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Vista upgrade


MissT

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Hello,

I have an old PC (with decent specs though) that is running windows VISTA, which I think must be the worst OS ever. I want to donate this PC to a charity, so would really like to put a better OS on it, but I don't really want to buy one. So, I was wondering - I do have a laptop that came with Windows7 - and I've got the licence key on the back of the laptop - but the laptop was upgraded to Windows 10. Would that Windows7 licence key still work and how could I upgrade the VISTA to Windows 7? Welcome any other good ideas also! Many thanks!

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Hm, that thought never occurred to me. Can you run windows software on these systems? I have no idea if the people who will eventually use the PC will know how to work these OS? I would assume that the charity I have in mind would use it for social media, email, accounts maybe, word, excel, internet....

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Hm, that would also solve my erase all data issue - I did a full reset and some partition survived that and all my files are still there! Is there also good anti virus and malware software available for Linux? Sorry for the twenty questions, but if I go down that route I want to hand over a PC that they can use and is safe... 

Is it an intuitive system? Pretty much everyone knows how to use windows, I remember the pain when I bought a macbook....

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Ok, thanks, I'll look into this...

If I decide to just hand over the VISTA PC, how can I ensure that there is no private information anywhere to be recovered/restored? I read about using file shredder, would that be the way forward - as explained here? http://www.esecurityplanet.com/views/article.php/3898201/How-to-Completely-Wipe-Data-from-a-PC.htm

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1 hour ago, MissT said:

It's an Intel Core (TM) 2 quad CPU @2.4GHz, 3 GB RAM, with NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GS

You can Run Win7/32 OK on that.

I suggest reformatting ( wiping ) the hard disk and starting from scratch.  Win7/32 or some flavour of 'nix.

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Thanks folks. I identified a really good cat sanctuary that might be in need of a PC, so I will see if they'd be happy with VISTA, ok with Linux or if I need to upgrade to 7 (I saw it on Amazon for about 40 quid) before I pass it on. I might be back with more questions once I have established what needs to be done. Many thanks for all your help so far.

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Ok, so I've decided not to do anything with the computer, I leave Vista on it, so I just need to clean it up and wipe personal data. I've used eraser to delete everything on my D drive, which seemed to have all the backup files on it still after a full recovery. I seem to have some strange files in the C Drive, not quite sure what they are and if I need to keep them?

 

Doc1.docx

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I have high-lighted what can be deleted.

You can also..

  • Go into the Control Panel applet --> User Accounts and create a new Administrator account. 
  • Reboot the PC. 
  • Logon using that newly created account.
  • Go back into the Control Panel applet --> User Accounts and delete all other Accounts ( Profiles ) and all their data.

Then you can  pass your computer to the NPO.

Image1.jpg

 

 

 

Edited by David H. Lipman
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Sorry, i can't figure out how to upload images, that's why I keep pasting them into word.....

When I reset the computer I created a new account (0wner) - can I just delete all the others? Do I need to set up a new administrator account - it doesn't give that option as such in control panel?

 

Doc1.docx

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Yes.  You should make a new profile made to be an Administrator then remove all other accounts/profiles indicating to removing data files as well.  When you do that, any files on a User's Desktop, as exampled in your DOCx file embedded graphic, will also be removed. 

The objective is to remove all used profiles and data on the PC but leave an Administrator account for the NPO to use.  That being a newly created account that will allow the NPO to do as they'd like with the system but have zero latent data on the platform.

As for your attaching Graphic's Issue...

I suggest XnView.  With XnView you can paste an object into the program and save it as any supported graphic file format such as a JPEG ( JPG file ) just like the one I posted in Post ID # 17.  You can also capture a screen or part of a screen as well as convert supported graphic file formats to other supported graphic file formats. 

 

 

 

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Ok, so I've set up a new administrator account and deleted all other accounts.

When I go into users though I find this "all users" and when I open it it shows this, do I need to do anything with this?

And sorry for the word document again - I installed Xnview but whatever I do I cannot manage to get the captured image to upload/paste etc...

Doc1.docx

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Leave the system as-is.

I have created a video where I use XnView to use the Rectangle Capture feature where I assigned "Alt" + "F11" as the Hot-Key to call-up the screen capture where I then choose the Boundaries of the Capture Area.  The below graphic is what I captured in the video and here is that Video -->   XnView Rectangle Area Screen Capture.wmv

 

DavesCapturedFile.jpg

 

Edited by David H. Lipman
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Ok, thanks. I have one last remaining issue. I'm not sure if Windows update is working correctly. I'm checking for updates - looks like it last updated in January. But it seems to be hanging, it has been checking for updates for ages now, so I'm not sure if something is wrong?

Capture-1.jpg

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I suggest you stop there.  As long as you leave the OS in its present state, you have done your duty.

I don't think you have to go to the Nth Degree before delivery.  Especially in light of the fact that Windows Vista goes End of Life in less than 6 months.

Edited by David H. Lipman
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