Have A Pavilion a6430f Desktop - Can I Upgrade to Windows 7?

[ASaiyan]

My machine is a four-year-old HP Pavillion a6430f (specs below), with a different hard drive (~900 GB, 3.5" 7200 RPM Seagate ST1000DM 003-9YN162), graphics card (GeForce 9400 GT), and power supply (~400 watts, don't remember the brand) than the original. The computer is designed for 32-bit Vista Home Premium. My question, however is this-

1. Is the computer capable of upgrading to 64-bit Windows 7?
2. If yes, what drivers would I require? (links greatly appreciated)

Thanks, A.S.

[banhien]

Hi,

Please download and run Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor from the following link:

   http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=20

Check the result. I can not see full drivers support from HP as shown in this:

  http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareCategory?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&product=3686674

Regards.

[CherylG]

Windows 7 probably has builtin driver support for your Nvidia 6150SE Chipset, and possibly the Realtek HD ALC888 Audio.

You can download the latest Nvidia Graphics driver from:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7-winvista-64bit-301.42-whql-driver.html

If you find that you need the audio driver, get it from Realtek site under HD Audio Codecs:

http://www.realtek.com/downloads/downloadsCheck.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=14&PFid=24&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTyp...

[ASaiyan]

BH, thank you. The Upgrade Advisor returned the result that my machine "passes" all requirements for the install. You are right, however, about the lack of supporting drivers.

I have tried to install Windows 7 twice before on this computer, and met with hard drive failures each time thereafter. Obviously, I would like to gain information as to whether the install is incompatible/harming my PC before attempting to do so again. Even though the computer itself might be "compatible" for upgrade, could I be doing damage if I install 7 and cannot find correct drivers for my rig?

[CherylG]

It may have been coincidence that you had hdd failure soon after installing. Installing an OS is a bit stressful on the hdd and if it was weak/failing to begin with....

See my Reply above for drivers.

[ASaiyan]

I see. Thank you for your help. I will do some more digging to definitively confirm that the install is safe, but you've helped as much you can with the information I currently have on the issue. I will make sure to bookmark those driver links if I do go through with it again.

[lasvegaswireman]

As CherylG stated, "Windows 7 may have support for the 6150SE chipset driver and Realtek HD Audio", but I like to use the drivers directly from the source. Typically, the drivers from the manufacturers are newer than what Windows Update supplies.

nForce Driver 15.49 for Windows Vista/Win7 64-bit supports the GeForce 6150SE, 430 chipset with the following drivers and versions;

Ethernet Driver (v73.14+) WHQL

Network Management Tools (v73.16) "Sedona"

SATAIDE Driver (v11.1.0.33) WHQL

SATARAID Driver (v11.1.0.33) WHQL

RAIDTOOL Application (v11.1.0.30)

SMBUS Driver (v4.74) WHQL

SMU Driver (v1.71) WHQL

GPU Driver (v190.38) WHQL (Do not install this, as you will install GeForce R300 series later)

Physx (v9.09.0428)

Away Mode Driver (v6.0.6000.114) WHQL

Installer (v7.57)

Also, be aware that you can't just upgrade from Vista 32-bit to Windows 7 64-bit. Installing Windows 7 64-bit will require a "clean" install which will wipe everything from the C: drive. Please create your HP Recovery Discs and backup your personal data before installing Windows 7