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    Computer up grade

    I would once again like the advice of my computer literate members on the forum.

    I have been using Windows Vista for quite a good few years without much problems. However, I now find that quite a lot of the microsoft support is being discontinued. I am therefore considering whether it is worth my while to upgrade to Windows 10 or something similar whilst preverving all my present files, photos etc. I have,of course backed up all my photos to an external hardrive.

    I am not looing to buying a new computer but if possible to UPGRADE to a new system which would last me perhaps for the next 5-7 years!!

    Many thanks for your advice.

    Nat
    Canon 6D; Canon 760D;Canon G15;Canon 40mm f2.8(Pancake);Canon 50mm f1.8(ii); Canon 17mm-40mm f4L;Canon EF-S 10-18mm f4.5-5.6 IS STM;Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 STM lens;Canon 24mm-105mmf4L IS;Canon 70-300mm f4-f5.6 L IS USM;Kenko 1.4x HD TC;Canon 430EX ii flash;Giottos tripod;Manfretto monopod;Cokin P filters + bits and pieces!

    www.flickr.com/photos/nathaniel3390

    North Wales where music and the sea give a great concert!

    #2
    Re: Computer up grade

    You can't upgrade directly from Vista to Windows 10 - you'd have to go via an install of Windows 7. You could upgrade to W7 and leave it at that - the support for W7 will continue for a few years yet. If you really want W10, then it looks like you'll have to beg, steal or borrow a copy of W7 as an interim step.

    This link might be useful: https://www.theguardian.com/technolo...i-buy-a-new-pc
    Chris
    80D - 10-18 IS STM - 15-85 IS USM - 55-250 IS STM - 50 f/1.8 STM - 100-400L IS II USM - 100 f/2.8L Macro - 1.4x III

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Computer up grade

      Thanks Chris.
      Canon 6D; Canon 760D;Canon G15;Canon 40mm f2.8(Pancake);Canon 50mm f1.8(ii); Canon 17mm-40mm f4L;Canon EF-S 10-18mm f4.5-5.6 IS STM;Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 STM lens;Canon 24mm-105mmf4L IS;Canon 70-300mm f4-f5.6 L IS USM;Kenko 1.4x HD TC;Canon 430EX ii flash;Giottos tripod;Manfretto monopod;Cokin P filters + bits and pieces!

      www.flickr.com/photos/nathaniel3390

      North Wales where music and the sea give a great concert!

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Computer up grade

        Vista only has security updates till April 2017 so thinking about upgrading is probably a good idea.
        Canon 5D3, 7D2, 60D, Canon 70-200L f2.8 IS II, Canon 300 f4L IS, Canon 16-35 f4 L, Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM, Canon 1.4 MkIII extender, Sigma AF 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM, Sigma 150-600 Contemporary, Tamron SP AF 70-300 F/4-5.6 Di VC USD, Canon EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS
        https://www.flickr.com/photos/16830751@N03/

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Computer up grade

          Originally posted by Nathaniel View Post
          I have been using Windows Vista for quite a good few years without much problems. I am considering whether it is worth my while to upgrade to Windows 10 or something similar.

          I am not looing to buying a new computer but if possible to UPGRADE to a new system which would last me perhaps for the next 5-7 years!
          If you do not plan any hardware upgrades for some time then I would be pointing you towards W/7 rather than W/10.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Computer up grade

            Thanks Ant and Enigma. Probably I will go for Windows 7.
            Canon 6D; Canon 760D;Canon G15;Canon 40mm f2.8(Pancake);Canon 50mm f1.8(ii); Canon 17mm-40mm f4L;Canon EF-S 10-18mm f4.5-5.6 IS STM;Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 STM lens;Canon 24mm-105mmf4L IS;Canon 70-300mm f4-f5.6 L IS USM;Kenko 1.4x HD TC;Canon 430EX ii flash;Giottos tripod;Manfretto monopod;Cokin P filters + bits and pieces!

            www.flickr.com/photos/nathaniel3390

            North Wales where music and the sea give a great concert!

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Computer up grade

              Nat, a couple of things you need to think about. If your Vista machine is a good few years old, it may not be able to run Windows 7, and almost certainly won't be able to run Windows 10. You need a competent techie to check whether or not your machine and associated devices, disk drive(s) screen, etc. have available/supported device drivers in W7/10.

              Secondly, there seems to be a major problem in Windows 7 in that it is no longer possible to apply system updates. Although Microsoft are providing system updates, the procedure to apply them simply doesn't work. This is not a good long term situation.

              I've a couple of machines affected by this problem, and spent countless hours trying to resolve it - without success.

              So my advice would be, buy a new Windows 10 machine. It will be faster, with better graphic resolution, ample storage, better comms, and a secure platform which will last the 5-7 years you're looking for.
              Russell
              Canon 7D MkII, 550D EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM, EF 70-200mm f/4.0L IS USM, EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro, 300mm f/4L IS USM, Extender EF 1.4x III, Speedlite 600 EX-RT Speedlite 320EX
              http://www.flickr.com/photos/photorussell

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Computer up grade

                Thanks Russell. I have always had in mind to call in a competent computer expert to look into this. My present Vista machine is old- probably about 7-10 years. I will see what the tech chap says and go with him.
                Canon 6D; Canon 760D;Canon G15;Canon 40mm f2.8(Pancake);Canon 50mm f1.8(ii); Canon 17mm-40mm f4L;Canon EF-S 10-18mm f4.5-5.6 IS STM;Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 STM lens;Canon 24mm-105mmf4L IS;Canon 70-300mm f4-f5.6 L IS USM;Kenko 1.4x HD TC;Canon 430EX ii flash;Giottos tripod;Manfretto monopod;Cokin P filters + bits and pieces!

                www.flickr.com/photos/nathaniel3390

                North Wales where music and the sea give a great concert!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Computer up grade

                  I don't think that the system requirements changed that much between Vista and W7. You could try downloading the Windows 7 Upgrade Adviser (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/down...ils.aspx?id=20) which will let you know of anything that it doesn't like.

