OS reinstall over Vista

[alf1944]

Hi. I have a Dell XPS 435T/9000 with intel i7-920 and 6gb memory. Computer is crashing and Dell says it's a software problem, not hardware. Windows 7 was installed as a free upgrade over Vista.
Question: What do I have to do to perform a fresh install? All my critical data is backed up. I have Dell's Vista discs and Dell's Windows 7 upgrade discs (the Win 7 will not do a fresh install by itself).
Appreciate any help - this is my home office computer and is needed badly.
Regards, Al

 

[stormchazer]

First make sure that the data you need is really backed up! Ok now boot from the Dell Vista discs and go for the vista install. During the install there is an option to format the existing partition. go for that option which will wipe the entire partition. let vista do a clean install on your system. Once installed you insert the win 7 upgrade discs and let it upgrade your existing vista. This should get you win 7 running. After install if it still crashes then its not your software.

 

[alf1944]

First make sure that the data you need is really backed up! Ok now boot from the Dell Vista discs and go for the vista install. During the install there is an option to format the existing partition. go for that option which will wipe the entire partition. let vista do a clean install on your system. Once installed you insert the win 7 upgrade discs and let it upgrade your existing vista. This should get you win 7 running. After install if it still crashes then its not your software.

Thanks Stormchaser. I did exactly that, just as you said. I even went to ATI and downloaded their Catalyst Control Center, stepped up the card's fan to 70% (heat dropped from 55c to 39-40c. Now, instead of crashing and rebooting, the screen freezes and everything locks up. A hard reboot is in order then. The more intense the graphics, the sooner it locks up. Dell wants me to go to their software support center and pay $$$$ for their superior expertise. I'm just going to get another video card and see if that cures the problem.
Thanks for the feedback.