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Dear PC Doctor:
I have been given an old Studio Hybrid PC that is running Windows Vista. It’s old and slow and Microsoft no longer offers updates for this operating system. I was wondering if I could just buy Windows 7 or Windows 10 and install it on this machine. What do you think?
Signed,
Looking to Upgrade
Dear Looking:
A quick search of the online computing forums shows that quite a few people have updated their Studio Hybrids to Windows 7.
I didn’t locate any information on whether folks had success with that model computer and Windows 10. Microsoft lists the minimum requirements to run Windows 10 as a processor 1 gigahertz or faster, 1 GB of RAM for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit, 16 GB of hard disk space for 32-bit OS 20 GB for 64-bit OS. There is also some indication that you may not be able to go straight from Vista to 10 without installing 7 or 8 in between.
Since the computer was free, if you have the spare cash to invest in a small project, go ahead and install the operating system you want. Keep in mind that, unless you invest in a new monitor, the old computer will not be able to make use of any of Windows 10s touch screen features.
Until next time,
Happy Computing!
PC Doctor
Posted: to Athol Library News on Thu, Nov 30, 2017
Updated: Fri, Dec 1, 2017