering installing 8 Pro on a single core AMD 64+ 3200 w/4gb ram just to get used to Win 8. Also, I was under the impression that it was required to use System Builder to install on a separate partition. Your sugestion is the second time I've seen it mentioned that dual boot was a possibility. As you can see I'm a bit confused


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## sobeit (Nov 11, 2007)

*Re: [SOLVED] Windows 8 Upgrade advice*



BillyPhil66 said:


> GZ are you saying that the AMD 64 won't run Win 8 or you don't like the way it runs? I'm considering installing 8 Pro on a single core AMD 64+ 3200 w/4gb ram just to get used to Win 8. Also, I was under the impression that it was required to use System Builder to install on a separate partition. Your sugestion is the second time I've seen it mentioned that dual boot was a possibility. As you can see I'm a bit confused


dual boot is not a possibility if upgrading the os installed. once you upgrade the old operating system must be deleted. system builder can only be installed on a computer that never had an operating system installed on it before. 

You can run win8 upgrade assistant to see if your computer will handle win8

Upgrade to Windows 8 - Microsoft Windows


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: [SOLVED] Windows 8 Upgrade advice*

There should be no reason you can't dual-boot Windows 7 and Windows 8.

I will admit that I haven't run a dual-boot since the Consumer Preview, but it dual-booted just fine. 

As for the hardware, Windows 8 will likely run about the same as Windows 7 on a single-core CPU. Windows Vista and 7 run much better on multiple core systems, though they will run on single cores.

I don't, currently, have a single core Athlon CPU to test Windows 8 on or I would set it up to give more details.


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## havenhartley (Oct 28, 2012)

*Re: [SOLVED] Windows 8 Upgrade advice*

I would only suggest converting the *Desktop into a Fax Machine* or a LinuX Server, HD is Small. Not enough RAM! On-Board Video will chock whatever stream you try to throw at it and... Why are you trying to run 32 bit and 64 bit machines in the same house. If you spend the same amount you would have to spend on the Desktop, in a new machine, the vendor might even throw in Windows 8 for free. Honestly, I would not consider upgrading from 32 bit - 7 to 64 bit Windows 8.

Out of curiosity, did you have "share" issues when trying to communicate between the 2 machines?


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## simon726 (Dec 13, 2010)

*Re: [SOLVED] Windows 8 Upgrade advice*

Another thing I want to ask:

I have a 6-year old Toshiba Satellite A100 laptop. When I first got that laptop, it has Windows XP Home. As you and I may know, Windows XP is on the brink of "extinction" (or in technical terms - "Extended Support" is ending in 2014).

My laptop setup has the following specifications:

- 1.6GHz Intel Core Duo dual-core CPU (T2050)
- 120GB SATA hard drive
- 1GB DDR2 PC2-5300 RAM
- Integrated Intel HD graphics (Intel 945 Express Chipset)

This laptop is capable up to 4GB of RAM, as for hard drive space - I could upgrade up to 500GB or 1TB.

I was wondering if its possible to upgrade the hard drive and RAM - just to support Windows 8? Any suggestions?


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: [SOLVED] Windows 8 Upgrade advice*

It would be better for you to upgrade to Windows 7... There is better support for older systems with 7...

The 945GM chipset is the first Intel Chipset to support the Vista/7 driver model... So you should be good there.

You would be able to run Windows 7 32 bit without too much of an issue on 1GB although 2GB would be better.

Check what RAM upgrades are available.

You can use the Crucial Memory Configurator. RAM Memory Upgrade: Dell, Mac, Apple, HP, Compaq. USB drives, SSD at Crucial.com

120GB HDD should be fine to run 7 32bit.


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## sobeit (Nov 11, 2007)

*Re: [SOLVED] Windows 8 Upgrade advice*



simon726 said:


> Another thing I want to ask:
> 
> I have a 6-year old Toshiba Satellite A100 laptop. When I first got that laptop, it has Windows XP Home. As you and I may know, Windows XP is on the brink of "extinction" (or in technical terms - "Extended Support" is ending in 2014).
> 
> ...


unless toshiba has windows 8 drivers specifically for your laptop, then do not attempt to upgrade. Laptops tend to require drivers from the computer manufactures and are very os specific. IMO, never upgrade if the computer manufacturers do not have the proper drivers for your specific model.


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## simon726 (Dec 13, 2010)

*Re: [SOLVED] Windows 8 Upgrade advice*



GZ said:


> It would be better for you to upgrade to Windows 7... There is better support for older systems with 7...
> 
> The 945GM chipset is the first Intel Chipset to support the Vista/7 driver model... So you should be good there.
> 
> ...



Thanks for your suggestion. As the old saying goes, "better safe than sorry". I'll probably settle with Windows 7 once the Windows 8 Release Preview trial is over in about 2 months time. 

I'll upgrade the hard drive & RAM and i'll be off to the races. Windows 7 is still a good OS, though. However some people are relentless to upgrade to Windows 8.


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## simon726 (Dec 13, 2010)

I have another question - will drivers that are initially designed for Windows Vista be able to work on Windows 7?

Sorry if I brought this up, folks...


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

simon726 said:


> I have another question - will drivers that are initially designed for Windows Vista be able to work on Windows 7?
> 
> Sorry if I brought this up, folks...


Some drivers will work, others will have issues. Quite a few Windows 7 BSODs are caused by old drivers.

For the most part, Windows Vista/7/8 are built on the same "frame" or, in OS speak, kernel... Just newer revisions of it... The driver architecture is basically the same, so many drivers will work across all three OSs... But I would always try to find the latest available driver that is fully compatable with the OS you are using...


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## sobeit (Nov 11, 2007)

simon726 said:


> I have another question - will drivers that are initially designed for Windows Vista be able to work on Windows 7?
> 
> Sorry if I brought this up, folks...


There will be a few that will not work but generally if it works with vista, it will work with win7


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