Upgrade to Windows 7 or not before selling?

I have a thinkpad that I plan to sell. It has XP on it, but since I'm sending it for a minor repair, I may be able to ask the repair tech to also upgrade it to windows 7. Do you think it's better to have it loaded with windows 7 when advertising for the sale, or keep it XP? In other words, what do you expect the potential buyers' preference? I know windows 7 is new and trendy, but some folks may still like XP? (I've never install an OS by myself, so I must decide now whether to have the repair person install windows 7 for me or not.)

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

Thats going to be one of those "Will you get out what you put in" deals.I believe it will help the selling of it but how much are they going to charge for the OS and how much for they install of the OS.

You figure that out and add it to what you want for the laptop and it will help you make your decision.

 

Sell it with the original OS that was installed with it.

 

An old laptop can only be enhanced by the latest OS. Think of it like a fresh paint job or putting new tire on an old car. Wouldn't you be impressed?

 

Although I would throw Win 7 on it the minute I got it, someone looking for an older system might want/need the XP O/S it came with.

I wouldn't do it.

Unless you want to verify that the install works good with Win 7 and all the specific ThinkPad drivers that should be installed on a ThinkPad. Sounds like a lot of work with no/little chance of getting back what you put into it. Even if the Win 7 upgrade was free.

Cheers!

 

Thanks a lot for the advice with issues that didn't occur to me. So I'll keep it unchanged (though it's quite new and the windows install is likely free). It should be easier for the buyer to get windows 7 than XP in future

 

Glad I could help.

Cheers!

 

My guess would be that the upgrade would not be free of labor charges - even with Windows 7, it does take some time to install. Maybe they'd be nice and include it since you are already paying for other repairs, but I wouldn't count on it.

And generally, I doubt the benefit would cover the cost of the license. Some users would gladly pay more for Win7 over XP, but probably not the cost of an upgrade ($90-ish or more, for the Home version). And especially with ThinkPads, there's a good base of (mostly business-oriented) users who prefer XP. There's a reason why if you go to your local MicroCenter, you'll see a whole bunch of shiny new laptops running Windows 7, and several matte, black ThinkPads all running XP.