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Better to upgrade to Win 7 before installing modem & router or not?

by jchengery
7 replies
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Hello everyone,

I am planning on installing a new modem and router for DSL Internet. I plan on having 2 computers - one that currently has Windows Vista installed (though I have a Win 7 CD that I never installed) and one that has Windows XP Home.

Right now, I use the Windows XP Home computer more (it's older and has more of my files on it), though I plan on using the Windows Vista/7 computer more in the coming years.

I have several questions and would appreciate any advice/info/links, etc.:

1. Would it be better to upgrade from Vista to 7 before installing the modem and router? Part of the reason I've hesitated on upgrading from Vista to 7 is because I've heard that the Vista 64-bit Operating System uses 1GB RAM for operation, whereas 7 64-bit Operating System uses 2GB RAM. My computer has 4GB RAM - so far, it runs well, though I haven't installed a firewall, antivirus, and antimalware programs on it (just the Windows Firewall for the most part, but don't visit many sites on that computer yet - mostly my Hotmail and GMail accounts, and no sites that would be considered questionable).

Therefore, despite hearing that Win 7 is more streamlined and runs better than Vista, I worry that I'll tax my computer by upgrading to 7, since it would take double the RAM, and that's before installing critical software on my system. Is there a real advantage to 7 or not really? If not, I'm tempted to hold off on installing 7 until I boost my computer to 6 or even 8 GB, just to be sure that I have enough extra RAM to operate 7 and all of the other software programs (firewall, antivirus, antimalware, etc.).

2. Would it be better to set up the wired Ethernet connection from my Windows Vista/7 computer or from my Windows XP computer? I had planned to do it with my Vista/7 computer, but many of the online sites that show the different modems and routers show instructions for doing it in XP (probably because the guides are a few years old). I suspect that doing it in Vista/7 wouldn't be much different - perhaps just a different path to get to the TCP/IP screen, etc. Is there any advantage in setting up the wired connection from one computer or the other? I planned on having the Win XP computer using a wireless Internet connection (though I'd consider using it wired from time to time too), while having the Win Vista/7 computer be mostly a wired connection (though I guess I could make it wireless too - not really sure what to do.).

3. Any advice/info/links on setting up a Netopia 2241N modem with a Linksys E1000 router? I've never configured a modem with a router before; some of the information I've found seems to be straightforward, but other information doesn't seem to be. I presume that I should attempt to install the modem first and make sure that the Internet connection is steady and ready before attempting to install the router. However, I don't know from the information I've found online how to exactly set up the E1000 router - would the best approach be to install the CD that comes with it and just follow the prompts? Would that enable it to connect to the Netopia modem without me having to manually edit anything? That's what I read that the new Linksys routers can do, but I'm not really sure.

I'm not quite ready to install the DSL connection yet (still gathering a wall-mount filter and a few other items), but should be ready within the next 1-2 weeks at the latest, so any and all information you can provide now should help me be ready for when I have everything I need and am ready to activate the DSL signal - thank you.

Please take care, keep up the great work, and have a good day!

Sincerely,

Joe Chengery III
#dsl internet #high-speed internet #linksys #netopia #router
  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    I heard 7 uses LESS! Are you sure you are talking about 64bit for both?

    Vista is likely to have more problems with some networking software, ESPECIALLY if it uses TAPI! Other than that, setup should be fine. BTW firewalls on vista are likely to be problematic! A KEY part of the SSL system is BUILT IN to the vista firewall!!!!!! *****DUMB*****! You know how with a lot of programs you may be asked to turn the firewall OFF if there is a problem? Well, doing so with vista can CREATE problems!

    I am not familiar with the Netopia 2241N modem, but things are probably geared to it alone, or based on the connection. If so, IT should be easy ALSO!

    I forget the exact name, but there is generally an RJ45 input port on the router. It is often DISTINCTLY different from the RJ45 OUTPUT ports(it may not be spaced like the others, have different colors around it, or even say INPUT PORT! ). Plug the modem into the input port. There IS a slight possibility the connections may be different, but I doubt they will be.

    BTW I don't know WHAT you mean about wired connection. The modem generally goes to the input on the router, and the router communicates between ALL systems. ALSO, the router generally has a firewall builtin. And IT is FULL software/hardware TRANSPARENT!

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author jchengery
      Hello Steve,

      I appreciate the reply and info. you provided - thank you.

