Hi all,

I built my pc in April 2007. I am ready to build a new one but money is tight. This is a great time to build a new PC, but I just can't do it ATM. So, I am upgrading a little bit and hope to take a few parts over with me to my new build when the time comes. I have a few questions about my upgrade.

I have a new GPU and OS to install as well as some RAM. I have Windows XP Home 32 bit for an OS. I am upgrading to Vista Home Premium 64 bit. I think I should do a clean install for the OS and then add the new memory and the new GPU. I wasn't absolutely sure though. Also, what should I due concerning drivers etc. I am a little confused. I think I should grab the latest Bios for my Mobo and store it on a flash drive. Then after I due the install I can flash the bios.

I guess I am really looking for some sort of structure. Like a list of things to do in order before during and fter a clean instalation. Example: should I format my HD? Should I run the Vista 64 bit disk then do a fdisk to format the HD?

I have a partition on my HD with Windows 7 RC on it and I would like to get rid of it for the time being and have the drive not be partitioned.
Any help would be most awesome!

Here is my PC:

Case: Newegg.com - Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003BWS Black Full Tower Case w/ 25CM Fan - Computer Cases
Power Supply: Newegg.com - Thermaltake W0106RU 700W Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version SLI Certified 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies
Mo Bo: Newegg.com - ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
CPU: Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Windsor 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 89W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
After Market CPU Air Cooler: Newegg.com - ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
Thermal Compound: Newegg.com - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - Thermal Compound / Grease
RAM: Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400 - Desktop Memory
Video Card (current): Newegg.com - EVGA 640-P2-N825-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
After Market GPU Cooler (for the old card):Newegg.com - ZALMAN VF1000 2 Ball VGA Cooler - VGA Cooling
After Market GPU Heatsink (required for the GTS G80 version):Newegg.com - ZALMAN RHS88 VGA Cooler (heatsink) - VGA Cooling
HDD: Newegg.com - Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
Optical Drive: Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe - CD / DVD Burners
OS: Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B for System Builders 1 Pack - Operating Systems
Monitor: Newegg.com - SAMSUNG T220 Rose-Black 22" 2ms GTG Touch of Color series Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 20,000:1 - LCD Monitors
I forgot to say that I also have a floppy drive, a sound card (SB Audigy), and a few other things too such as an Battery Backup UPSU etc.

Here is the new stuff:
New OS (going to install soon): Includes free Windows 7 upgrade coupon
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - Operating Systems
New Video Card (going to install soon):Free Batman: Arkham Asylum game w/ purchase, limited time Newegg.com - EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
New RAM (going to install soon) : Newegg.com - CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Desktop Memory

Thanks again,
-Pystal

I have a partition on my HD with Windows 7 RC on it and I would like to get rid of it for the time being and have the drive not be partitioned.

By this do you mean that you have a dual boot system or that you don't want to have that on the new? As for doing a clean install, yes that is a necessity & you'll need drivers for your chip set, GPU, wireless adapter (if any), & any add on cards from their respective manufacturer's & you will need to get the 64 bit drivers. You will use the Vista install disk to partition & format your drive. Now I don't know if this is true but I've heard that an OEM license of Vista will only activate on one computer and isn't transferable. Just something to keep in mind. So does that answer your questions?

Originally Posted by townsbg

By this do you mean that you have a dual boot system or that you don't want to have that on the new? As for doing a clean install, yes that is a necessity & you'll need drivers for your chip set, GPU, wireless adapter (if any), & any add on cards from their respective manufacturer's & you will need to get the 64 bit drivers. You will use the Vista install disk to partition & format your drive. Now I don't know if this is true but I've heard that an OEM license of Vista will only activate on one computer and isn't transferable. Just something to keep in mind. So does that answer your questions?

Thanks for replying.

I used to have a normal HD with one OS on it and no partitions. A few weeks ago, I partitioned my HD and installed Windows 7 (which is great btw) and I now have a dual boot system. I am going to finally jump to Vista now that it has been around long enough. I want to take advantage of my 64 bit system so I bought the 64 bit Vista with the coupon to upgrade to Windows 7.

Something tells me I should have just used the Windows 7 RC for now and purchase the retail when it comes out. Oh well, I already bought the Vista 64 bit.

As for drivers, I am having trouble figuring out which ones I need. Also, I am not sure of the order in which to do the clean install. I was hoping someone might know of a site that has a step by step install guide for Vista 64 bit, along with any suggestions and things to be careful of while doing so.

I searched around a bit, but I can't seem to find a play by play list of what to do. I think that it can't hurt to just back up my stuff and download the drivers you mentioned and then just go for it.

I am still waiting for the video card to get here from newegg, so I will start looking up drivers etc for now. Are those drivers you listed the only ones I should be concerned with?

I have had issues with drivers in the past so I am a little worried about them. For example, when doing a Windows Update, the optional hardware section shows me that I have new drivers that I should install. The problem is that when I do install them, I end up having problems with my pc. If I go back to the old drivers then all is OK again.

I may just give it a try this weekend. I will keep you posted.

Sorry for the long post. I do appreciate the help.

Take care,
Pystal

You need drivers from the manufacturer's website & you search based on the model number. Usually you will find a selection menu. If you can find some from the chip set (which would come from the MB's manufacturer's website) I would install them but if not Vista should be alright without them. If you are using the integrated sound you will need that. Like I said add-on cards (such as sound, tv tuner, modem, wireless, ethernet card, etc), & graphics (from evga); I think there is more but I am drawing a blank. I would not install the OS until you get all of the parts in. I would not use drivers through MS update unless you can't find what you need from the manufacturer. So order of operations:
1) Put together
2) Partition/format hard drive
3) Install Vista [both 2 & 3 with vista disk]
4) Drivers
5) Anti Virus/Spyware before connecting to the internet
6) SP 2. I recommend the download. I would do this before antimalware if you install from download.
7) Updates
8) Programs

Originally Posted by townsbg

You need drivers from the manufacturer's website & you search based on the model number. Usually you will find a selection menu. If you can find some from the chip set (which would come from the MB's manufacturer's website) I would install them but if not Vista should be alright without them. If you are using the integrated sound you will need that. Like I said add-on cards (such as sound, tv tuner, modem, wireless, ethernet card, etc), & graphics (from evga); I think there is more but I am drawing a blank. I would not install the OS until you get all of the parts in. I would not use drivers through MS update unless you can't find what you need from the manufacturer. So order of operations:
1) Put together
2) Partition/format hard drive
3) Install Vista [both 2 & 3 with vista disk]
4) Drivers
5) Anti Virus/Spyware before connecting to the internet
6) SP 2. I recommend the download. I would do this before antimalware if you install from download.
7) Updates
8) Programs

Thanks again for your help.

I think that I should be good now. I will work on getting all drivers etc this week and throw it all together this weekend. I will let y ou know how things are going.

Thanks a bunch

-Pystal