Lenovo notebook - Vista to Windows 7

[Lionel]

Hi All,

I have a Lenova G550 notebook running Vista, about 3 years old, which works fine, but I would like to upgrade the HD & install Windows 7 at the same time.

In effect I would be starting from scratch with a blank HD. My question is - what complications are there with this task? I expect to install W7 from an OEM CD/DVD, so, will I need to download any drivers from the Lenovo website in advance - having them available on a USB stick for example, OR will W7 be able to access the 'net (wireless) during the installation process & download the appropriate drivers automatically.

I am not especially worried about the more specific laptop drivers (function keys, audio etc.), as they can be downloaded later, but I am concerned about drivers needed for initial standalone functionality, such as mouse/touchpad, video, LAN, wireless networking etc.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Lionel

[Aussie]

Only issue you may have is the Network card driver, download that b4 you upgrade, make sure you format when Win7 asks you then away you go. If your putting a new SSD in then you will need to set the Bios to AHCI instead of IDE.

[incisor]

and if using an ssd you will be well advised to use a partition aligning tool to ensure you get decent life from the ssd.

checking the lenovo support site for win 7 network drivers prior could save some frustration.

[Aussie]

Generally only really need to check that if windows didn't do the format, best way to do it on existing installs is to hit the Start menu and type in msinfo32. Enter Msinfo32 and go to Components > Storage > Disks. Look for your SSD on the list and find the "Partition Starting Offset" item. If this number is divisible by 4096 (that is, if dividing it by 4096 equals a whole number and not a decimal), your partition is correctly aligned.

Mines 256 so it seems its ok :D

[Lionel]

Only issue you may have is the Network card driver, download that b4 you upgrade, make sure you format when Win7 asks you then away you go. If your putting a new SSD in then you will need to set the Bios to AHCI instead of IDE.

Thanks for the input.

I wasn't really intending to use an SSD, as the size I want would be a bit expensive to justify.

My main concern, in starting with a blank HD is; will I have a working screen & pointing device during the installation process? I can certainly pre-load the drivers from the Lenovo site onto a USB, but will I have a functional USB port?

I have done this type of installation easily with a desktop, but I am wondering whether a notebook will be different.

Cheers,

Lionel

[Tombie]

Yes it will be fine

[Lionel]

Thank you to everyone who supplied feedback - the job went very easily, mostly, with only a bit of head scatching when there was difficulty with the LAN connection over wireless. Turned out to be faulty configuration of the antivirus (Kaspersky) firewall.

Cheers,

Lionel