Ugrade old XP PC to 8.1 ??

whs

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Did anybody ever upgrade an old XP PC that is not Vista capable to 8.1. We have several of those sitting at our computer club and would like to give them to schools in underprivileged areas - but not with XP.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
I have a vista machine (still have) running XP, Vista, Windows 7 Home and Windows 8.1 Pro

Quad Boot

The only issue I had with it was I had to roll back the Camera Driver
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 3.1 > Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 8700
    CPU
    I7
    Memory
    24 GB
But I am talking about pre-Vista machines with XP.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
As long as it meets the minimum system requirements, maybe. There is also the question of hardware or device compatibility. Running Upgrade Advisor would give you a better picture of what is and what isn't.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 Update 1 Pro 64bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Pavillion H8-1202
    CPU
    I7-2600 @ 3.4 GHz
    Motherboard
    PEGATRON
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NIVDIA GeForce GT 520
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC656GR CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster S22B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080 32 bit color
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 EVO SSD 500GB
    Keyboard
    Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
Windows 8 has a number of strict CPU requirements, such as for DEP. Windows 8.1 adds to these requirements. Reasonably modern CPUs usually have no problems but pre Vista is another matter. The Upgrade Advisor is the best way to find out.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Thanks giys. I am still looking for someone who has actually tried to install 8.1 on a pre-vista PC.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
I have installed Windows 8.1 on quite a few XP computers. The only problem I've run into is when it doesn't support PAE and NX, which causes a BSOD during install.

This past Saturday I installed 8.1 Pro X86 on a Emachines All-In-One EX1601-01, 1.6Ghz CPU with 1GB of ram. Runs okay as long as you don't try to do to much at one time. Upping ram to 2GB would be a big help but it's a real PITA to open this one up.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
Video drivers are a big concern.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Pro x64 Windows 10 Pro x64 Build 9926
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway GT5404
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 @ 2.66 GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel D945GCL
    Memory
    4GB PC2 6400 @ 800 MHz CL 6-6-6-18
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GTX660 TF3 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway FPD1975W
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 EVO 120GB SSD / WD 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair HX750
    Case
    OEM
    Cooling
    OEM
    Keyboard
    Gateway KB-0401
    Mouse
    Gateway MOAKUO
    Internet Speed
    Verizon Quantum Gateway 60 / 60
    Browser
    Chrome / IE11
    Antivirus
    MSE / Defender / MBAM
I upgraded a netbook that originally came with XP to Win 8.1. Ran great. I did need to do a registry edit to be able to run Metro apps because the screen resolution was too low.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 Pro (desktop), W10 (laptop), W10 Pro (tablet)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built i7-8700K, Hp Envy x360 EVO Laptop, MS Surface Pro 7
    CPU
    3.7Ghz Core i7-8700K, 11th Gen Core i7-1165G7 4.7Ghz, 10th Gen Core™ i5-1035G4 1.1Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS TUF Z370-Pro Gaming, HP, MS
    Memory
    16G, 8G, 8G
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon RX580, Intel Iris X Graphics, Intel Iris Plus Graphics G4
    Sound Card
    ATI High Definition Audio (Built-in to mobo)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual Samsung U32J59 32 inch monitors, 13.3" display, 12.3" display
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160 (Desktop), 1920x1080 (laptop), 2736x1824 Pro 7
    Hard Drives
    500GB ssd boot drive with 2 & 10TB Data (Desktop), 512GB ssd (laptop), 128GB SSD (tablet)
    PSU
    Corsair CX 750M
    Case
    Antec 100
    Cooling
    Coolermaster CM 212+
    Keyboard
    IBM Model M - used continuously since 1986
    Mouse
    Microsoft IntelliMouse
    Internet Speed
    665Mbps/15Mbps down/up
    Browser
    FireFox, MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender on all
    Other Info
    Retired in 2015 after working in the tech industry for 41 years. First 10 years as a Technician, the rest as a programmer/software engineer. After 1 year of retirement, I was bored so went back to work as a Robotic Process Automation Consultant. Retired for 3rd (and final) time in 2019.
I've tried Installing W8.1 onto a Dell Optiplex GX260 Desktop that has a Pentium 4 CPU that runs 2.8 Ghz for speed and it CAN'T be done. It won't support NX for AntiVirus support and so, it crashes. Anything after a P4 should button up. Personally, I would go and install W7 Ultimate (very versatile) and use all of the Compatibility you possibly can. Windows 7 runs VERY well on older units. Goodday.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell OptiPlex GX260 SFF
    CPU
    Pentium 4 2.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Dell 02X378
    Memory
    768 Mbs RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 82845 G/Gl/GV processor
Thanks everybody for the inputs. I think we are probably better off installing Linux Mint on those old systems.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
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