Upgrade from 32bit to 64bit.

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See attachment of my system.

Can I upgrade my system to 64 bit with this information?
If this is possible, how would i go about doing this upgrade?
Please could someone give me detailed help on how to do this upgrade.
I not very tech savy so I need plenty of help
Many thanks
Dave

 

 

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The Microsoft license is good for both 32 & 64 bit versions of the same Windows OS, so the 64 bit version will activate itself just fine using your 32 bit license without needed any special action on your part.

However, there’s one a HUGE gotcha, there’s no such thing as an in-place upgrade from 32 bit Windows to 64 bit Windows!

Changing to 64 bit Windows requires a “clean install” — which means all your existing programs, users and data will be gone and have to be reinstalled “from scratch“.

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Be sure you have a full disk image and a file backup of your data before you start (just in case)

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Dave,

Personally, I’d recommend you upgrade your RAM first. You can’t “RUN” Windows on that. It can CRAWL on that amount of ram. Your screen shot doesn’t show the drive type but I’ll bet it’s an old HDD. I’d also swap that out for an SSD. Both of these upgrades can be done for less than a Franklin.

To go a bit further you only have a Pentium processor, another bottleneck that you can’t upgrade. You might consider this a good time to get a new device if the budget will allow.

Good luck.

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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RetiredGeek, thanks for your reply.
I am also beginning to feel that a new device is what I need. I will have
to check the budget as I’m a pensioner and things here in South Africa
can be ridiculously priced.

One question please, if I do manage to get a new device will I have to
purchase a new version of Windows 11?
Many thanks
Dave

 

 

 

 

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DaveBRenn wrote:

One question please, if I do manage to get a new device will I have to
purchase a new version of Windows 11?

New Windows PCs are sold with Windows 11 pre-installed.

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DaveBRenn

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If money is tight you could try a refurbished computer. You can get pretty good deals from https://www.dellrefurbished.com just be aware that most will have Windows 10 (or perhaps no operating system at all) which will go end of life in October 2025. You’ll need to plan for that, although there’s lots of info about that here at AskWoody.

There are other places to get good refurbished computers as well.

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Given that your device is circa 12 years old, I would be loath to spend much money on it; however, if the device is running on its original Hard Drive, do make sure you keep good backups of your files (documents, images etc) as a 12-year-old HDD is definitely on borrowed time.

There is precious little difference between 32-bit and 64-bit versions of W10 and I doubt one could see any difference on a low-powered device. It may well be worth reinstalling your existing OS, particularly if it has not been reinstalled in a while. A reinstall should give it more speed – ’twas ever thus with Windows. If you’re feeling confident, have a read of this:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/reinstall-windows-d8369486-3e33-7d9c-dccc-859e2b022fc7

Bear in mind that if you perform a clean install, you will have to reinstall the device drivers – which, I suspect, are only available in 32-bit format anyway.

Otherwise, yes, I would certainly look at refurbished devices from a reputable source. I don’t know the South African market, though, so you’ll have to do some research.

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Magnus, I researched the refurbished marker here in SA and came cross the following
loaded with Windows 11:-

 

Dell Optiplex 5060 intel i5, 8th GEN SFF Desktop PC
with 16GB RAM and with Intel integrated graphics
plus 1 Year warranty.

Dell Optiplex 3060 Intel i5 8th GEN SFF Desktop PC
with 16GB RAM and Intel integrated graphics plus warranty.

There are also a lot of Dell Optiplex machines with Windows 10 PRO
with Monitors and keyboards and mouse and cables.
Obviously these are cheaper.

Many Thanks
Dave

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Hi Dave, if I may I’d like to suggest another plan.  I’m assuming your Win 10, 32 bit is running okay and doing what you what it to.  If it is, I suggest saving yourself the time, cost, work, and possible aggravation of doing a clean install of Win 10 64 bit and just leave it the way it is for now.  You’ve got a year remaining and the 32 bit has most likely served you well so far.

When the time comes (and assuming you still want to) go with Windows 11 and a new computer to support it, then you will still have your old computer that you can use to play around with something relatively easy to learn like Linux Mint Cinnamon, which will run just fine in 64 bit mode on your old computer.  I’m over 70 and I have no real trouble using LMC for my everyday normal home Web browsing and other activities.  I love the ease of use (it works very similarly to Windows 10) and especially the ease of updating it!

I’ve always been a MS Windows user up to and including Win 7.  I’ve switched to Linux for my own and my wife’s personal use and she and I both love it.  Yes, she uses it too, and neither of us have any trouble with it.  This is just a suggestion you might want to consider; it’s always nice to have alternatives, and there’s lots of support for Linux Mint here on the AskWoody site forum.  Have a great day.

Being 20 something in the 70's was so much better than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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