Windows 7 to Windows 10 Help

[morat]

I like to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro 1903 32-bit.

I’m using the following 9 years old hardware with Windows 7 Pro SP1 32-bit.

* ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard (ordered in Aug 2010)
* AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz Dual-Core Desktop Processor (ordered in Aug 2010)
* CORSAIR XMS3 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3-10666) Desktop Memory (ordered in Aug 2010)
* EVGA 01G-P3-1313-KR GeForce 210 1GB 64-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card (ordered in Dec 2012)
* Dell UltraSharp U2412M Monitor (ordered in Nov 2016)

I mainly use the box for web browsing and office work. No gaming. I would like to be able to run an antivirus.

Is the system too slow for Windows 10 32-bit? Should I buy more memory? Should I buy a new system?

I ran the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant as a compatibility checker. It said…

You may need to install an app to play DVDs in Windows 8.
Your firmware doesn’t support Secure Boot so you won’t be able to use it in Windows 8.
Reinstall the ATI Catalyst Install Manager (i.e. AMD 890GX Chipset Driver) in Windows 8.

Compatible:

Microsoft HID-compliant mouse
Microsoft High Definition Audio Device
Realtek High Definition Audio
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
NVIDIA GeForce 210
Dell UltraSharp U2412M Monitor

P.S.

Is there a guide for reducing cpu and memory usage for old computers running Windows 10?

[anonymous]

I run it on a couple boxes with 2GB memory and dual core. It’s slow but for what they use it for it works. You can install vlc media player to play DVD. Also you could run Windows 10 decrapifier https://community.spiceworks.com/scripts/show/4378-windows-10-decrapifier-18xx-19xx and O&O shutup https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10 plus tweak it as best you can for performance.

You could probably pick up a machine on ebay with better specs for almost what you’d pay to upgrade memory.

[morat]

I’m already using VLC Media Player.

I found some memory for $28 with shipping, but I read that a 32-bit OS can only recognize 3GB so I’m not sure it’s worth buying.

* G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory

Thanks for reply.

[PKCano]

If the computer hardware is not limited to a max of 2GB, you can usually put 2 x 2GB in it. It won’t be able to see more than something like 3.4GB of it, but it works.

[mn–]

Well, back about 15 years ago, some motherboards were made with less than full set of connectors and address lines. So, we’re left with systems that can only ever address 3 GB of RAM and cannot do PAE, even though the processor and the chipset “should” manage PAE and larger memory.

I do have one of these still stashed away. Hm, should check if it still boots up I suppose…

[Canadian Tech]

I have lots of clients with systems like yours running Windows 7 32 bit. Works just fine. In fact, it works better than XP.

I run Bit Defender Antivirus+ in them. Note: this is NOT Bit Defender Security. The antivirus product is all you need. It works better, uses less resources and is cheaper to buy.

CT

[Paul T]

I would stick to Windows 7 as it does all you need and it’s free.
What I would do is create an image backup to an external disk regularly, then upgrade the whole thing when I could afford it.

cheers, Paul

[mn–]

Paul T wrote:

I would stick to Windows 7 as it does all you need and it’s free.

I’d not say “free” here, more accurate would be “already paid for”…

morat wrote:

, but I read that a 32-bit OS can only recognize 3GB so I’m not sure it’s worth buying.

Well, wherever you read that, as written it is categorically incorrect. There are a number of 32-bit operating systems that can recognize and use a lot more. (In case of regular PC-type hardware, you also need the PAE feature working in both the CPU and motherboard, but 2010 is new enough for that.)

32-bit Windows Vista or newer (possibly XP/2000 already) with PAE enabled and drivers written right can use the full 4 GB, and the 4GB limit is a business-oriented decision by Microsoft, too. 32-bit Windows Server Enterprise/Datacenter, 2003 or newer, can use up to 16 or 64 GB depending on software configuration after all… see also http://www.geoffchappell.com/notes/windows/license/memory.htm

Your hardware should also run 64-bit Windows if necessary.

Now, the PAE feature is sort of a design hack resembling segmented memory, like on the original IBM PC… most non-“PC” architectures didn’t bother to extend the limit for 32-bit usage and just went to 64 bits straight away. Like the DECpc AXP 150 that ran a 64-bit version of Windows NT in 1993…

[Author]

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