Upgrading concerns??

[ajth87]

Hey everyone,
Well i am going to upgrade my vista home premium 32 bit to the 64 bit version. I have a dell inspiron 530 and as I have read time and time again is that I must do a clean install which means wiping everything off of my pc. I am not concerned about any of my own files and programs as I can put it all back upon upgrade completion. I do have a D:\ partition on my hard drive that contains my system factory restore files. Will these be deleted during the clean install or will the C:\ drive be the only part that is affected? Thanks.

 

[pat mcgroin]

only the c: drive

 

[ajth87]

Well thats a good thing then. One other thing that i need some clarifying is with the drivers. I know that once I do the clean install of 64-bit Vista, I will no longer have the drivers that originally came installed on my Dell. At least that is what I am assuming. I have a CD that came with my pc from Dell that says "Drivers and Utilities". Correct me if I'm wrong, but after the clean install, I would have to run this CD to install all device drivers and then I should be all set. Does this sound right?

 

[pat mcgroin]

No. The drivers are most likely 32 bit drivers.
You will need to goto dell and see if they have 64 bit Vista drivers.

 

[ajth87]

Hey all,
I would like to reopen this thread for some more understanding on my part. I am planning to do the Vista HP 32bit to 64bit as soon as everything is clarified for me. I am going to order the 64bit disc from Dell unless anyone would recommend to simply purchase a retail version found online. As I now know, I must do a clean install. After performing the clean install, is there any manual installations that I must perform in order to get the pc running properly or will the install CD be all that I need? I know my personal files need to be reinstalled. Thanks for any help.

 

[pat mcgroin]

You would have to ask Dell that question.
Most likely it will have drivers since it is 64 bit from them but you will most likely find newer drivers on their web site.
Just go to their site and get the drivers and put them on a cd before you upgrade.
While you are at it get whatever antivirus you are going to use and put it on that cd also so that you wont have to get online without a condem.