hp 530 windows vista upgrade to windows 7

[hernanT]

Hi, any ideas how to upgrade windows vista to windows 7 or other os for free ?

My hp530 works great still, but vista is no longer supported anymore.

[mdklassen]

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@hernanT wrote:

Hi, any ideas how to upgrade windows vista to windows 7 or other os for free ?

My hp530 works great still, but vista is no longer supported anymore.

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Microsoft's "sunset" for Windows Vista was in April 2017.

If you want some "free" and "other OS", try the UBUNTU variant of Linux.

It performs very well on computers from the era of Vista: April 2007 to January 2010 (when Windows 7 was released).

It includes LibreOffice -- a free functional replacement for Microsoft Word/Excel/PowerPoint.

Note that your antique disk-drive is at least 8 years old -- do not store "irreplaceable" files on it.

[hernanT]

Yes, i thought about it ....  but I'm concerned about the hp 530 drivers...

Will they work ok or I will loose the touchpad and sound system of the laptop ?

[mdklassen]

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@hernanT wrote:

I'm concerned about the hp 530 drivers. Will they work ok or I will lose the touchpad and sound system of the laptop ?

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From: Software and driver results for: HP 530 Notebook PC

the newest of the device-drivers for Windows Vista for your computer is dated: Nov 12, 2008.

The oldest device-driver is dated: Dec 22, 2006.

That gives a reasonable range for the vintage of your computer.

The HP web-site offers no device-drivers for Windows 7.

But, that could mean that all the necessary device-drivers for Windows 7 are included within the Microsoft Windows 7 DVD, or are available through Windows Update, thus making it unnecessary for HP to place a copy of those device-drivers onto the HP web-site.

Note that HP states that any of their computers manufactured before August 2013 have not been tested for compatibility with Windows 10.

Presumably, Microsoft tested Windows 7 on your 2006/2007/2008 vintage computer, before releasing Windows 7 in January 2010, and, if necessary, updated the software to support your computer.

You could download Windows 10 for free, from:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

When installing it, you'll be asked for a 25-character product-key.

Just click "I do not have one".

Windows will finish installing, and you will have a "non-activated" version of Windows 10, that you can "test-drive" for a few days.

Test that the touchpad and audio work.

If Microsoft supports Windows 10 on your computer, there is a strong possibility that Microsoft also supports Windows 7 on your computer. Microsoft probably "carried-forward" their device-drivers for Windows 7 into Windows 8 and into Windows 10.  Correct?

Got a spare disk-drive for your laptop?

You could do the "test-install" onto that disk-drive, instead of your "production" disk-drive.

[hernanT]

But what about ubuntu, can I get the UBUNTU drivers for my hp530 anywhere ?

Thanks

Hernan

[mdklassen]

> can I get the UBUNTU drivers for my hp530 anywhere ?

I would think that if they were available, they would be either included with UBUNTU, or downloadable via "software update" after UBUNTU has been installed.