Question by Lethal-craig: What happens if i install 64 bit windows 7 on my laptop which is currently running 32 bit vista?
I can get an upgrade from my university for either a 64 bit or 86 bit version of windows 7. However currently i am running 32 bit vista, so i think my laptop is 32 bit. (don’t really know what that means) anyway can i install the 64 bit version or not?
Best answer:
Answer by Ramon
try and see wat happens
What do you think? Answer below!
64 bit Windows 7, yes you can install that on your laptop
(now presuming it is a modern laptop, which it should be)
but then 64 bit Windows 7 installation should be a clean install (from scratch, wiping out your entire hard drive clean)
>> not an upgrade installation
since your os is Win Vista 32 bit, upgrade will be to Win 7 32 bit only
Windows 7 Upgrade Considerations
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-considerations.aspx
You can only upgrade 32 bit to 32 bit or 64 bit to 64 bit. If you want to use 64 bit (providing your computer can handle it) you would have to do a clean install and that means a complete reformat (you would loose everything you have saved on your computer). Go to windows web site to find out the min. specs for 64 bit to see if you can even run it. Chances are that if you computer could run 64 bit it would have come with Vista 64 bit on it in the first place.
if u have more than 3gb of ram then use 64 bit OS or else 32 bit is more than enough
because only a 64 bit OS can access the more than 3 gb of ram
I have the same situation as yours. I have a HP laptop running originally at Vista 32-bit when I bought it. Now, I am using windows 7 64-bit version on the HP laptop.
it’s not on the laptop if it’s 32 or 64 bit. it refers to the version of windows.
Ok, just answer these questions:
1. Can your laptop support windows 7 requirements (think about the processor speed, RAM, hard drive space, and graphics card) ?
2. if yes, then do you want a 64-bit version or a 32-bit version of windows?
–> 32 bit programs can run on 32 and some the 64 bit version of windows most times.
–> 64 bit programs cannot run on 32-bit version of windows.
**some points to consider:
most 32 bit applications can run on 64-bit windows, but not all especially some programs.
if you are 64-bit, you have to find 64-bit versions of software so that is 100% compatible.
I run 64-bit version Adobe programs since like Adobe Photoshop, the 32-bit won’t run properly on my 64-bit version of windows. setting compatibility mode can only work sometimes.
My settings now is I partitioned by Hard drive to 2 drives. where 1 is Vista 32-bit and the other 64-bit Windows 7. Thus, I can boot anytime from 32 to 64 or viceversa. catch is: You need a big drive, 500GB?, and more or less 2 versions of each program (one 32 on 64).– but you’re choice. Good Luck !
~ vote for thumbs-up answer if you find this helpful thanks! ~
You have to look up your hardware to see if it’s 64-bit capable. If it’s not, you can’t run a 64-bit OS. If you go to Control Panel – System it should indicate somewhere if your system is 64-bit capable.
You also need to have at *least* 2 GB of RAM installed to run 64-bit. You can do 32-bit with only 1 GB.
Anyway, you’d need to provide more info (like your specific laptop model) if you want someone here to try and answer your question for sure.
Do also keep in mind that if you’re moving between 32-bit and 64-bit it’s going to make you do a clean install. You can do that with the “upgrade” versions, but you’re going to have to back up and reinstall any files, settings, and programs you want present on the new OS — you can’t have them carry over as you can if you stick with 32-bit coming from 32-bit.
As the other people answering said, you have to find out if your hardware can support a 64-bit OS.
If it can’t, then when you try to boot from the 64-bit install DVD, it will never start, stating that a 64-bit application was attempted to be run on a 32-bit processor or some silliness like that.
If I were you, I’d just go with the 32-bit. No compatibility issues, better performance.
Enjoy!
Learn more about the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/32-bit-and-64-bit-Windows-frequently-asked-questions.
And run the Windows 7 upgrade advisor before you make your decision: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/upgrade-advisor.
Cheers,
Tara
Windows Outreach Team