Removing an OS and adding a new one.

Hey Guys and Gals,

I just recieved a new laptop for my company and need to remove the current OS and add a different one. I have read quite a few things that say you can just run the new and it will overwrite the old but have also heard that you need to do things such as save your old drivers. What this boils down to is I need a clean answer as to what all I need to take into consideration when doing this and any additional steps needed other than just overwriting the old OS. Thank for the responses in advance!

Computer Nub!

 

hi and welcome to nbr.
it would help if you told us the spec of the computer and what graphics it is running,ie nvidia or ati.also what os has it got and what you want to upgrade to.
i upgraded from vista to windows 7 on an old computer but that has intergrated graphics and everything ran from the off. it just save a folder with everything in it in your programs file called old.windows.

 

Ya, it would help to know the model of your laptop and what OS you are trying to install.

There are just too many contingencies.

 

Gateway NV5214U Refurbished Notebook PC - AMD Athlon 64 X2 QL-64 2.1GHz, 4GB DDR2, 320GB HDD, DVDRW, 15.6", Vista Home Premium 64-bit

Specifications

Display Type: 16:9 Aspect Ratio
WXGA Ultrabright™ LED-backlit HD Display
Memory Type: DDR2
Memory Size: 4GB
Memory Speed: 667MHz
Memory Slots (Total): 2
Memory Slots (Filled): 2
Maximum Memory Supported: 4GB
Capacity: 320GB
Hard Drives Included: 1x 320GB
Drive Bays: 1 HDD
Operating Systems: Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Processor Brand: AMD
Processor Class: Athlon 64
Processor Type: Dual-Core
Processor Speed: 2.1GHz
Processor Number: QL-64
Graphics Description: Integrated Graphics
GPU/VPU: ATI Radeon® HD 3200 Graphics
Video Memory: Up to 1919MB of HyperMemory
Video Interface: HDMI
VGA
Optical Drive Type: 8X DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive
Supplemental Drive Type: Media Reader
Capacity: 6-in-1
Audio Description: Integrated Audio
Audio Chipset: High-Definition Audio
2nd Generation Dolby Sound Room® Audio Enhancement featuring Dolby® Headphone, Dolby® Natural Bass, Dolby® Sound Space Expander
Audio Channels: Built-in Stereo Speakers

 

Replied a bit too soon.....upgrading to Windows 7 and thanks for the warm welcome

 

depends if you totally want to clean everything of and start from scratch. if so that means a reformat which ive never done so cant really advice on that.
if you want to upgrade then put the disc in and click upgrade and it will do everything for you. it will save most of the programs in your program file folder as windows.old which will have all the old software in it.

 

So what I have kind of gathered is since it is a new comp and I dont have anything other than what came on it I can just do the upgrade. Maybe make backup disks of the old OS so that if something goes wrong I can troubleshoot with the servicer or warranty?

 

of* rather

 

It is best to at least get some backup disks handy. For your model, I am unaware if there is a specific method to create backup disks.

If you already have backup disks, pretty much, just insert the Windows 7 DVD and follow setup from there.

When it is done installing, then download drivers.

This thread should be moved to the Gateway forum.

 

I already made the back up disks....Start...All Programs...Gateway Folder...Recovery Management System. Just follow the prompts after that. Thank you for your replies and how do I go about moving this to the Gateway Forums?

 

admin will move it. click on the report post triangle and ask for it to be moved.
good luck with the update.

 

Moved, per request.