HELP!! Installing Win 7 64 bit on a Dell 8400 Running out of time!!

[metawin]

Hello everyone,

I have a Dell 8400 and a few questions about upgrading to Win 7 64 bit.
(I am a complete NoOb when it comes to installing an OS).

First my specs are...

CPU Type
Intel Pentium 4 HT 630, 3000 MHz (15 x 200)
Instruction Set x86, x86-64, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3
L1 Trace Cache 12K Instructions
L2 Cache 2 MB (On-Die, ECC, ATC, Full-Speed)
Package Type 775 Contact LGA
Process Technology 7M, 90 nm, CMOS, Cu, Low-K Inter-Layer, High-K Gate, Strained Si
Core Voltage 1.3 V
Maximum Power 101 W @ 3.00 GHz
CPUID Revision 00000F43h
Platform ID 2Bh / MC 10h (LGA775)
64-bit x86 Extension (AMD64, Intel64) Supported


Motherboard Properties
Motherboard Name Dell Dimension 8400
Bus Type Intel GTL+
Bus Width 64-bit
Bandwidth 6400 MB/s


Memory Bus Properties
Bus Type Dual DDR2 SDRAM
Bus Width 128-bit
DRAM:FSB Ratio 1:1
Real Clock 200 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 400 MHz


North Bridge: Intel Alderwood i925XE
Supported FSB Speeds FSB800, FSB1066
Maximum Memory Amount 4 GB

BIOS A09

PCI Express Controller
PCI-E 1.0 x16 port #2 In Use @ x16 (ATI Radeon X300/X550/X1050 (RV370) Video Adapter (POS!!!!)



I will have 2GB of this RAM Thursday with another 2GB of the same RAM the following week or the week after that.

Corsair Dominator DDR2 Ram Memory PC-6400 800 MHZ

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180548686764

After the RAM I will be getting a new Graphics Card.

Also I have a spare 650 watt PSU if needed.

I ran the Window upgrade advisor and the only things it flagged was (of course) that I only had 512MB of RAM and outlook express.
It did say custom installation required, whatever that means.

1. My first question to everyone is, can my Dell even run Windows 7 64-bit?
I googled around and it seems possible.

2. My second question is can I install it with the 512MB of RAM I have now?

3. My last question is can I install this along side XP on my HD?

4. My third question is does anyone know of a good very detailed step by step Noob guide for installing it next to XP?

I have never installed an OS before and if it does not work I am screwed!

I do know it is better to do a fresh install and no I cannot by another HD right now, I know they are cheap but I will be scraping together all I have just for the RAM and Graphics card.

My problem is that, I really only have the time to do this over the long weekend and cannot wait for the RAM to get here.
The guy on e-bay is a clown and did not ship it when he was supposed to and it will not be here in time.

I just need it up and running and can add the RAM as it comes but I am under a serious time constraint and if I don't get this done now over the Memorial day weekend it will be a long time before I have enough time to do this.

Please, Please, Please HELP!!

 

[Shadow703793]

I'm sorry, but I wouldn't try running Windows 7 on a P4. You need at least a older gen E6xxx/E8xxx,etc or the equalization AMD dual core. You can install it, but it will be quite slow for most tasks with that P4.

 

[metawin]

I am sorry but I have to disagree. I have read many other peoples accounts of win 7 on a P4 and they are all good. I knew I would get at least one post saying that. Just as people always say that the cpu throttles games etc. I am not saying it does not happen, but it is never close to being nearly as bad as people seem to believe. I ran Fallout 3 on max settings on a used e-bayed office dell gx270 with a old 2.4 Pentium, 1 gb of slow ram and a AGP card and watched a hundred people get talked out playing fallout by people, when their systems were better able to handle it than the one I was maxing the game out on!! It goes on all the time, but a lot of people still automatically repeat the old "don't do it, it is a bottle neck" crap no matter how many times it is debunked. It is not true, look into, its not going to make anything close to unusable. I can't count how many times while looking into upgrading that people on forums talked others out of upgrading saying it is impossible and its a real shame those people got talked out of it. Sorry I am not picking on you Shadow its just been frustrating to see so many people get screwed by people just repeating what they think is accurate advice and spending a lot of money on a new system or not enjoying that game they want to play when they COULD do on their current one. Anyway sorry about the rant just did not want you to be one of those keeping poor people in the stone age . Here are a couple of links, but there are a million. And thank you for trying to help, that rant really did not have anything to do with you, I just like the P4.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090728051350AAsqT0g

