Windows 7 32-bit to 64-bit upgrade

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My wife’s computer is currently running Win7, 32-bit. I’ve been troubleshooting performance problems and I’ve come to the conclusion that a memory upgrade is necessary.

According to the Crucial online scanner, she only has 1, 2-gig sticks installed. The MB Can handle up to 4, totaling 16 gig’s of memory.

I’m wondering if it’s possible (ie: Legal) to use the existing installation key to upgrade from the 32-bit to 64-bit OS? According to this Microsoft page, I’ll need to back everything up and reinstall, which is understandable. It doesn’t say one way or another if I can use the same license key. My thinking is that I’ll have to buy another upgrade (or full-version?) disk.

Does anyone know for certain if the upgrade can be done with the same key or not? Of course, I would prefer to NOT have to buy another copy of windows.

Eric the Grey

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You CAN use the same key. If there is an issue a simple phone call to Microsoft will take care of it. They are very understanding about this sort of issue if it occurs.

Joe

--Joe

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It’s a home-built machine, installed from a retail version of Win7. I do understand that a format and full install are necessary, I’m just using the term “upgrade” because in a sense, it is (to me at least).

You CAN use the same key. If there is an issue a simple phone call to Microsoft will take care of it. They are very understanding about this sort of issue if it occurs.

Joe

This is good news, even IF I have to call Microsoft. I had to do that before due to motherboard replacement on another machine, so I’m at least a little familiar with it.

I’ll probably see how well the machine works with 4gig (it should improve game performance at the very least) of ram and hold off until I have more time to wipe and re-install.

Thanks for your replies.

Eric the Grey

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I can confirm doing so without the need to call MS to revalidate, without any issue. I’ve even changed motherboards without the need to call MS one one occassion.

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I think you should go for the “upgrade”, even with just 4GB RAM, as only around 3 GB are actually usable by 7 32 bits.

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I think you should go for the “upgrade”, even with just 4GB RAM, as only around 3 GB are actually usable by 7 32 bits.

I probably will. I put off going 64-bit for a long time, eing worried that some apps wouldn’t run right (being 32-bit) but a good friend got a new machine with 64-bit Win 7 and he had no problems with anything, so when I built my newest machine, I bit the bullet. No problems at all.

I’ll probably upgrade hers at some point. I may even purchase the additional memory this week in preparation for it.

Eric the Grey

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I’ll probably upgrade hers at some point. I may even purchase the additional memory this week in preparation for it.

“ETG”
Hello…My 2¢….The RAM should be replaced in “Matched Pairs” I suggest to move to 8GB (high speed DDR2) if your going to “64” this way you will be able to get rid of the HD “Page File” altogether.. Unless your running some intensive “Apps” 7 64 will hum along without it… My 64 OS is setup this way and have had no problems eliminating the “Page File”:cheers: Regards Fred

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I have yet to find a 32 Bit app that will not work with my 64 Bit Win 7 PC. Heck most work with my 64 Bit Win 8 CP (beta) OS as well. Do not be afraid of 64 Bit OS just because you have 32 Bit apps. Now if you have a bunch of 16 Bit apps, then you might have a problem.

I would have to concur on the Ram upgrade. You should notice a nice increase in speed. The 64 Bit will allow you to access the additional Ram.

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I would also recommend going with at least 6GB’s of RAM in a 64 bit os as a bare minimum for any type of computer usage.
Preferably in matched pairs as Fred suggests.

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Not relevant here, but I saw a posting in a Microsoft Answers Windows 7 forum that wanted to know if they could accomplish a 64 bit upgrade by installing Windows 7 32 bit twice!

Jerry

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LOL, yea that’s the ticket, 32 Bit twice. Bought fell out of my chair!!! :clapping:

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No, it was an actual post although I think it was a bit of a troll…

The biggest problem with going to 64 bit is drivers. In my case I have a scanner with 32 bit drivers only and in reality, 32 bit Windows 7 is plenty fast on my PC. I agree that 64 bit is the wave of the future but there aren’t any killer 64 bit apps out there yet. The OS does run slightly faster but as I said, 32 bit is plenty fast on my PC.

Jerry

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I’ve also had problems with getting good reliable performance from AHCI mode with 64-bit. Maybe I’m just unlucky and get the driver support (all AMD AM3 boards). It very well could be since on the last one I said what the heck and selected the install ALL drivers and utilities on an ASROCK board…what a mistake. The LAN utility hung Network, the FastUSB utility hung shutdown with a USB drive attached, Norton was on there and had to be removed before it could work its magic and slow down the system… got me to thinking that these utilities could be responsible for a large percentage of problems with new installs just as software from OEMs can cause issues.

BTW, now that I have some experience with 7-64-bit, its been my experience it needs more RAM than 32-bit or it doesn’t run as smoothly (at low levels; 2 gigs specifically), so I only run 64-bit on the systems that have two VMs running on a separate SSD for obvious reasons. I have enough 32-bit systems to provide all the compatibility I need without having to go through the rigmarole to get the 64-bit systems completely compatible with 32-bit network resources.

If everything was 64-bit from the ground up or not part of an established network, I don’t think there would be much in the way of issues at this point.

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In my case, the 32 vs 64-bit started back with XP and when I upgraded to Win 7, I just stuck with what I knew. Back then, I had heard that there were problems with 32-bit applications and drivers.

I’ve done the upgrade, and things went pretty smoothly. The only problems I had were my own fault (copying the documents folder to the USB drive, and placing it in the wrong folder, so when I went back, I thought they were missing…)

Tomorrow, I’m going down to MIcro Center to pick up 8gb of DDR 3 for $35 and will tear into the machine and install them (along with blowing out the dust and making sure everything is still seated correctly…)

Thanks again for all the good advice.

Eric the Grey

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There isn’t much advantage to installing 64-bit unless you have 4+ GB of RAM.

Some 32-bit applications will not run on 64-bit Win 7. I had a fax application I liked which was labeled as “Windows 7 compatible”. It did not work. I went to the support page and the very last item said it was not compatible with 64-bit Win 7. That was more than 2 years ago not long after Win 7 was released.

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You’re welcome. And 8G for $35, is that a misprint?

Drew

Nope, got it in black and white (mailer came in the mail today) and not even a MIR associated with it. Although they don’t mention a brand. Micro Center is pretty good when it comes to deals.

Just in case though, I plan to take the print-out of the Crucial scan with me to make double sure I get the right memory.

Eric the Grey

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Heck, I bought 8 GB Crucial Ram for my laptop about 6 months ago for $47 USD. Forget where I got it now but I could not turn it down. Has been performing flawlessly since.

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At the time I was thinking of playing with VM’s, but I just do not have the time now. Perhaps in the future. For now, my laptop does very nicely.

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