dc5100 windows 7

[boablu]

hey all,

 i bought an outdated hp conpaq dc5100 sff base,  xp 32 bit already on it, pretty cheap at a sale with the hopes of "popping the hood for a tune up and an new os of windows 10. i have been met with several turns of doubt and some of favorable hopes. can anyone tell me if my machine is even capable of the upgrade to windows ten?

its got a pentium 4 in it and i upgraded ram to 4 gbs. the computer only has 40 gbs with it but i planned on using external drive or networked one. 

im also confused about the 32 and 64 bit?? i was told if i am running one or the other to stick with it in the future...but had sveral people tell me that it didnt matter... 

im worried im going to buy a new OS and waste it on the install...ANY ADIVCE???

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

The DC 5100 will not run W10 correctly because there is no Intel graphics driver for W10.  You would have to purchase a rather expensive (for what you get) PCI video card for W10 to work.

You can install W7, and manually install the Intel XP driver to get the graphics to work, but that trick won't work on W10.

Some pentium 4 processors can't run a 64 bit operating system, so I would need to know what model P4 processor you installed (650, 630, 520 etc).

64 bit operating systems require more disk space and memory to run than a 32 bit operating system does.  Not double, but more.

Since you maxed out the memory, you would be OK with installing a 64 bit OS, provided the processor you installed is 64 bit capable.

[boablu]

awesome thanks so much for the info!! 

how can i tell what my proccessor is to see if it can handle 10? i dont know if its capable of 64 bit since it was loaded with xp. 

and what your saying is the only real thing possibly holding me back is a graphics card? what spoecs are rewuired out of a graphics card to make my dc5100 xp (P.O.S) to make it weoither 7 8 or 10? and whats the best option for me given the age of machine?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

If you tell me what model pentium 4 processor you installed, I will let you know if it is a 64 or 32 bit capable processor.

I just checked the New Egg site for PCI graphics cards, and the only one I could find that might work in your PC on W10 is this one.

There is no way I would pay $80 bucks for such an old card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129190

You could buy a much newer and better HP business desktop than the one you have for $80 bucks on eBay.

[boablu]

having trouble locating the info for the processor. i didnt install a neww processor just updated the ram to 4 gbs. and im anxious to get this thing upo to date as i just got cable net 50 mbps and wanna stretch the legs on it.

is threr somewhere in the settings i can look to see the cpu specs?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

Run this processor id utility and see what it reports...select the English version from the left side of the page.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/7838/Intel-Processor-Identification-Utility-Windows-Versio...

I forgot one other thing...audio may be a problem on W10.  I just don't know for sure.

[boablu]

i appreciate this so much!!

the cpu is as follows:   Intel(r) pentium(r) 4 CPU 630 3 ghz 

the utuility says its running at full speed and that everything checks out...good news? will it run??

[boablu]

++++ 

i also see in the utulity CPU technologies?? it says 64 architecture?? does that mean its 64 bit capable?

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

Yes, that processor will run a 64 bit OS.

http://ark.intel.com/products/27478/Intel-Pentium-4-Processor-630-supporting-HT-Technology-2M-Cache-...

Here is why I don't recommend you throw a lot of money into the PC you got.

Here is a listing for a dc7900 SFF with a Core 2 Quad processor, 4 GB of memory, a DVD R/W drive and a 250 GB HDD with Windows Vista Business installed for less than the price of the video card I posted.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-dc7900-Core2-QUAD-Q8200-2-33-GHz-4GB-RAM-250GB-HDD-DVD-RW-SALE-/332021200...

It would run circles around that dc5100 SFF you have, and it would run W10 because I installed W10 on my son's dc7900 SFF.

[boablu]

so installed 7 instead of the 10 just to get out of xp and i lost my sound driver....tried to get help from microsoft and they said that it was an xp issue...anysuggestions?