Microsoft Windows is the most dominate line of operating systems out on the market today. They’ve offered a great history of products throughout the years but the three operating systems most prevalent in today’s market are Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. They rank in order from earliest to newest with Windows 7 being the most recent release.
Check out our great guides for clean installations, upgrades, repair installations and much more!
Microsoft Windows 7:
Windows 7 Overview and System Requirements
Clean Installation Instructions
Repair Instructions / Upgrade Instructions
64 bit Upgrade from a 32 bit Machine
Microsoft Windows Vista:
Windows Vista Overview and System Requirements
Clean Installation Instructions
Repair Instructions / Upgrade Instructions
64 bit Upgrade from a 32 bit Machine
Microsoft Windows XP:
Windows XP Overview and System Requirements
Clean Installation Instructions
Repair Instructions / Upgrade Instructions
64 bit Upgrade from a 32 bit Machine
In the Windows Operating Family, Windows 7 falls in the more aging modern side released in October 2009 with 4 standard editions: Starter, Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate. The first has the most simple of features while the last concludes with all the bells and whistles.
(In order from earliest to most recent) Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Currently there are no known service packs for Windows 7 but if you are curious to find out more about what a service pack is, please visit our Service Pack Installation guide. It is crucial to have your operating system include the latest service pack as it includes a large and vital update to the computer and is much more important then most other smaller regularly scheduled updates. An operating system without the most recent service pack is at greater risk to attract infections and malicious files and will not include the most recent updated versions of programs such as Internet Explorer.
As always, its best to check the system requirements of any new software to see if the computer it’s being installed on can handle it. The minimum system requirements for Windows 7 are:
- 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
Minimum system requirements can be misleading. While any system that fit the minimum requirements will run the programs and software, they are poor indicators to how your experience on the operating system will be. I would make sure you update your system hardware so you are a good distance ahead from the minimum system requirements so you can enjoy the full features Windows 7 has to offer.
If you are uncertain if you will truly be able to run and use the features of Windows 7, I suggest you run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. The Upgrade Advisor is a program to download on your current system which will cycle through your computer components. Be sure to plug in any devices (USB devices, printers…etc) that are used regularly; they will be evaluated as well. The process can be quite rigorous on your machine so I suggest you provide it with 10-30 minutes to complete and close all other programs not vital to operate the computer. Upon completion, the program will display how ready your system is for Windows 7 and areas your computer may need some higher quality parts. If your computer entirely is just too weak for the new operating system, it will make some great suggestions on what type of parts to include based on your usage.
As always, there are features in Windows 7 such as the Touch Support or Media Center that require other components like a touch compatible monitor or TV Tuner to take advantage of the full capabilities.
In the Windows Operating Family, Windows Vista falls in the more aging modern side released in November 2006. Windows Vista was released in 4 editions Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate. The first has the most simple of features while the last concludes with all the bells and whistles.
(In order from earliest to most recent) Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Currently there are 2 known released service packs. If you are unsure what version service pack you have installed on your windows machine, please visit our Service Pack Installation guide. It is crucial to have your operating system include the latest service pack as it includes a large and vital update to the computer and is much more important then most other smaller regularly scheduled updates. An operating system without the most recent service pack is at greater risk to attract infections and malicious files and will not include the most recent updated versions of programs such as Internet Explorer.
It’s always a good idea to check the system requirements of any new software to see if the computer it’s being installed on can handle it. The minimum system requirements for Windows Vista Home Basic (lowest flavor) are:
- 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
- 512 MB of system memory
- 20 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space
- Support for DirectX 9 graphics and 32 MB of graphics memory
- DVD-ROM Drive
- Audio Output
The other higher end editions (Home Premium, Business and Ultimate) have system requirements which require a bit higher end components which are:
- 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
- 1 GB of system memory
- 40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space
- Support for DirectX 9 graphics with:
- WDDM Driver
- 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)
- Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware
- 32 bits per pixel
- Audio Output
- Internet access (fees may apply)
Minimum system requirements can be misleading. While any system that fit the minimum requirements will run the programs and software, they are poor indicators to how your experience on the operating system will be. I would make sure you update your system hardware so you are a good distance ahead from the minimum system requirements so you can enjoy the full features Windows Vista has to offer.
If you are uncertain if you will truly be able to run and use the features of Windows Vista, I suggest you run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor. The Upgrade Advisor is a program to download on your current system which will cycle through your computer components. Be sure to plug in any devices (USB devices, printers…etc) that are used regularly; they will be evaluated as well. The process can be quite rigorous on your machine so I suggest you provide it with 10-30 minutes to complete and close all other programs not vital to operate the computer. Upon completion, the program will display how ready your system is for Windows 7 and areas your computer may need some higher quality parts. If your computer entirely is just too weak for the new operating system, it will make some great suggestions on what type of parts to include based on your usage.
*The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor will only work with Windows XP and Windows Vista. It will not work with any other earlier editions of Windows*
As always, there are features in Windows Vista such as Aero or Flip 3D that require more advanced dedicated graphics cards that might not come with all PC’s. Those features are not nessesary for running the software but are a great new aesthetically appealing graphical inclusion.
In the Windows Operating Family, Windows XP falls in the more aging modern side released in Octoer 2001 with a x64 bit edition released early March 2003. Windows XP was released with Home Premium and Professional: the latter with few more business features. Windows XP was the start of the first real division of operating system editions.
(In order from earliest to most recent) Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Currently there are 3 known released service packs. If you are unsure what version service pack you have installed on your windows machine, please visit our Service Pack Installation guide. It is crucial to have your operating system include the latest service pack as it includes a large and vital update to the computer and is much more important then most other smaller regularly scheduled updates. An operating system without the most recent service pack is at greater risk to attract infections and malicious files and will not include the most recent updated versions of programs such as Internet Explorer.
Check the system requirements of Windows XP to verify the computer it’s being installed on can handle it. The minimum system requirements for Windows XP are:
- Pentium 233-megahertz (MHz) processor or faster (300 MHz is recommended)
- At least 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM (128 MB is recommended as 64 MB may limit system performance greatly)
- At least 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available space on the hard disk
- CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
- Keyboard and Mouse or some other compatible pointing device
- Video adapter and monitor with Super VGA (800 x 600)or higher resolution
- Sound card
- Speakers or headphones (not entirely necessary but will be required for any audio playback)
Minimum system requirements can be misleading. While any system that fit the minimum requirements will run the programs and software, they are poor indicators to how your experience on the operating system will be. I would make sure you update your system hardware so you are a good distance ahead from the minimum system requirements so you can enjoy the full features Windows XP has to offer.
Unfortunately, the Windows XP Upgrade Advisor has retired and is no longer available. The former upgrade program operated under the same way as some of the newer upgrade advisors. My only recommendation is to make sure your hardware is a bit more advanced then required by the minimum system resources.
As always, there are features in Windows XP such as the Multimedia Media Center or new graphical shading techniques that require other components like a TV Tuner or dedicated graphics card to take advantage of the full capabilities.