Windows Vista to Windows 10 upgrade

[Nickolai999]

As many of you know, Windows Vista will loose it's extended support this Tuesday. Since I have some viruses with this computer and I have just installed a new video card, the GTX 750 Ti (which is a card that will play new games, but many of them don't support Windows Vista 32-bit) so I am wondering if I got a Windows 10 installation disc on eBay and then bought a COA key with it as well, if I could upgrade to Windows 10 Pro 64-bit directly from Vista, with no 7/8.1 speed bump. The specifications of this computer meet the minimum requirements for Windows 10 64-bit and I have even seen some people say Windows 10 will run FASTER with Windows Vista hardware than the Windows Vista operating system itself.
Heres the specifications:
Core 2 Duo E6550 @ 2.33 GHz
Nvidia GTX 750 Ti 2GB GDDR5 DirectX11
500GB Seagate 7200 RPM HDD
2GB DDR2 PC2-6400
DVD-RW
1280x1024 display

Thanks for any answers!

 

[DSzymborski]

Windows 10 does tend to run better, but you buy a gray market key -- some would argue black market and I'm not far from there -- at your own risk; Microsoft regularly blacklists keys obtained in dodgy fashion.

 

[SkyNetRising]

There is no direct upgrade path from Vista to windows 10.
You will have to upgrade to windows 7 first, then upgrade to windows 10.
Or you can do clean install of windows 10 (will have to backup your data before doing that).

 

[13thmonkey]

I doubt you can go from vista to 10 without it being a fresh install.

Download direct from MS.

Buy a proper key from MS or amazon or a proper retailer and not a grey license (which will cause trouble down the line).

 

[Nickolai999]

There is no direct upgrade path from Vista to windows 10.
You will have to upgrade to windows 7 first, then upgrade to windows 10.
Or you can do clean install of windows 10 (will have to backup your data before doing that).

How is there no upgrade path? I meet the requirements for Windows 10 64-bit.

 

[DSzymborski]

There is no direct upgrade path from Vista to windows 10.
You will have to upgrade to windows 7 first, then upgrade to windows 10.
Or you can do clean install of windows 10 (will have to backup your data before doing that).

How is there no upgrade path? I meet the requirements for Windows 10 64-bit.

As in no *upgrade* path. You can full clean install.

 

[Sam Poland]

It's time for a new pc.
Your CPU is going to be the limiting factor when determining what, IF ANY, new games you might be able to play.

However if you don't have any other options here are a few tips:
Don't buy an OS off ebay. Don't buy the PRO version - you don't need those features. Upgrade your RAM - 2GB is the MINIMUM for a 64bit OS.
You can't 'upgrade' from Vista to 10. Nor can you upgrade from a 32 bit OS to a 64bit. You will need to do a fresh/new install.

 

[SkyNetRising]

How is there no upgrade path? I meet the requirements for Windows 10 64-bit.

There is no DIRECT upgrade path from Vista to windows 10.
But there is indirect upgrade path: you can upgrade to windows 7, then upgrade to windows 10.
And yes - from 32bit Vista, you can upgrade only to 32bit windows 7, from that only to 32bit windows 10.
Getting to 64bit OS will require clean install anyway (no upgrade possible).

 

[Nickolai999]

There is no direct upgrade path from Vista to windows 10.
You will have to upgrade to windows 7 first, then upgrade to windows 10.
Or you can do clean install of windows 10 (will have to backup your data before doing that).

How is there no upgrade path? I meet the requirements for Windows 10 64-bit.

As in no *upgrade* path. You can full clean install.

I know I could probably upgrade to Windows 7 from Windows Vista, but if I wanted to upgrade to Windows 8.1 from Vista, could I? And if so, would it bring any performance drops in say gaming on Windows 8.1 vs Windows 7? I think Windows 7 is a great operating system and if the extended support weren't closing in on 7, I would be just fine with it. I believe Windows 7+ have the same exact system requirements.

 

[DSzymborski]

There is no direct upgrade path from Vista to windows 10.
You will have to upgrade to windows 7 first, then upgrade to windows 10.
Or you can do clean install of windows 10 (will have to backup your data before doing that).

How is there no upgrade path? I meet the requirements for Windows 10 64-bit.

As in no *upgrade* path. You can full clean install.

I know I could probably upgrade to Windows 7 from Windows Vista, but if I wanted to upgrade to Windows 8.1 from Vista, could I? And if so, would it bring any performance drops in say gaming on Windows 8.1 vs Windows 7? I think Windows 7 is a great operating system and if the extended support weren't closing in on 7, I would be just fine with it. I believe Windows 7+ have the same exact system requirements.

You'd have to do a full clean install here as well.

Which is a very simple task - I'm not sure why you're now asking about a worse, older, and slower operating system just to avoid a clean install, a very basic bit of PC maintenance. It's a bit like buying a worse car because the worse car already has a full reservoir of windshield wiper fluid.

 

[Nickolai999]

It's time for a new pc.
Your CPU is going to be the limiting factor when determining what, IF ANY, new games you might be able to play.

However if you don't have any other options here are a few tips:
Don't buy an OS off ebay. Don't buy the PRO version - you don't need those features. Upgrade your RAM - 2GB is the MINIMUM for a 64bit OS.
You can't 'upgrade' from Vista to 10. Nor can you upgrade from a 32 bit OS to a 64bit. You will need to do a fresh/new install.

So since I can't get 4GB+ ram (not to mention it is DDR2) with this computer, I might as well let it stay with vista and with all the original components.

 

[USAFRet]

1. A Windows 10 Installation disk or USB is zero cost. Download direct from Microsoft.
The license key is what actually costs money.

2. Your system will run 7/8.1/10, but the 2GB RAM is the main limiting factor. Performance will be similar (mediocre but better than Vista) across all three.

3. Whatever you change to, a clean wipe and install is strongly recommended. Likely your current Vista install is quite old, and has a lot of cruft in it.
And since you already have viruses in it...wipe and reinstall.

4. You can't do an inplace upgrade from 32bit to 64bit, of any Windows OS. Clean install is required.

5. Buying a cheap 'key' is strongly not recommended. A valid license (7/8.1/10) costs what it costs. Generally around $90USD.