                  My laptop is not as old as yours, but the easiest & cheapest upgrades I applied were to add as much memory as it can take and switch to a solid-state drive (total cost, about £70 and a couple of hours of my time). Unfortunately, mine can't take more than 4GB RAM and I still find it a bit under-powered for doing my post-processing so I'll be looking to by something newer, and a bit more "future proof" soon.
                  Chris
                  80D - 10-18 IS STM - 15-85 IS USM - 55-250 IS STM - 50 f/1.8 STM - 100-400L IS II USM - 100 f/2.8L Macro - 1.4x III

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Computer up grade

                    If it's that old Nat it's definitely time to replace. I run W7 on an ancient laptop. It works but not exactly brilliant.

                    One area that often is a problem is peripherals, printer, scanner, etc drivers are quite often not available for later versions of Windows. There can be work rounds in some cases but needs some expertise to implement.
                    Canon 5D3, 7D2, 60D, Canon 70-200L f2.8 IS II, Canon 300 f4L IS, Canon 16-35 f4 L, Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM, Canon 1.4 MkIII extender, Sigma AF 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM, Sigma 150-600 Contemporary, Tamron SP AF 70-300 F/4-5.6 Di VC USD, Canon EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS
                    https://www.flickr.com/photos/16830751@N03/

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Computer up grade

                      I'd also say buy a new PC! They're cheap as chips, OS already installed and will have a spec and performance far ahead of your old Vista PC especially if the OS and key software is on a solid state drive (SSD).

                      My old PC was running Vista but the 32bit installation meant I couldn't increase the 4gb RAM without reinstalling everything at 64bit. So little RAM was strangling my image processing so something had to be done and the simple solution was to buy a new PC that I initially dedicated to photography.

                      You don't even need to transfer everything to the new PC on day one as I still use the old PC (mainly for e-mail) but share screen, keyboard and mouse at the press of a button using a KVM switch.

                      Cheers,
                      John

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Computer up grade

                        Thanks Chris and Ant.
                        Canon 6D; Canon 760D;Canon G15;Canon 40mm f2.8(Pancake);Canon 50mm f1.8(ii); Canon 17mm-40mm f4L;Canon EF-S 10-18mm f4.5-5.6 IS STM;Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 STM lens;Canon 24mm-105mmf4L IS;Canon 70-300mm f4-f5.6 L IS USM;Kenko 1.4x HD TC;Canon 430EX ii flash;Giottos tripod;Manfretto monopod;Cokin P filters + bits and pieces!

                        www.flickr.com/photos/nathaniel3390

                        North Wales where music and the sea give a great concert!

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Computer up grade

                          I'm with John as your pc is running Vista its getting a bit long in the tooth and will probably be short on ram(memory) so the best solution would be to upgrade the PC to a new one and if you wanted you could just buy a new base unit though for all that you would save you are as well to get the monitor along with it
                          Alex

                          EOS R5 EOS 7D Mk ii Lenses EFS 18-55mm EFS 55-250mm EF 50mm 24-105mm Sigma EX 70-200 Sigma 150-600c

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Computer up grade

                            Thanks Alex. I hope to get sorted soon.
                            Canon 6D; Canon 760D;Canon G15;Canon 40mm f2.8(Pancake);Canon 50mm f1.8(ii); Canon 17mm-40mm f4L;Canon EF-S 10-18mm f4.5-5.6 IS STM;Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 STM lens;Canon 24mm-105mmf4L IS;Canon 70-300mm f4-f5.6 L IS USM;Kenko 1.4x HD TC;Canon 430EX ii flash;Giottos tripod;Manfretto monopod;Cokin P filters + bits and pieces!

                            www.flickr.com/photos/nathaniel3390

                            North Wales where music and the sea give a great concert!

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Computer up grade

                              Originally posted by ColytonJohn View Post
                              I'd also say buy a new PC! They're cheap as chips, OS already installed and will have a spec and performance far ahead of your old Vista PC especially if the OS and key software is on a solid state drive (SSD).

                              My old PC was running Vista but the 32bit installation meant I couldn't increase the 4gb RAM without reinstalling everything at 64bit. So little RAM was strangling my image processing so something had to be done and the simple solution was to buy a new PC that I initially dedicated to photography.

                              You don't even need to transfer everything to the new PC on day one as I still use the old PC (mainly for e-mail) but share screen, keyboard and mouse at the press of a button using a KVM switch.

                              Cheers,
                              John
                              Basically that's what I do. Older PC for general use, email, Internet, docs, spreadsheets, etc.

                              Second PC is mainly for photo processing. Have a KVM (keyboard/video/mouse) switch that allows control of either PC with one keyboard, mouse and monitor. In fact I have 2 monitors, photo PC desktop expands over both. Means in Photoshop I have image on one screen and floating menus on the other. Wish there was floating menus in LR.
                              Canon 5D3, 7D2, 60D, Canon 70-200L f2.8 IS II, Canon 300 f4L IS, Canon 16-35 f4 L, Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM, Canon 1.4 MkIII extender, Sigma AF 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM, Sigma 150-600 Contemporary, Tamron SP AF 70-300 F/4-5.6 Di VC USD, Canon EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS
                              https://www.flickr.com/photos/16830751@N03/

                              Comment

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