I Can’t Afford To Upgrade My Vista PC. What Can I Do?

I read your article about Windows 10 updates which most PCs with Vista needs to be tossed inside the trash bin. I really don’t wish to accomplish that. I bought my computer using a disability settlement, and I simply don’t have the cash for upgrades. It is an HP Model m8530f by having an AMD Phenom 9550 quad-core processor and 5GB of memory. I put it to use for writing, blogging, access to the internet, simple games, nothing intense. But I really do need to do something as there is only one internet browser I can use effectively, and a few websites have begun to shun us unfortunate Vista folks. Please let me know how to do that. I am not stupid or illiterate, slightly on the broke side, as well as a bit (OK, lots) of any procrastinator. Jeanne

Microsoft launched Windows Vista in January 2007 and stopped supporting it in April a year ago. Any PCs still running Vista are thus likely to be eight to a decade old, and showing a comparative age. In particular, harddrives are increasingly at risk from fail after about several years, or 50,000 hours use, so it’s vital that you keep good backups.

Vista would have been a pretty good main system, at the very least after Microsoft released the Service Pack 1 update, but few people still apply it. Microsoft has since launched Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and lots of versions of Windows 10. It’s not worth software providers and websites spending cash testing and adapting their code to be certain it works with Vista, so you’re planning to face increasing problems making use of it online.

You will also be at a the upper chances from malware. Microsoft don't provides Vista security patches, and it has stopped updating Microsoft Security Essentials. You should therefore install antivirus software that still supports Vista, though I’m unclear which still do, aside from Malwarebytes and Comodo. Whatever you already have installed must be OK so long as the supplier keeps updating herpes signatures.

You can even run into more difficulties with browsers. I assume which the one browser you should use effectively is Firefox. The bad news is the fact that Firefox will get rid of supporting Windows XP and Vista in June. Mozilla says: “For planning purposes, enterprises using Firefox should think about May 2018 as being the support end date for Windows XP and Vista.” You have just one or two weeks left.

Hardware matters

The good news is your 2008-vintage desktop PC looks powerful enough to perform Windows 7 or even a flavour of Linux. Indeed, based on HP’s spec sheet, you might upgrade your m8530f to train on a faster but hotter processor or over to 8GB of memory. I assume you can also upgrade the Nvidia GeForce 9300 GS currently installed, and possibly swap your fast 750GB hard disk for a faster SSD. You could even upgrade the 350W power source to a 550W version.

If your HP m8530f is constantly on the work correctly, you don’t need some of these upgrades. The point is the fact if it fails, you ought to be able to replace or upgrade faulty parts without junking the full machine. This may not really cost significantly. People often separation PCs this way and sell the important parts on eBay for “spares or repair”.

The 2.2GHz Phenom X4 9550 incorporates a PassMark benchmark score of 2542, which still qualifies as “mid range”. It’s no more than a third in the speed of any current 3.6GHz Intel Core i3-8100 (PassMark 8078), but it really’s still faster compared to 1.1GHz quad-core Pentium N4200 (PassMark 2022) utilised in budget laptops much like the Asus VivoBook Max.

Windows upgrades

The bad news is I don’t think your HP m8530f will run Windows 10. HP says it hasn’t tested goods that were bought before August 2013, and yes it hasn’t written any Windows 10 drivers for the kids. Windows 10 might still run using the drivers Microsoft supplies, however, you’d must try this yourself, and my web searches didn’t find anybody who’d written this.

Microsoft doesn’t support an upgrade from Vista to Windows 10. Trying it would involve doing “clean installation” that deletes your present software and applications. I can’t advise that unless there’s a high probability of Windows 10 working.

However, you could potentially upgrade to Windows 7. The first and most apparent drawback is always that you would should buy a Windows 7 Upgrade or even the full Windows 7 software. (For your purposes, they’re the same.) You might be capable to pick up an economical copy locally or from eBay, nevertheless it can be hard to name a reputable seller.

The second and fewer obvious drawback is the fact Windows 7 will only be supported until 14 January 2020. However, most businesses still use Windows 7, and I expect that many browser and anti-virus software suppliers continue to support it after Microsoft support ends. This happened before, with Windows XP.

Note: I don’t recommend upgrading from Vista to Windows 8.1 - which is to be supported until January 23 - because which requires a clean installation.

The Linux option

GNU/Linux is famous for prolonging the life span of hardware that is will no longer a viable platform for Windows, and yes it supports all today’s major PC browsers. There are, naturally, some drawbacks. The main problem is Linux doesn’t run Windows software natively, also it doesn’t run programs like Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, Apple iTunes, Intuit’s QuickBooks and quite a few major games.

You can run some Windows software on Linux using Wine (originally from Wine Is Not an Emulator), nevertheless, you may ought to give up or replace some programs that are essential to you.

The other concern is learning to use Linux. This is not as fundamental as its fans often claim, particularly when something goes completely wrong. Of course, you would should relearn a lot of things whether you switched to Windows 10, MacOS or Linux, but Linux contains the steepest learning curve.

Fortunately, you don’t should commit to Linux to utilise it. You can use your PC to generate a “Live CD” (or DVD or USB thumbdrive) that can run Linux without disturbing Vista. There are countless options, however, you might try Linux Mint - my usual recommendation for newbies - or Ubuntu Mate or Ubuntu Gnome.

Linux runs relatively slowly coming from a DVD so make use of a fast USB thumbdrive whenever you can. You can create one using a free utility, LinuxLive USB Creator.

If the experiment goes well, it is possible to install Linux alongside Vista in the dual-boot configuration, so that it is possible to load either any time they want. Lots of websites have step-by-step instructions. Read a number of related on the version of Linux you decide to fit.

You might additionally consider installing Ubuntu 18.04, codenamed Bionic Beaver, which can be due to be released today. With this version, Ubuntu has returned towards the standard Gnome 3 desktop rather then Unity.

Linux has a tendency to change rapidly, nevertheless the LTS (Long Term Support) versions - for example Mint 18.3 and Ubuntu 18.04 - are supported for up to several years. After a decade of Vista, you might appreciate the steadiness.

Have you still have a question? Email it to Ask.Jack@theguardian.com