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Last updated: Friday, December 18, 2009

You don’t have to buy a new computer to upgrade to Windows 7. If your PC is relatively young — no older than four years, say — chances are good that Windows 7 will run just fine on it. A few pre-installation upgrades, though, may help you get the most out of Microsoft’s new operating system. Read on to learn more. Q : I have a Windows XP computer with a 3.0 GHz Pentium D chip. The machine also has 1 GB of RAM and an 80 GB hard drive. Should I upgrade any components of this machine before installing Windows 7? A : Although you did not mention the type of graphics card in your computer, your PC as it stands should run Windows 7 without problems. But if you want to get the best performance using your current processor and motherboard, the best upgrade would be adding more memory and, perhaps, upgrading the hard drive. Running Windows 7 with just 1 GB of RAM will limit the number of applications you can open and run before noticing slowdowns. Those slowdowns will be due primarily to the fact that Windows 7 will need to start using your hard drive to swap out portions of code that it cannot fit in available RAM. Microsoft says that 1 GB of RAM is the minimum amount required to install Windows 7. Adding at least an extra gigabyte of RAM will be of benefit. But you’ll likely see the most tangible performance improvement by upgrading your hard drive, particularly since, in an older Pentium D computer, your 80 gig unit may be spinning at only 5400 revolutions per minute (rpm), slow by today’s standards. You can pick up a Western Digital VelociRaptor 150 GB unit, which runs at 10,000 rpm, for about 150 dollars. The 300 GB VelociRaptor is only marginally more…

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Preparing Your Computer for Windows 7

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1. Walker (Windows Outreach Team)
   December 18, 2009
   

   Never assume your computer will be compatible just because it’s a newer model. Always run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor first to make absolutely sure! http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx

   Cheers,

   Walker
   Windows Outreach Team

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