I recently purchased a refurbished Lenovo ThinkPad R60. It has Windows 7 on it. Will this laptop be able to run Windows 8.1? Or just stick with Windows 7 until support ceases?
It looks like it's got a Core 2 Duo processor, which means it will be able to run Windows 8.1. But personally, I would do the free upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10, unless you don't want to use Windows 10.
I emailed the people I bought it from and they said it was too old to run Windows 10 otherwise they would of put it on. This is the website I purchased from: http://digitalelectronics.com.au/product/lenovo-think-pad-laptop-model-r60-2/
I just looked at the specs, and it should run Windows 10 with no problems. I'm running Windows 10 a number of laptops with Core 2 Duo processors. However it says it only comes with a trial license of Windows 7, which means you will not be eligible for the free upgrade. If you look at the Windows COA, which will be on the bottom of the laptop, or perhaps under the battery, you will see what version of Windows it originally came with. You will need to use that version, or buy a license for a later version of Windows. I would recommend upgrading to 4GB of RAM, as 2GB is really not enough for Vista/7/8/10.
I don't have the laptop yet. If I revert to the version it originally had, will I get the free upgrade to Windows 10? I really don't want to spend more money. Is this required? What problems will I run into if I don't? Thanks for the help.
No, the free upgrade is only for users running an activated version of Windows 7 or 8/8.1. Your computer will be low on RAM at times, e.g. when having a number of tabs open in your browser and particularly when running Windows Update. This will make Windows have to use the paging file a lot more often, which will slow it down, quite possibly quite a lot at times.
Or you could buy a cheap copy of Windows 7 from eBay (you'll find more results if you set the search to Worldwide) and then upgrade. However, be sure to buy one including the original DVD. Stay away from the really cheap listings where you are just emailed a product key, are usually these keys are not intended for individual sale, and you run the risk that while you may be able to activate Windows when you receive the key, sometime in the future Microsoft may blacklist your product key, which will cause Windows to be deactivated. Also, I'd recommend installing Windows 10 Creators Update with Microsoft's Media Creation Tool to a flash drive (or DVD) first, and installing it to make sure it runs okay, before spending any money.
I have a retail copy of Windows 10, which is activated on my main computer. I could deactivate it and install it on the laptop. I might do your method though.
First, for sure I agree with Roger and recommend you upgrade to 4GB of RAM. While technically, Windows 7/8/10 will run in 2GB of RAM, that is barely enough for Windows itself to operate freely in. That leaves very little room for the essential security programs you need to run even if running with W8.x or W10's integrated Windows Defender - which I recommend. You will have to download and install security for W7 and I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) for that. It is effective and has a small "footprint" on system resources. But now, you have next to nothing in terms of RAM space left for any of your programs to run in. So as Roger noted, your system will be forced to "swap" data in and out of the Page File a great deal and that will greatly impact performance. With only 2GB of RAM, your system will not come to a screeching halt, but the RAM will sure bottleneck the rest of the system with anything but the most menial tasks. Note this limited RAM is even more of an issue because it appears this notebook, like most notebooks, uses integrated graphics (it is built into the motherboard and not a separate graphics card). Therefore, it is likely a chunk of that 2GB is stolen... err... is being "shared" for graphics processing which means even less is available for Windows and your running programs. If your Windows is 64-bit, you will be able to utilize the full 4GB of installed RAM too - a very good thing. With a 32-bit, only ~3.2 - 3.4GB is usable by Windows due to the way hardware mapping is addressed. When you get the system, I recommend visiting the Crucial Memory Advisor and have it scan your computer. This RAM "wizard" will then recommend compatible RAM. You don't have to buy their RAM, but you should buy RAM with the same specifications. However, if you buy listed RAM from Crucial (which makes excellent RAM) they guarantee compatibility. Not most RAM makers have similar "wizards" on their sites. I don't see any Windows 8.x or W10 drivers for that notebook so that gives me concern. If a PC, I would say go for it, but notebooks are notoriously proprietary. If me, I might use that W10 you have and see if it installs and runs on that system. If it does, then I would buy a license just for it. If not, you probably need to stick with Windows 7. Another alternative would be to install Linux on it. Except for playing all the latest games, there is an abundance of compatible programs for Linux to do just about any computing task - and most, including Linux, are free.
Thanks for the advice. First of all, I have deactivated my Windows license and my main computer is now running Windows 8.1, so I don't have to pay for Windows 10. I'm just waiting for the laptop to be delivered now, however I'm not sure where to find drivers once I install Windows 10 (if I can). I have found these drivers: https://drp.su/en/laptops/lenovo/thinkpad-r60?os=windows-10-x86. The laptop is 32-bit. As for the RAM issue, I won't be installing any software besides protection software. I will mainly use it for browsing and watching videos. I'm thinking of activating my lifetime license of Watchdog Anti-Malware (a rebrand of Zemana) on it and just disabling Windows Defender.
I wouldn't but that's up to you. Again, WD is already in there and it works just fine. Not likely. Hardware supported 64-bit long before software did. That Intel processor is 64-bit capable. It seems the W7 that came with that notebook is 32-but that does not imply the hardware is. And again, Windows itself will perform much better with more RAM. And if the OS performs better, everything running in that OS will too, including browsers and video viewers.
It was delivered today. I finished the scan. These are the parts that were recommended: www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for//thinkpad-r60-series-(all-types) Should I try upgrading to Windows 10 64-bit?
I would recommend it. Even though it's an older computer, it should run Windows 10 Creators Update well.
Windows 10 installed fine and is up to date. Do I need to install any drivers? The system seems to working fine.
I agree with Bill, that you don't need to fix it if it's working fine. However, you may want to open Device Manager and see if there are any devices which are missing drivers. If that is the case, you may want to find drivers for them.
Why did you install the 32 bit version of Windows rather than the 64 bit one? Your laptop can take a maximum of 4GB of RAM, but you can only use the full 4GB with a 64 bit version of Windows. Theses days, there is usually no reason to use a 32 bit version of Windows. You said that your system is running fine now. However, if you have a number of browser tabs open, or if you install security software or other software that has services running in the background and using RAM, then it won't be long before your system starts running very slow due to limited available RAM, as 2GB is really very little these days. On the other hand, if you were to upgrade to 4GB of RAM, and install 64 bit Windows, then you would be able to do more on your system without slowdowns.
At most, I use three tabs. IObit Malware Fighter PRO is installed and I haven't noticed any slowdown. While I do have a number of software installed, only my antivirus and Dashlane run in the backround.
I installed my new RAM and the 64-bit version of Windows 10, but it looks like I won't be able to use all of the RAM. In settings, it says 2.99 GB usable. I read here of the cause.
Are you sure it's a 64 bit install of Windows? I've never seen (or even heard of) a 64 bit install of Windows showing less than the installed amount of RAM.
