Windows Vista Upgrade Dell Inspiron 546 from Vista: Recommendations for 64-bit Windows

Chriswoollett

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Jun 18, 2015
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5
Hi all,

Looking to upgrade my Dell Inspiron 546 desktop from 32 bit Vista to 64 bit............?

Which would you recommend, Win 7, 8.1 or neither?

I have run the Upgrade advisor tool and both say they will work with some minor updates and adjustments to my current system (attached).

I was planning a clean install of Vista to give it a refresh anyway, but seeing as this will need to be done in order to get a 64 bit version I thought an upgrade would be a good idea too, just not sure what version to go for?

Any help, advice, personal preferences welcome. I'm somewhat of a novice at this and the Wife would prefer it if I didn't knacker the computer!

Cheers

Chris
 
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Solution
Chriswoollett said:
when the pc is shut down it wont restart without unplugging from the mains for a few mins
Click to expand...
I would suggest check and disabling all the eco-friendly / green / power saving options in Control Panel Power Applett. No sleep, no hibernate, no hybrid sleep, power buttons and lid, etc., and see how you get on.
Then after a bit maybe if you so choose, reset them although honestly on a desktop they seem a bit counter intuitive. About the only thing I use is a blank screen saver and turn off monitor after xx mins, when I want the thing off, I'll turn it off.

On the other Samsung... it does sound like a battery issue.
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Personally I would go with Windows 8.1 64 bit (assuming the system architecture supports 64 bit).
I think you'll realize better overall performance on an older machine.
Windows 8.1 seems to do a better job with memory management as well as just being generally easier on system resources overall.
Good luck, welcome to the forum and keep us posted.
 
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I voted Win 8.1 64 bit.

However, it may be a moot point as to which version you upgrade to. Are you aware that Microsoft will be releasing Win 10 on July 29th and both Win 7 and Win 8.1 are eligible to upgrade for free?
 
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I saw on MS website yesterday that they are offering free win 10 upgrades wasn't sure if my machine will be compatible or not? There isn't an upgrade tool like the ones for 7 and 8.1, that I could find, for me too see.

Thanks for the comments guys early indications show 8.1 to be a winner. My Dad uses it on his and likes it, never been a fan of vista so any things an improvement I suppose?


strollin said:
I voted Win 8.1 64 bit.

However, it may be a moot point as to which version you upgrade to. Are you aware that Microsoft will be releasing Win 10 on July 29th and both Win 7 and Win 8.1 are eligible to upgrade for free?
Click to expand...
 
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Yeah I'm gonna upgrade just trying to decide which one. Any ideas where to buy from? Just looking on amazon and there are 3 different windows 8.1 ranging from £80 to £140.
 
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Once you get Win 7 with SP1 or Win 8.1 installed on your system, Windows updates will install a small program named GWX (Get Windows 10) that will allow you to run a compatibility check and reserve a copy of Win 10 should you wish to do so.
 
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UPDATE!

Well, I went for the option in the above link and it worked brilliantly, now have 8.1 running on my desktop and a reserved copy of win 10 waiting for me when its released!!

One issue that's not a massive problem, sometimes when the pc is shut down it wont restart without unplugging from the mains for a few mins and then trying again, and sometimes it gets as far as the windows logo but freezes with no spinning dot circle.

It starts fine after a reset in both instances, any ideas?

I also have 8.1 on a 2nd hand laptop Samsung R620 that only charges up to 80% then stops, is this a battery fault or something to do with power settings?

Cheers

Chris
 
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Chriswoollett said:
when the pc is shut down it wont restart without unplugging from the mains for a few mins
Click to expand...
I would suggest check and disabling all the eco-friendly / green / power saving options in Control Panel Power Applett. No sleep, no hibernate, no hybrid sleep, power buttons and lid, etc., and see how you get on.
Then after a bit maybe if you so choose, reset them although honestly on a desktop they seem a bit counter intuitive. About the only thing I use is a blank screen saver and turn off monitor after xx mins, when I want the thing off, I'll turn it off.

On the other Samsung... it does sound like a battery issue.
 
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Solution
Do me a favor and unplug the power cord, now hold down the power button for 10 seconds!

Turn it on and when it gets to the logon-screen, restart it.
Tell me if that doesn't work!

If it doesn't go into your BIOS and turn off "network boot" and see if that works.

Oh, and have you recently installed any programs/hardware before when this started occuring?
 
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and...for the Samsung, I recommend that you try changing the battery with a new one! Because your computer can't really stop it from charging if the charging light is still on. Thanks!
 
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