Windows 7 Any Way To Get Win 7 Legally W/O Paying An Arm & A Leg?

I'd start by reloading Vista on the laptop. if it's still slow it likely needs to be cleaned, has a hardware problem or it's simply the hardware is pretty low end. Installing Windows 7 wouldn't likely help in most cases. There are a lot of sites that will sell you license keys, but the really cheap ones are questionable at best. Plus Windows 7 is only going to be supported until 2020.


Alternate option
Download and install a Linux distro such as Linux Mint. Easy to use and it's free and it will work on older hardware without any issues.

Neemobeer,

Many thanks for your prompt reply and your advice. It is much appreciated.

My Vista version is OEM. I do not know if I was given the original Install disc. If so, I'm not sure if I can find it, and therefore I do not know if I can do a reload. I can certainly try to clean the laptop. The reason I mentioned Win 7 is because I am very pleased with my experience on my other laptop, and I have read that Win 7 runs faster and more efficiently than Vista. I really don't mind having Win 7 for 2 more years (until 2020), and then maybe choosing something else, but of course there's the question of the cost for another Win 7 copy.

I do think the hardware is low-end. I am running a Compaq Presario CQ60-210US laptop, AMD Athlon Dual Core QL-62 Processor at 2 GHZ, with 4 GB RAM. I have Vista Home Premium; I guess that the machine and the Win 7 version are both 32-Bit based (sorry if I'm saying something obvious).

It's interesting that you mention Linux. I don't mind giving it a shot. Per your opinion, could Linux Mint -- once installed on the older machine -- run faster and more efficiently than the current Vista setup that I have now?

Again, many thanks. I very eager to get your feedback.