http://communities.intel.com/message/98783;jsessionid=3545B0756EC465B3F61968972D168106.node7COM

My question was CAN my system run it.

I am downloading Gparted and am about to try this soon and I still am not sure if I am about to brick my comp, so please help soon!

P.S. Please let's not turn this into a thread about P4's

P.S.S the AGP card I used on Fallout 3 was a Shaphire HD 3850, for anyone that reads this with AGP still.

 

[Ijack]

Here's an idea for you. Google "Dell 8400 Windows 7 64-bit".

(PS - you can't "brick" a PC unless you have an unsuccessful BIOS update.)

 

[metawin]

Here's an idea for you. Google "Dell 8400 Windows 7 64-bit".

(PS - you can't "brick" a PC unless you have an unsuccessful BIOS update.)

WOW! You must be some kind of super genius!!

Did you go to school to learn that?

Google? Your amazing! Do others know of this "Google" you speak of?

Thank you for blessing us with your wisdom and not wasting anyone's time.

" 1. My first question to everyone is, can my Dell even run Windows 7 64-bit?
I Googled around and it seems possible."

Except for bricking a PC you could fry your board, erase the OS you have on it even though you don't have a back up disk (which is what I am facing), you can shoot it, OR you could well... hit it with a brick.


PC Magazine encyclopedia
Search: Browse the index

Definition of: Brick

An electronics device that has been damaged or otherwise incapacitated. In other words, "as useful as a brick." A bricked device can be due to a hardware or software failure.

Definition of: Prick

People who think they know a lot, but really don't, so they make snide posts on peoples threads in order to feel important.

 

[Ijack]

Well, it seems clear that you hadn't thought of Google! Perhaps you didn't go to school. I'm not a genius, just a retired PC technician who knows how to find answers.

Yes - most people have heard of Google. The clever ones know how to use it to find answers to problems; the lazy ones expect someone else to do the work for them.

The way I look at it, ask on this forum and you're reaching a few hundred, or maybe a couple of thousand people, some of whom just might have installed that particular OS on the same computer, but it's a long shot. Ask Google and you're asking millions of people; some of those people will have done what you are asking about.

I had a look at Google and found the answer to your question in about 5 seconds. It turns out that loads of people have tried installing 64-bit Windows 7 on a Dimension 8400. If you can be bothered to I'll let you find out the probable pitfalls.

Yes, you could do all sorts to your PC; but you can't "brick" it by trying to install an OS (well, not unless you are extremely stupid).

 

[metawin]

Well, it seems clear that you hadn't thought of Google! Perhaps you didn't go to school. I'm not a genius, just a retired PC technician who knows how to find answers.

Yes - most people have heard of Google. The clever ones know how to use it to find answers to problems; the lazy ones expect someone else to do the work for them.

The way I look at it, ask on this forum and you're reaching a few hundred, or maybe a couple of thousand people, some of whom just might have installed that particular OS on the same computer, but it's a long shot. Ask Google and you're asking millions of people; some of those people will have done what you are asking about.

I had a look at Google and found the answer to your question in about 5 seconds. It turns out that loads of people have tried installing 64-bit Windows 7 on a Dimension 8400. If you can be bothered to I'll let you find out the probable pitfalls.

Yes, you could do all sorts to your PC; but you can't "brick" it by trying to install an OS (well, not unless you are extremely stupid).

