xp to windows 8.1 upgrade

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alex32165

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Hello all,
Since the end of xp support, my company is looking to upgrade all work stations to win 8.1. My question is, if you run the 8.1 setup from the xp enviroment, will it keep drivers such as video and networking functional?
I'm asking this because i did one 8.1 set up as a test computer to check with our companies software compatibility, and I had to put a new video and NIC into the machine because the OEM XP hardware did not support windows 8.1 ( I of course did this with a bran new HDD and booted from the 8.1 disk.)
 
"Usually" not worth the time or effort..

Last week we got a call from a potential new client, to "upgrade" their network of 325 workstations from XP to Win7.

Mostly Dell Optiplex models from recent 7010, to 755, to 745...and even back to some old old 170L models.

Migrate end users data.
No servers...all "workgroup" with local profiles.

Asked us to bump ram to 2 gigs...LMAO!

Doing an upgrade on existing hardware...on the existing drive...do-able on biz grade workstations, Dells Optiplex models use mostly standardized hardware which Win7 will likely support well and additionally download/install drivers from their site. But it will be painstakingly slow...like 4-6 hours per rig. at 125 bucks per hours....plus RAM....plus a Windows 7 license...you just bought yourself a new computer huh?

Our time saving approach....we'll recommend getting all new HDDs...and we'll make an image for each model...and then clone that image. Now we'll walk in..swap drives...slave their old hard drive via external USB...and cherry pick their data. And do 4 gigs of RAM. This process will shave a few hours off of each workstations migration. And save client money. Plus get a new HDD. Figure 2 hours of labor this way.

But really we are first pitching "replace them"...can get Opti 3020 with Pentium D and 4 gigs for 519 bucks..even less if I get a special quote for 325 of them. Still 2x hours labor each.

For oddball computers, cloner builts, some cheap old residential models...you may spend days..and days...going on driver hunts trying to get Win7 running properly and Device Mangler nice and clean.
 
I would, also, think that if they came out with XP, they are so dated that you would not want to try the upgrade, they will not be happy with performance, and may try to blame you. We had XP on a few systems, that we upgraded to 7 Pro, but they came out with a downgrade license, and were designed for 7 Pro. All works great with those. We also had a few systems that were designed for XP, someone put 7 on them, and performance is horrible, at best. They were not designed to run run 7 effenciently, let alone 8.
 
clayb226 said:
I would, also, think that if they came out with XP, they are so dated that you would not want to try the upgrade, they will not be happy with performance, and may try to blame you. We had XP on a few systems, that we upgraded to 7 Pro, but they came out with a downgrade license, and were designed for 7 Pro. All works great with those. We also had a few systems that were designed for XP, someone put 7 on them, and performance is horrible, at best. They were not designed to run run 7 effenciently, let alone 8.
Click to expand...

Yeah but replacing hardware is strictly out of the question. My budget won't allow it :( And are you sure about the performance of win 8 on an xp machine? I know the hardware is outdated, but the requirements for win 8 are anything but demanding. Especially with the 32-bit that only wants 1 gb of ram and a 1 GHz processor.
 
Windows 8.1 brings you the Windows Store, Start screen, and Microsoft account, but also enhancements in personalization, search, Store apps, and cloud connectivity—and the security and reliability features you expect from Windows.
1. Before you begin

To upgrade to Windows 8.1 from Windows Vista or Windows XP, you'll need to install it from a Windows 8.1 DVD and perform a clean installation. This means you won't be able to keep any files, settings, or programs when you upgrade.

Windows 8.1 isn't designed for installation on PCs running Windows Vista or Windows XP, so we strongly recommend you do the following before buying the Windows 8.1 DVD.
 
Can all of their applications run in Win 8.1 ? Plus you cant just take that leap, Windows 7 would be better to make sure everything is compatible.
 
sysfix said:
Windows 8.1 brings you the Windows Store, Start screen, and Microsoft account, but also enhancements in personalization, search, Store apps, and cloud connectivity—and the security and reliability features you expect from Windows.
1. Before you begin

To upgrade to Windows 8.1 from Windows Vista or Windows XP, you'll need to install it from a Windows 8.1 DVD and perform a clean installation. This means you won't be able to keep any files, settings, or programs when you upgrade.

Windows 8.1 isn't designed for installation on PCs running Windows Vista or Windows XP, so we strongly recommend you do the following before buying the Windows 8.1 DVD.
Click to expand...

Copying and pasting "your" advice ? Maybe you should go help people on Fixya :rolleyes:
 
Update

Hey guys just an update on this thread. The upgrades have been going very smoothly, actually. I've done about 15 so far and video drivers for all 15 have been have been found automatically. On a select few, networking has been the only thing to give me grief, so we stocked up on cheap Rosewill Gigbit PCI Network cards. They were only about 15 a piece and work PERFECTLY. They are even plug and play with windows 8.
 
alex32165 said:
Hey guys just an update on this thread. The upgrades have been going very smoothly, actually. I've done about 15 so far and video drivers for all 15 have been have been found automatically. On a select few, networking has been the only thing to give me grief, so we stocked up on cheap Rosewill Gigbit PCI Network cards. They were only about 15 a piece and work PERFECTLY. They are even plug and play with windows 8.
Click to expand...

So you did upgrade, what are the specs on the old comptuers?
 
The most of them have Intel Core 2 Dual cores with 2 GB of Ram so i'm doing 32 bit OS for the light users. For the heavier users I have a couple of Core 2 Quads and some i5's with 4GB of ram. Additionally, Im giving everybody SSD's
 
The ssd's should help a lot. I love my samsung ssd. I'm still too skeptical to put them in any crucial business machines though. I'm going to start recommending them for residential since price is coming down to a level that I think people may start going for it.
 
I would upgrade everyones ram to 4gb.

I say this because from what I tend to see is that end users never close anything down so ram gets taken up pretty quickly.

Not to mention having tons of internet explorer windows open, av, LOB, and whatever else is running in the background. With two gigs that will get sucked up fast.

You won't notice it if you're adding ssd drives because it makes up for it but having stuff put on the ssd that is supposed to go on the ram will kill your ssd faster.

my ram calculations come up to this:

1gb win 8
.5gb Lob and a bunch of simultaneously opened windows

I think those are super conservative estimates.
 
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