      I double-checked on Microsoft's website regarding Windows Vista and Windows 7. From the following links:

      Windows Vista system requirements - Microsoft Windows
      Windows 7 system requirements - Microsoft Windows

      you see the following:

      "Windows Vista system requirementsIf you want to run Windows Vista on your PC, here's what it takes:

      1 gigahertz (GHz) 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

      1 gigabyte (GB) of system memory (512 megabytes (MB) for Home Basic)"

      "If you want to run Windows 7 on your PC, here's what it takes:


      1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

      1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)"

      However, I do see the following in regards to Vista and 7 respectively:

      40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space (20 GB for Home Basic)

      16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)

      I did see this link also, though I haven't read it yet, about 7 being less hungry than Vista:
      Windows 7 System Requirements Less Hungry than Vista's Were

      Therefore, I'm not sure whether to go for the plunge and install 7 now or not. On the one hand, I'd say "yes," especially if Vista does have considerable trouble with its firewall and with specific software (though I thought I heard that you have to download many patches and applications to ensure that some software will work with 7), but on the other hand, if I install 7 and find out it doesn't work as well, is there a way to go back to Vista without resetting my computer to factory specs? I did create the "back-up" discs that Toshiba recommended - do I just pop those into the DVD-ROM drive and start my computer or have it boot up from there and it will do the rest or not?

      I'll probably like 7 - I just want to be sure that my computer won't be too taxed by it - I like its speed and capabilities now and don't want to lose them, forcing me to have to purchase more RAM for it right now (the 4 GB RAM upgrade to 8 GB total RAM would be between $250-$360 at this point in time, so I'd rather wait than spend right now if possible).

      Again, any thoughts/advice/links would be greatly appreciated - thank you.

      Please take care, keep up the great work, and have a good day!

      Sincerely,

      Joe Chengery III
      Signature

      My free ebook on pancreatic cancer: http://ow.ly/nPVhm Let's help my friend Courtney Reagan strike out cancer!

      Are you WORRIED about what wheat is doing to your waistline and your health? You SHOULD be! http://ow.ly/jSIY9 Internet marketer, copyeditor, copywriter, content creator, author - http://www.joechengery.com

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  • Profile picture of the author garyv
    I have several operating systems running on Computers in my house, including the ones you've mentioned, and I have no problems with modem router setup. - But you could check the manufacturer's site of the modem/router you're using to see what operating systems they are compatible w/ or if they have driver updates.

    As far as which computer to run a wire to - If it were me, I'd use the one w/ the fastest wireless connection on the wireless network, and then wire-up the other one.
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    jchengery,

    You CAN'T run a 64 bit OS on a 32 processor! On the other hand, Intel 80x86 family processors are BACKWARDS compatible so they CAN run a 32 bit OS on a 64bit processor! I don't see any info on a 64bit vista, and their tool to help with such things is no longer available.

    And they ARE still coming out with new 32bit processors!

    BTW 32bit windows 7 has the SAME requirements whether you run on a 64bit or a 32 bit processor. The 64 bit processor just allows more optimization and perhaps more software to run, but otherwise runs like a 32 bit processor, under the 32 bit OS. Moving up to a 64bit OS means everything can use more memory, better optimization, running full 64bit code, etc...

    BTW TRY running vista basic in 512K! What a laugh! Especially with aero enabled!?!?!?

    Oh and do you have vista 64bit? If you don't, you can kind of forget about it.


    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author jchengery
    Hello garyv and Steve,

    I appreciate the responses - thank you.

    garyv - I'm glad to hear that modem and router setup shouldn't be much trouble. :-)

    Regarding my wireless network setup, I plan on having one computer in the basement of my home and another on the ground level. I thought that the modem and router should be on the ground level to provide the best signal (I suspect there might be some loss of signal going to another floor such as the basement, but I don't know if that can really be helped or eliminated entirely).

    Now, I'm wondering though if I should have the modem and router in the basement instead, as I plan on having the slower laptop (Toshiba A75-S213) down there (I mostly placed it down there because it runs quite warm, and it runs better in a cooler environment, which is why it moved to the basement - otherwise, it works quite well after approximately 5 years, and it seems having a fan on the AC Adapter is actually making it run as well as it ever has). However, I had planned on running it on wireless, since I thought the modem and router would be better on the ground floor. Now, I'm reconsidering that.