The fact that you spend your retirement trolling fourms halfway around the world and insulting people looking for help and discussion on a project is in itself so pathic that I am not going to bother breaking you down on this thread.
Turn off your computer, go outside and try not to be so misrable for what is left of your life.

 

[antonioq1966]

Wow, way to alienate people who might otherwise try to help you. You are a genius, Metawin.

 

[The_Prophecy]

The fact that you spend your retirement trolling fourms halfway around the world and insulting people looking for help and discussion on a project is in itself so pathic that I am not going to bother breaking you down on this thread.
Turn off your computer, go outside and try not to be so misrable for what is left of your life.

ijack was right. You really could have just run a Google search and found the answer you needed. Instead, you spent your time trolling forums, insulting and alienating those trying to help you (Re: encouraging you to type a phrase into Google). Keep posting garbage like what you wrote above, and you'll find yourself with a lot more free time on your hands.

But in the spirit of generosity, here is something else you can Google while you're looking for the answer to your question above:

Forum Etiquette

 

[Ijack]

The fact that you spend your retirement trolling fourms halfway around the world and insulting people looking for help and discussion on a project is in itself so pathic that I am not going to bother breaking you down on this thread.
Turn off your computer, go outside and try not to be so misrable for what is left of your life.

No sweat. You're the one who has the problem and is looking for answers, not me.

Quite a few people have shown their gratitude for my "trolling"; I'll try to live with the fact that you don't.

 

[metawin]

Is hijacking threads and making obnoxious comments how you choose to spend your time?

I will give you the benifet of the doubt Prohecy since you seem to believe (mistakingly) that ijack was in some way trying to be helpful.

Help is not jumping onto a thread that you did not bother to read and being snide.
Saying "Google it" after skiming a title was not in any way meant to help me out, it was an scarcastic, backhanded insult.
If telling someone to "Google it" is a nice, sincere, helpful comment then I will be a gold medal veteran by tomorrow.

Had either one of you even bothered to read the very first question I asked you would know that I did google it, found the information lacking, am woriking under a time limit and can't spend all of the little time I have gathering every last bit of obscure info and would like advice from knowledgeable people about something I have never done before and who may have some details that I would not even known the terms for, therfore not being able to google it.

Here is my qoute, the very first question, I will even underline it for you. AGAIN.

" 1. My first question to everyone is, can my Dell even run Windows 7 64-bit?
I Googled around and it seems possible."

See the word google?
Had either one of you bothered to read my post you would already know that.
You did not read it but instead chose to skim a title and jump in to bully people looking for advice and earn a cheap 4 points.

What does your Etiquette guide say about your actions Prophecy?
Did it say its intended use was for you to tack on at the end of a degrading post so you could try to intimadate someone?

I am going to ask a mod to remove all of this garbage from my post in hopes that if someone does google this thread one day they will not be forced to sift through a bunch negitive, snide trash from people who had no intention of reading, much less helping the poster.

If you want to reply,

1. Read the post
2. Decide if you can HELP
3. At least accidentally try to say something relavant and helpful to the post.

THERE IS NO OTHER REASON TO POST

Take your personal problems to whatever is the real life source of your problems, the internet is not reality and your not going to work them out on forums.

 

[Ijack]

Well, I'm sorry that you took my post as being obnoxious, but I think that may be your problem not mine.

Yes you say that you had googled around. But, since you hadn't found a definitive answer to your first question (else why ask it), it looked like you hadn't used the right search term. The search term that I suggested gives pages of results which definitively answer that question including pointing out a few pitfalls that you are clearly not aware of.

Now I could have gone through all those hits, distilled the information out of them and posted it for you. But it seems to me more useful to give you the information about what search term to use and let you investigate the results for yourself.

You're upset because I showed you how to find the answer rather than spoonfeeding you. Well tough. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him how to fish and you feed him for life."

