Downgrading to Windows 7

Hmmm... Did he give you a build sheet?

Okay, Windows can tell you part of it. It will tell you what CPU, video, network, etc. You can get these by right clicking on "My Computer" and selecting "Properties" from the pop-up menu. That will tell you what CPU you have. Then select the "Hardware" tab, and click on the "Device Manager" (System Manager?) button under that tab. Once that window pops up, you can expand and discover the individual devices.

Unfortunately, this will not tell you what motherboard you have. For that, you must open the case. The nomenclature is usually located near the CPU socket or between the expansion slots. Make sure you get the manufacturer, model number and version number.

Being as this machine is only 2 years, I think it almost certain that it will support Windows 7. And it's almost certainly an Athlon64 X2. Which is good.

Get the numbers and get back to me.

Hello there I've found using 'bel arc' very convenient in listing all pertinent data without opening the hood

http://download.cnet.com/Belarc-Advisor/3000-2094_4-10007277.html

Thanks. I ran that. It told me everything, and even gave me some snotty messages about not updating XP after SP2.

Post a copy of the bel arc list or PM to me, thanks...

From what I am reading, Belarc sometimes gives false reads on the motherboard model.

I too have heard same but not experienced such...

I spent three hours running assorted routines to fix the problem. Google "repair outlook" and you find all kinds of weird answers. The one that finally worked was a Microsoft routine (buried deep within Windows--you need directions to find it) that repaired the .pst file. That one ran for more than an hour.

Here's why Microsoft treats its customers so badly--it has us locked into Windows software, so it doesn't have to be nice. Instead, it makes everything incredibly difficult so we finally bite the bullet and upgrade (i.e., purchase) to new software to escape problems with the old software. And, to keep us from sticking with older software that used to work perfectly--like XP--it screws it up with endless updates--like the one that just took out my Outlook, and SP2 that required taking it to a computer shop to get it running again.

I wish I had gone to Macs years ago. Too late now. Converting my business and my wife's business to Mac would be a giant PITA.

Four more years of this, then I pull the pin, burn all my PCs, and buy a Mac..

Isn't the MS business model more like cars, full replacement every 2-3 years?

certainly much more oriented towards having software designed for the newest hardware, bundled together with the other bloatware, like adobe, saturate the market, there is also substantial profits in support. the best customers being medium sized businesses, who are pretty much locked in, costs too much to do something different...

you need to be fully updated & running security protection, aren't you on SP3?

maybe Dr.Moose or Bwire can explain how going to w7 will solve your outlook problem, shouldn't you be finding a replacement for that?

I don't know what the attraction to Outlook is

Absolutely agreed.

...per MS directions, do a 100% backup *first* before attempting to upgrade to Win7.

Biggest question is if your system can handle Windows 7?

I am in the same boat as you with MS XP and updates (designed to cripple) with a Pentium 4 2.00Ghz and 1GB of Ram. It would be nice to go with Windows 7, but this eMachine is maxed out and if it could run Win 7 with the single core processor it will probably run worse than Win XP due to hardware that is unable to keep up with the hardware resource demand.

My plan for my 7 yr old Pentium 4 is going to be to remove XP and install Ubuntu Linux to it. Linux is "efficient and fast" and not designed to cripple! and is FREE. If you dont play video games and just web surf, use office for word documents etc, Linux is the way to go.

Migration from MS to Linux though is really more geared towards someone who is a guru at systems though. All your mailbox info could be ported out to Thunderbird, but you have to know what you are doing to achieve this.

If your system is older than 3 years old and/or has less than 2GB of Ram and is not a multi-core (dual-core or better) processor, then you will not want to put Win 7 on it and will want to replace the computer and get Win 7 bundled with it.

I finally bit the bullet and allowed Micosoft to update my confuser with security updates. Now my Outlook doesn't work. *sigh* I may need Windows 7 sooner than I thought.

Thanks to everybody for your comments. I'm married to Outlook because of my business--especially my extensive mailing lists. Also, because my business runs on Microsoft software, I can't take any chances on changing horses in midstream.

Just four more years, and THEN I'll change.