I see this over and over when people complain about their computer/s slowing down. They purchase there computer with a limited amount of software then as they progress through year 1, year 2 etc. they notice that things are running slower and slower. While there are many things that contribute to this I would like to identify on several problems that hopefully the end user can relate to, not enough RAM! As you upgrade your computer from XP to Vista to Windows 7 there is a false assumption by many that there computer is going to run better/faster. Well, maybe so but please read th fine print! As the age of the computer progresses it is very wise to consider the recommended memory requirements for the total of all of the programs you are running. If you are still on a 32 bit platform you are limited to 4GB, however, RAM is cheap! Install as much memory as you can in your computer so when it is time to upgrade your workstation you will not be nickled and dimed by service calls and memory upgrades you could have done to begin with.
Anthony Newman, CEO
www.ntelligentnetworks.com
Anthony Newman has been in the computer industry for over 15 years and has written many articles on IT infrastructure and business development.
So what your saying is that my computer from 3 years ago will be ready for 64bit Windows 7 as long as I have enough RAM?
And to correct your previous statement that 32bit is limited to 4gb of RAM, that is incorrect. A 32bit OS will only support 3gb of RAM.
Well, that was not my intention to imply that, however, based on the system requirements below to run Windows 7, I am sure any new computer purchased 3 years ago would run it fine. Equally, my suggestion of having more memory would make this transition much easier and all of the memory would be addressable. As far as your statement regarding memory there is a link below that should provide you with the information you need.
Windows 7 requirements
1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
Windows XP memory
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa366778(VS.85,printer).aspx#physical_memory_limits_windows_xp
If you want to know if your computer is Windows 7 ready just download and run the Windows 7 advisor.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&familyid=1b544e90-7659-4bd9-9e51-2497c146af15
It scans your hardware and software for compatibility issues.
If you have XP you can’t upgrade, it has to be a FRESH install, VISTA on the other hand is upgradeable.
Also, don’t buy the HOME crap, get PRO or ULTIMATE or you won’t be able to use Windows XP mode. This is important, especially in business. Business networks should NEVER, EVER purchase the HOME version of ANYTHING.
Yes I agree Computergirl. I will however have to say that I tried to upgrade my computer from Vista to Windows 7 and it failed. It is nice that it has the revert feature that took my computer to the way it was, crappy. LOL. As us computer folk have seen in the past, it may work in some cases, however, when you need it to work it won’t. That’s why you need computer girl, or computer guy