I don't really care about your reaction. My record of helping people with their queries on this forum speaks for itself. Unpleasant people like you make it a marginally less rewarding place to visit, as the mod is trying to tell you, but there are enough nice people here to outweigh the occasional ingrate.

Once you have a record of helping people come back and berate me again. Until then ponder upon this - some people take on this site, some give, and some do both. Which category do you fit into?

That's all that I have to say on the subject.

 

[metawin]

Well, I'm sorry that you took my post as being obnoxious, but I think that may be your problem not mine.

Yes you say that you had googled around. But, since you hadn't found a definitive answer to your first question (else why ask it), it looked like you hadn't used the right search term. The search term that I suggested gives pages of results which definitively answer that question including pointing out a few pitfalls that you are clearly not aware off.

Now I could have gone through all those hits, distilled the information out of them and posted it for you. But it seems to me more useful to give you the information about what search term to use and let you investigate the results for yourself.

You're upset because I showed you how to find the answer rather than spoonfeeding you. Well tough. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him how to fish and you feed him for life."

I don't really care about your reaction. My record of helping people with their queries on this forum speaks for itself. Unpleasant people like you make it a marginally less rewarding place to visit, as the mod is trying to tell you, but there are enough nice people here to outweigh the occasional ingrate.

Once you have a record of helping people come back and berate me again. Until then ponder upon this - some people take on this site, some give, and some do both. Which category do you fit into?

I did not ask for a spoon-fed anything.
Telling someone to "Google it" is not only rude, but LAZY.
You are arrogant and rude.
Your attempts to delude people into thinking you were trying to help me are sad.
It is my greatest wish that you never decided to "help" me with anything, your "help" is a joke.
Google the term "complete tool" because I do not have the time to spoon-feed you all the ways you suck.

If you have a problem with people asking for help then you have no bunissness being on here.
Its people like you with an elitist attitude that join help fourms just to be a d**k to people that want help that keep boards dead.
Do Tom's a favor and quit.

I chose to help where it is deserved, here is one of the many I have been on besides this one since I started this project and I can honestly say I have never been so saddend by the actions of a community than on this fourm and I pray that you people are not repersentive of the people on this site.

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/software-os/f/3524/p/19342539/19745231.aspx#19745231

Now go away and "help" some unforunate person looking for help who will instead get you.

 

[antonioq1966]

Metawin, has it occurred to you that you may have misinterpreted ijacks Google suggestion? As most of us know, a huge part of verbal communication is facial expression and inflection-with written communication we merely have printed words. Maybe ijack was trying to be sarcastic, but you can't know that for a fact. More than once I have received a text message/email that could be taken to have more than one meaning. Regardless, I think that name calling is in poor form.

 

[The_Prophecy]

Hello everyone,

I have a Dell 8400 and a few questions about upgrading to Win 7 64 bit.
(I am a complete NoOb when it comes to installing an OS).

First my specs are...

CPU Type
Intel Pentium 4 HT 630, 3000 MHz (15 x 200)
Instruction Set x86, x86-64, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3
L1 Trace Cache 12K Instructions
L2 Cache 2 MB (On-Die, ECC, ATC, Full-Speed)
Package Type 775 Contact LGA
Process Technology 7M, 90 nm, CMOS, Cu, Low-K Inter-Layer, High-K Gate, Strained Si
Core Voltage 1.3 V
Maximum Power 101 W @ 3.00 GHz
CPUID Revision 00000F43h
Platform ID 2Bh / MC 10h (LGA775)
64-bit x86 Extension (AMD64, Intel64) Supported

You asked 4 questions in your original post. The answer to the first is in the part of your original post quoted above. In case you can't spot it, here it is again:

64-bit x86 Extension (AMD64, Intel64) Supported

It's been staring you in the face this whole time.

2. It can be done, but will probably run like crap once you install anything (and probably before you install anything too).

