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Windows 7 forum: Is Dell 8400 worth upgrading to Windows 7?

by: gbh22244 June 22, 2012 9:29 PM PDT

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Is Dell 8400 worth upgrading to Windows 7?

by gbh22244 - 6/22/12 9:29 PM

I've inherited a Dell Dimension 8400 that I've fought with to reinstall Windows XP MCE. It won't let me install drivers or go online. (I get an error message on every one. Like, "Setup failed to launch installation engine: The RPC Server is unavailable" or "1607:Unable to install installshield scripting Runtime" etc.
I finally gave up and decided to install a copy of Windows 7 temporarily to see if there was something wrong with the hardware. It installed beautifully, went online automatically and downloaded drivers and windows updates.
I intend to use it as a dvr by putting a tv card and a video card with hdmi out to hook up to a tv.
My question is; is it worth spending the 250 to 300 dollars on Windows 7 and hardware or should I wait until I can afford a new machine?


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It really depends on you

by lacsr - 6/23/12 4:27 AM

In Reply to: Is Dell 8400 worth upgrading to Windows 7? by gbh22244

IMHO it is not worth investing that much in an old outdated machine, but only you can decide on that question. It may work just fine but there is always the possibility of a failure with hardware that old.


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Curious

by bob b - 6/23/12 7:16 AM

In Reply to: Is Dell 8400 worth upgrading to Windows 7? by gbh22244

Where did you plan on getting drivers to couple that machine to w7?

Does not look like dell is going to supply them.

If you run the machine on windows generic drivers you might get some odd things to happen.


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