Will upgrading to Windows 7 fix the issues, glitches and problems I was having with Vista?

I have an HP HDX18 Notebook PC with 2.66GHz Intel Core2 Duo, 6GB RAM, (2) 500GB Hard Drives, Vista Ultimate 64-bit - SP2.


I'm really tired of all the glitches and issues occuring in the Vista OS, so I recently purchased the Windows 7 Upgrade software. I know this isn't a Vista support forum, and I'm not asking for answers to the problems I'm having in Vista. My only question is whether upgrading to Windows 7 will help fix these problems, or only make things worse until everything is fixed. To be more specific, here are some examples of the issues I've been having:

• My computer sometimes crashes whenever I put it to sleep or hibernate. (The screen turns off, like it's about to power down, but it continues to run for about 5 minutes until finally showing the BSOD and rebooting itself. It's hard for me to recreate this problem as it seems to happen at random.
• My Power Options software has three settings: HP Recommended, Power Saver, or High Performance. Whenever I have it set to High Performance, my computer WILL overheat in about 15-30 minutes (no matter what I'm doing) unless I have the chill pad plugged in and running underneath it. If I have the Power Options set to Power Saver, my computer runs ridiculously slow. (The mouse is jumpy, and it takes about 20-30 seconds for it to respond to anything I click on). Is it possible for me to use these two modes without having those kinds of problems on my particular HP notebook?
• After rebooting from a system crash (most often caused by the above two problems), my computer will sometimes disable my Networking Drivers (wireless and LAN). I usually have to reboot again in order to re-enable them.
• A few weeks ago, I was in the middle of downloading a Windows Update. The update froze about halfway through. When I tried shutting my computer down, it brought up the screen "Please do not turn off your computer. Windows is configuring your updates." I let it run all night, but the screen never went away. In the morning I had to do a manual hard shutdown. When I rebooted, the Windows Update download progress indicator was STILL frozen at its current position. I tried uninstalling my most recent updates and even doing a system restore to a few days prior, but that one update never got unstuck. I wasn't able to shut down or restart my computer at all without the same configuration screen coming up and running all night. I ended up disabling the Windows Update service all together. I never turned it back on, and I'm sure I'm probably missing some important updates.
• My Google Toolbar randomly disappeared. There's a space for it in my browser window, but nothing is there. Maybe reinstalling it would fix it, but I haven't found the time to try that yet.
• Quite often when I close a tab or window on IE8, an error message comes up saying, "Internet Explorer has encountered a problem and must close." Sometimes it then tries to recover the tab or window that I JUST closed. I haven't been able to figure out what causes this to happen. It seems to happen at random times, no matter what website I'm on.
• My Windows Sidebar has so many glitches, I don't know where to begin. Sometimes I end up closing it, because of all the memory it takes up and processes it interferes with.

These are just some of the problems I've been having. Like I said, I realize this is a Windows 7 forum and not a Vista forum. I'm not really asking how to fix the above problems (yet). What I really want to know right now is whether or not I should go ahead and upgrade to Windows 7 (as a quick-fix solution), or should I look into repairing some of the above issues first, and then upgrade.

Any thoughts out there? Thank you in advance.

For some users of Vista, it has been quite buggy. I would definitely install Windows 7 if I were you. The difference is definitely noticeable and you shouldn't have near the problems.

Whatever you do, DON'T do an "Upgrade" install over Vista. Do a fresh clean install of Windows 7 being sure you delete all the old partitions and create new ones.

Be sure to download all the correct up to date Windows 7 drivers for your laptop prior to doing the install and save them on a flash thumb drive or external hard drive. Set you DVD drive to be the "First Boot Device" in the BIOS and save that setting. Set the hard drive as the "Second Boot Device". Put the install DVD in the DVD drive and reboot the computer and you may see a line stating: "Press Any Key To Boot From CD/DVD". Do that within 4-5 seconds and the Windows 7 install should begin.

Do a search here there is a way to do a clean install with an upgrade disk. A Clean install is always best. Upgrades frequently have problems.
Joe

Here's a handy little tutorial from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite For Windows: Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media

I have used this quite a few times and it works! The funny thing is that MS knows about it and don't seem too bothered by it.

Well they know if you ugrade then need to install at some later date there will have to be a way. The main thing is to keep the Vista code some place safe.
Joe

Thanks for the reply guys! I was afraid I'd have to do a clean install. It's going to take a while to get everything transferred and all my settings back to the way they were. That's ok, if it's better to start fresh. I have a few quick follow up questions:

1. Nibiru2012 mentioned downloading the Windows 7 drivers to a flash drive prior to installing Windows 7. Wouldn't these drivers be automatically installed from the Windows 7 installation disc? Why would I need to download and install them separately? If I need to install them separately, where can I find these drivers to download?

2. If I ever needed to restore my computer back to factory conditions (Vista), would I be able to reinstall Windows 7 using the same installation disc, since I've already used that activation code once before?

To answer your two questions:
1. No, the drivers may not be installed automatically during the Windows 7 installation. It is best to install the latest drivers for your North Bridge and South Bridge chipsets after the Windows 7 install is done. The same goes for your video drivers, LAN or Wireless drivers, sound driver, etc. DO NOT depend on Windows 7 install or Windows Update to give you the latest best drivers. Always install them separately.

In order it should go: chipset drivers, AHCI driver (if needed), video drivers, LAN and/or Wireless driver, sound driver. Keep those drivers ready to install from the flash drive and you should have no problems.

2. Yes, you can reinstall Windows 7 at any time you wish. The product key will be good for the life of the product. However, it may occur after 10 installs, that you would need to get phone verification via MS Tech Support.

Good Luck! Keep us posted on how it goes for you.

I am planning to upgrade but the link mentioned does not lead to the tutorial. My vista problem today is inability of one of 2 profiles to load It keeps going back to log out and then user choice screen Also slow boot up & significant slowness developed over past couple of weeks - after clearing an anti Virus scan

Originally Posted by Nibiru2012

Here's a handy little tutorial from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite For Windows: Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media

I have used this quite a few times and it works! The funny thing is that MS knows about it and don't seem too bothered by it.