1 GB increase

I am not an expert on these things but the people who are reporting such things to me and suggesting I don't upgrade are outnumbering those who think Windows 10 is brilliant by two to one.

I think if the upgrade works for you then great but if it doesn't it is time to hit the rewind button and remain safely in the past for a while longer.

I suspect Microsoft has tried too hard to squeeze a quart from a pint pot and ended up with a an over-complicated system that, in some cases, conflicts with itself.

I am going to try the upgrade on a spare hard drive but I am not going to have high hopes. Windows 10 was written for modernity and my equipment is stuff that Noah chucked out as old-fashioned.

can you post the service tag number here so that I can check the full specifications of your Dell.?

You might need to upgrade a few hardware items first also you might upgrade to vista then windows 8
Creating a new partition on your hard drive gives your future version of Windows 8 a place to live on your drive.
Knowing exactly how much space the OS requires helps you determine how large to make your partition.
Size requirements don't tell the entire story on their own, though.
Other factors like drive type and additional storage help ensure you get the best Windows 8 experience where your hard drive is concerned.

Size Requirements
Both Windows 7 and Windows 8 have the same system requirement regarding hard drive space, so if your hard drive can handle Windows 7, Windows 8 shouldn't be a problem.
For 32-bit versions of the operating system, you'll need at least 16 GB of available disk space. The 64-bit version requires 20 GB.
Your partition will have to be at least one of these sizes, depending on your OS version.
The PC Advisor website warns that these are literally the bare minimum requirements, and using these figures leaves you hardly any space to save files and install apps or programs.
Size Recommendations
You'll get more out of Windows 8 if the operating system has enough free space for you to install your favorite programs and apps.
PC World calls this extra space "breathing room," suggesting you give your Windows 8 partition at least 30 to 40 GB.
If you're dual-booting with another operating system or you're accustomed to keeping excess data on a separate partition, 30 to 40 gigabytes should be fine.
If you'd rather have all your songs, videos and PC games on the same partition as the operating system, consider giving it substantially more space.
Solid State Drive
Windows 8 works on traditional hard drives with spinning disks, but it's optimized to run on a solid state drive.
If you've got an SSD, consider putting your Windows 8 partition on that drive.
While any operating system benefits from the speed increase an SSD brings, ARS Technica specifically recommends this drive type for Windows 8, saying the operating system's "tablet-esque feel and search-heavy usage model will be much better served by solid-state storage."
Other Requirements
Hard drive space is a crucial system requirement, but others are just as important.
Ensuring your computer meets the other requirements before partitioning your drive for Windows 8 saves trouble in case your computer can't handle the OS.
You'll need at least a 1 GHz processor that support PAE, SSE2 and NX.
Your computer has to have at least 1 GB of RAM for 32-bit Windows 8, or 2 GB for 64-bit.
Your graphics card must be at least a DirectX 9-capable card with a WDDM driver. Also, while you're formatting your drive, format the Windows 8 partition in the NTFS format.
Storage Spaces
Storage Spaces is a useful Windows 8 feature when you're working with multiple drives and partitions.
The tool enables you to group drives into one larger storage space so you don't have to constantly switch partitions and explore different drives.
For example, if you create a storage space between two 32 GB flash drives, you'd be able to access it as if it were one larger 64 GB drive.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/system-requirements
Microsoft windows 8 system requirements
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/features/windows/3358892/windows-8-system-requirements/
PC World windows 8 system requirements
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2012847/how-to-master-storage-spaces-in-windows-8.html
PC World how to master storage space windows 8
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/download-shop

CARLTON. invest in a new computer OR upgrade the computers memory (RAM).windows 32x max 4 GB,windows 64x 8-12 GB.is it a 32x put in 4 GB windows takes one for it system.make sure you get the right kind you have a old computer,ask a PC-dealer they should now.carlton invest in a new 12 years is old.

try adding one ram stick upgrade at a time, while leaving one original in the system till it boots and recognises the increase. repeat until finished adding all the new ram. if these measures dont work, its possible you have purchased ram that is not matching to the upgradable standards of your board. its important when adding ram to insure you match the ram speed with your replacements upgrade.

