I'll first warn the readers that this is going to be a long post. I'm including a Cliffs Note at the end. I wanted to upgrade my HTPC from 32-bit Windows Vista Home Basic to 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium for a couple reasons, namely to go from 32-bit to 64-bit and also b/c Vista was frustrating me.
After backing up important files, the 1st thing I did was replace the hard drive. My Dell Vostro 220s (purchased 11 mos. ago) came w/ a 160 GB HDD. I replaced it w/ a 300 GB HDD. The actual HDD replacement was a little bit of a PITA b/c the computer is so compact. There are all these slots and latches, etc. I found the service manual on-line for my Dell and swapped the HDD.
Then it came to wiping out that 300 GB HDD and putting Win 7/64 on there. However, 1 problem. My computer's DVD+/-RW doesn't have a visible eject button. It's hidden by the bezel. So off to the service manual again to find the clips to remove the bezel. Then I was able to start the computer and eject the drive.
Once I got the Windows 7 DVD in the drive, and told the BIOS to boot from it before the HDD, Win 7 installation menu came up. It was brain-dead easy to do do a custom (clean) install on it! Very simple and sweet. By far the fastest and most pain free Windows installation I've ever done. (My prior Windows installations include 3.1, 95, 98, 98SE, 2000, and XP.)
I bought the "Upgrade" DVD for Win 7 as opposed to the Full version. I've read here on [H] and elsewhere that Upgrade is very similar to Full, only cheaper, and that if it gave a problem activating it, there are some hacks available. As was advised on the Web, I didn't activate Windows during the installation. But I waited until it was done, booted up, and ran the updates. I ran "activate" from the command prompt, punched in the 25 alphanumeric characters, waited a min. while it checked, and it worked!
Next order of business was loading all my software on there. Done. But McAfee A/V wouldn't even install, presumably b/c the one I have is for 32-bit and not 64-bit. No biggie - I used AVG Anti-Virus instead (it's freeware). Just about everything else loaded just fine, like Firefox, etc. I encountered 1 problem, though. My Abit Airpace Wi-Fi card wasn't being properly detected. I spent a while researching on the Web and trying all sorts of drivers, but to no avail. I realize I shouldn't be surprised. I bought it back in 2005 and Abit last updated its drivers in 2007.
The next thing that I was worried about was BeyondTV 4.9.2 app. Snapstream (its manufacturer) said it only supports 32-bit OSs, including Win 7, but I'm running 64-bit. On the 'net, people had mixed success w/ Win 7/64 (and even Win Vista/64 for that matter). Fortunately, for me it seems to be working just fine. I hooked up my Dell HTPC to my A/V receiver, and it works and looks great on my 57" DLP. Like I said, the only thing not working is its Wi-Fi. I removed the card and ran a 50' Cat 5 cable for the time being until I find a cheap Wi-Fi solution that's 100% 64-bit Win 7 compatible (PCI, PCI-e, or USB).
Now my PC can finally take advantage of all 4 GB of RAM and I don't have to deal w/ crappy Vista UAC (yes, I know I could've hacked that). I have two 300 GB HDDs connected to it. The internal one that I replaced the 160 with and the already existing 300 GB external HDD. If not for the Wi-Fi frustrations, this experience would've been a resounding success.
Cliffs Notes: I upgraded my HTPC from Win Vista/32 to Win 7/64 and did a custom (clean) install on a new HDD using the upgrade DVD. The only problem I encountered and couldn't resolve was my Abit Airpace PCI-e card not being recognized. In the meantime, I'm running a long cable to the computer. Win 7 looks great and BeyondTV seems to be working fine, even though it officially doesn't support 64-bit Windows.
After backing up important files, the 1st thing I did was replace the hard drive. My Dell Vostro 220s (purchased 11 mos. ago) came w/ a 160 GB HDD. I replaced it w/ a 300 GB HDD. The actual HDD replacement was a little bit of a PITA b/c the computer is so compact. There are all these slots and latches, etc. I found the service manual on-line for my Dell and swapped the HDD.
Then it came to wiping out that 300 GB HDD and putting Win 7/64 on there. However, 1 problem. My computer's DVD+/-RW doesn't have a visible eject button. It's hidden by the bezel. So off to the service manual again to find the clips to remove the bezel. Then I was able to start the computer and eject the drive.
Once I got the Windows 7 DVD in the drive, and told the BIOS to boot from it before the HDD, Win 7 installation menu came up. It was brain-dead easy to do do a custom (clean) install on it! Very simple and sweet. By far the fastest and most pain free Windows installation I've ever done. (My prior Windows installations include 3.1, 95, 98, 98SE, 2000, and XP.)
I bought the "Upgrade" DVD for Win 7 as opposed to the Full version. I've read here on [H] and elsewhere that Upgrade is very similar to Full, only cheaper, and that if it gave a problem activating it, there are some hacks available. As was advised on the Web, I didn't activate Windows during the installation. But I waited until it was done, booted up, and ran the updates. I ran "activate" from the command prompt, punched in the 25 alphanumeric characters, waited a min. while it checked, and it worked!
Next order of business was loading all my software on there. Done. But McAfee A/V wouldn't even install, presumably b/c the one I have is for 32-bit and not 64-bit. No biggie - I used AVG Anti-Virus instead (it's freeware). Just about everything else loaded just fine, like Firefox, etc. I encountered 1 problem, though. My Abit Airpace Wi-Fi card wasn't being properly detected. I spent a while researching on the Web and trying all sorts of drivers, but to no avail. I realize I shouldn't be surprised. I bought it back in 2005 and Abit last updated its drivers in 2007.
The next thing that I was worried about was BeyondTV 4.9.2 app. Snapstream (its manufacturer) said it only supports 32-bit OSs, including Win 7, but I'm running 64-bit. On the 'net, people had mixed success w/ Win 7/64 (and even Win Vista/64 for that matter). Fortunately, for me it seems to be working just fine. I hooked up my Dell HTPC to my A/V receiver, and it works and looks great on my 57" DLP. Like I said, the only thing not working is its Wi-Fi. I removed the card and ran a 50' Cat 5 cable for the time being until I find a cheap Wi-Fi solution that's 100% 64-bit Win 7 compatible (PCI, PCI-e, or USB).
Now my PC can finally take advantage of all 4 GB of RAM and I don't have to deal w/ crappy Vista UAC (yes, I know I could've hacked that). I have two 300 GB HDDs connected to it. The internal one that I replaced the 160 with and the already existing 300 GB external HDD. If not for the Wi-Fi frustrations, this experience would've been a resounding success.
Cliffs Notes: I upgraded my HTPC from Win Vista/32 to Win 7/64 and did a custom (clean) install on a new HDD using the upgrade DVD. The only problem I encountered and couldn't resolve was my Abit Airpace PCI-e card not being recognized. In the meantime, I'm running a long cable to the computer. Win 7 looks great and BeyondTV seems to be working fine, even though it officially doesn't support 64-bit Windows.