    Of course, when I utilize my newer computer more (am slowly starting to install and do more work on my new one), it probably would be more advantageously to use it wirelessly, and it is Wireless-N (whereas the older computer is just Wireless-G), so maybe I will make it wireless (or make both of them wireless, with the option for them to be wired).

    I'll have to give it some more thought and see if I can make the arrangement - you provide a very good point on the wireless setup, though wouldn't my wireless network still only be a "G" since the one computer is "G" and "N" is backwards-compatible with "G," even though the newer computer has "N" capabilities? I didn't think that a network could be both simultaneously, at least not without a dual-band wireless router, which the Linksys E1000 is not (the E3000 is, while the E2000 has both bands, G & N, but can't be run simultaneously - it's one OR the other).

    Again, I appreciate the info. - thank you.

    Steve - I'm pretty sure that my newer laptop (Toshiba A505-S6960) has Windows Vista 64-bit (4GB RAM) - that's why I received the Windows 7 64-bit Upgrade from Toshiba, which is why I was looking at the 64-bit RAM operation.

    I appreciate the info. regarding 32-bit and 64-bit - I too am surprised that Windows keeps coming out with 32-bit processors after they introduced the 64-bit; most seemed to tout the 64-bit as the "next generation" of computers when they first came out, but it seems Windows is backtracking on that a bit, or perhaps is trying to appease more of the market by providing cheaper 32-bit processors, even though I think you can get 64-bit processors at relatively modest costs (I've seen Core 2 Duos and even some Core i3s and i5s in the $500-$700 range, with even an occasional i7 in the $700-$800 range).

    Again, I appreciate the info. - thank you.

    Please take care, keep up the great work, and have a good day!

    Sincerely,

    Joe Chengery III
    Signature

    My free ebook on pancreatic cancer: http://ow.ly/nPVhm Let's help my friend Courtney Reagan strike out cancer!

    Are you WORRIED about what wheat is doing to your waistline and your health? You SHOULD be! http://ow.ly/jSIY9 Internet marketer, copyeditor, copywriter, content creator, author - http://www.joechengery.com

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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    Actually, INTEL is coming out with the processors. It is a sad fact of life that speed and complexity add to heat and the need for power. ALSO, due to complexity and demand, they are at a higher price. ALSO, there is the matter of HARDWARE compatibility. So Intel actually tried to build even a MINIMALIST processor! The atom is one of the newest, but certainly not the best for a desktop.

    As for microsoft, they figure if you want the 64bit, you can afford it.

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author jchengery
    Hello again Steve,

    When I was shopping for my second computer (this was around a year ago), I was paying attention to the specs and such, but didn't worry too much about 32-bit and 64-bit at the time. I was more worried about the RAM, the HD space, the battery life, the processor (Core 2 Duo, which was or near the best for a laptop at that time - Core Quads were very rare, and the Core i Series didn't come until early 2010). I think I noticed it was 64-bit and thought, well, it's more advanced and should match up well with all of the newer computers that will come out, thinking that more computers would have 64-bit processors.

    Of course, that's only partly come to pass - as you mentioned, 32-bit processors are still around as well one year later.

    Regarding the Atom processor, I think it's acceptable or well for a Netbook, but I couldn't see it for a desktop or even for a decent laptop.

    Regarding your earliest post, I too was surprised that Microsoft says that you only need 512KB for running Vista Basic - my older laptop (has a Pentium 4 processor - which probably wouldn't be good for Vista anyway; I doubt that the processor is strong enough to handle a more advanced OS than XP/ME/2000), has 1GB RAM (upgradable to 1.5GB RAM), and I wouldn't think of upgrading it to Windows Vista - it runs warm to hot to begin with even with Win XP Home, never mind the fact that XP Home has been pretty solid on that laptop.

    Even with Vista Basic, I wouldn't chance it with less than 1 to 1.5 GB RAM, and probably would prefer 2GB RAM to make sure it ran smoothly, which obviously rules out my older laptop because it can only be upgraded to 1.5GB RAM.

    Again, thanks for the info. - greatly appreciated!

    Please take care, keep up the great work, and have a good day!

    Sincerely,

    Joe Chengery III
    Signature

    My free ebook on pancreatic cancer: http://ow.ly/nPVhm Let's help my friend Courtney Reagan strike out cancer!

    Are you WORRIED about what wheat is doing to your waistline and your health? You SHOULD be! http://ow.ly/jSIY9 Internet marketer, copyeditor, copywriter, content creator, author - http://www.joechengery.com

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