Download and install the Windows7 Upgrade Advisor software using the following link. It will tell you what upgrades you may need.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/upgrade-advisor

NOTE: [These are my recommendations only] You should have a Video Card with at least 256 MB Ram to take advantage of AeroDesktop. You should have a minimum of 2 GB of System Memory.
I have a laptop with 1 GB System Ram and only 128 MB Video and Win7 works well.

NO you cannot, on that same computer, no matter what OS, because, you MUST change your central Processing Unit, CPU. To allow Windows 7 to work correctly.

THE CURRENT ISSUE OF LABTOP MAGAZINE HAD AN ARTICALE ON UPGRADING YOUR NOTEBOOK AND OPTION, YOU MANUFACTURE MAY HAVE THE INFORMATION ON MOTHERBOARD UPGRADES, HOW ABOUT BOIS UPGRADE INSTEAD, UNLESS YOU NEED MOR RAM CAPACITY, BUT THAT CAN BE DONE BY SOFTWARE UPGRADE SAY FROM WINDOWS 98 TO VISTA FROM 256 MB TO 1-4 GB RAM,
VEDIO MOST LIKELY SHARE VEDIO IF YOU GO TO 4 GB ,1 GB VEDOI THAT LEAVE 3 GB FOR SYSTEM OPERATION, SEE.
VISTA 64BIT LIMITED OPERATION SYSTEM SOFTWARE AND EVEN SOME GAMES AND OTHER SOFTWARE OFFICE PROGRAMS WILL NOT WORK PROPERLY WITH 64BIT SYSTEMS SO THAN YOU HAVE TO HAVE 32BIT ALSO OR STAY WITH 32BIT OPERATION SYSTEM VISTA PROFESSAL THE BEST, SPLIT THE DIVE IN HALF 1/2 32BIT AND 64BIT OPERATION SYSTEM, OR BUY A LABTOP THAT CAN UPGADE TO 2ND HD DRIVE HAVE SPLIT BOOT SYSTEM FOR YOUR COMPUTER IS ALSO OPTION AND THE BEST OPTION.

BUY NEW SYSTEM MINUIM EQUIPMENT, UPGRADE THE RAM YOURSELP, BUY USB HD 1-1.5 TERABYTE HARD DRIVE I SEEN 1.5 TB HD AT FRY ELECTRONIC FOR ABOUT 140.00 DOLLARS AND YOU CAN STORE ALOT OF MOVIES PHOTOS MP3 MP4 OR WHATEVER YOU NEED IT FOR, BUY USB FLASDRIVE 16GB FOR 34.00, FLASH DRIVE INCREASES PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPUTER SYSTEM. TRANFER RATE INCREASES FOR DATA AND ACCESS SPEEDS ALSO WILL INCREASE ALSO
BETTER PERFORM ALL AROUND FOR LITTLE MONEY SPENT.
IF YOUR MODEM OR IF PC CARD OR EXPESS CARD AND IT HAS A MEMORY CARD SHOT BUY THE 2-4 GB MEMORY CARD IT WILL HELP WITH DOWN LOAD OF PHOTOS DATA TRANSFER, SEARCH PAGES ON THE INTERNET,

OVER ALL PERFORMANCE FOR LESS THAN YOU THINK

CANDYMANGANDY

MORE THAN YOU WANTED RIGHT

Your system comes stock with one stick of DDR2 (512 MB), which means that it is _ not_ dual channel DDR2 memory as dual channel DDR2 must be installed in matched pairs. Try to exchange the new memory for 2G of some single channel DDR2.

If you are using Windows XP, go into your control panel, double click System (from classic view), and look towards the bottom where it says "Processor x.xx GHz, x.xx GB of RAM" and make sure your 2.00 GB of RAM is recognized by Windows. Next I would make sure you are using 400- or 533-MHz DDR2 unbuffered SDRAM. If you are, try removing one of the two modules and see if the computer runs smoothly. If it does, I would install a different brand of memory.