3. Yes.

4. See the first link in number 7 of this thread.

Now, I know I just spoon fed these to you (sorry ijack), but since you won't be able to post in this thread until tomorrow due to your post numbers 3 through 6 in this thread, I figured I should at least get them to you now so you have more time to use that link I posted above on Forum Etiquette. The next time you post on this forum or any other forum, please remember that the people posting back are not machines designed to spit out the answers exactly the way you want them presented. You may actually have to do a bit of work (Re: Reading) to find what you want. Those providing help on this forum (like ijack has for quite some time now) are people too, and treating them like anything but will get you less than desirable results.

 

[Guest]

This reply is for antonioq1966


Context is more important.

A. Anyone who went through all of the trouble of signing up, getting specs together, frameing and anticipating questions and responses etc. obviously googled it beforehand.

B. When in the first question in the post explictly states that it was googled
meaning the question was not even read.

C. The person could have just said that it was a miscommucation after the first time and did not

In this context that means said person was being a D**K

That is in poor form my friend.

I don't take bullying by people on HELP fourms who for some reason love to pick on people who need help and made the unforgivable mistake of asking for it on a fourm that is for just that. Then you never see those people again and the boards start to die. Why?

If you can't help, just move on to something else, don't poision a thread and drive people away just because you have no life.

No, I am not sorry at all. I hate bullies and will flame them everytime.

It is suprising to me that out of all of the fourms I have been on since I started this little project that TOM'S would be the one that ended up like this.
This is where I was going to put the walk-through when I was finshed and have been linking to it.
Not now, I refuse to expose anyone else to this nasty garbage.

Kudos to you though, you *almost* did not say anthing negitive. Its a step up and I'll take it.

Now if only someone would post something that had anything to do with anything even related to my question.

 

[Guest]

Banning on public fourms is a weak waste of everyones time.

 

[Guest]

For the record to the jerks on here with nothing better to do.
I have had 7 64-bit up and running for hours now and have been trying to put togehter a walkthrough to help the next person. I will NEVER post it here now.
Congrats DiCks!!
You just "helped" the next person right out of any help.
Seems like you peoples specialty.

 

[Guest]

You asked 4 questions in your original post. The answer to the first is in the part of your original post quoted above. In case you can't spot it, here it is again:



It's been staring you in the face this whole time.

2. It can be done, but will probably run like crap once you install anything (and probably before you install anything too).

3. Yes.

4. See the first link in number 7 of this thread.

Now, I know I just spoon fed these to you (sorry ijack), but since you won't be able to post in this thread until tomorrow due to your post numbers 3 through 6 in this thread, I figured I should at least get them to you now so you have more time to use that link I posted above on Forum Etiquette. The next time you post on this forum or any other forum, please remember that the people posting back are not machines designed to spit out the answers exactly the way you want them presented. You may actually have to do a bit of work (Re: Reading) to find what you want. Those providing help on this forum (like ijack has for quite some time now) are people too, and treating them like anything but will get you less than desirable results.

Do you ever get tired of being wrong?

I know it was possible you moron, did you read the whole thing? No or you would know that.
For the last time, I will even underline it for you, AGAIN.

1. My first question to everyone is, can my Dell even run Windows 7 64-bit?
I googled around and it seems possible.

Everything you said is crap.
It's been up and running for hours (despite your ridiculous suggestions) and runs better than your fat sister.
GET A LIFE.

For the record I have been on many fourms these past few hours and everyone is great and helpful, you should "google" helpful before you get on help fourms Biotch.

 

[Guest]

Is there anyone out there who can redeem TOM'S name?
I already linked here a few times before the clowns came out and I can't retract those links.

So if you have something pertaining to the orignal questions on this thread, and can do so with some poise and basic human decentisy, please share it as some unfortunate souls will follow those links here.

Previous posters need not apply.

 

[Guest]

This topic has been closed by Grumpy9117

 

[metawin]

Best answer selected by Metawin.