is Windows Vista 32bit upgradable to 64bit?

Is it possible to upgrade Windows Vista from 32 bit to 64 bit version
(supposing that I have the product 66J-00003 Windows Vistaâ„¢ Business
English Upgrade North America DVD)?

 

There is no direct upgrade path from any 32 bit operating system to a 64 bit
one. A clean install is required.

--
Jane, not plain 64 bit enabled
Batteries not included. Braincell on vacation ;-)
Is it possible to upgrade Windows Vista from 32 bit to 64 bit version
(supposing that I have the product 66J-00003 Windows Vistaâ„¢ Business
English Upgrade North America DVD)?

 

No. There is never a direct upgrade to a 64-bit version of Windows from a
32-bit. You must do a clean install.

--
Charlie.
http://msmvps.com/xperts64


Is it possible to upgrade Windows Vista from 32 bit to 64 bit version
(supposing that I have the product 66J-00003 Windows Vistaâ„¢ Business
English Upgrade North America DVD)?

 

As a PS to Jane and Charlie:

You have the rights but you will have to get the 64 bit install files
from Microsoft if a full retail package.

Tom
MSMVP
Windows shell/User

Is it possible to upgrade Windows Vista from 32 bit to 64 bit version
(supposing that I have the product 66J-00003 Windows Vistaâ„¢ Business
English Upgrade North America DVD)?

 

To make sure that I am understanding your response given my situation. I am
upgrading to 64 bit hardware and I want to move my 32 bit Vista partition to
my new computer. I have the Ultimate upgrade version. If I use my 64 bit
install disk to clean install Vista, what type of backup should I do of the
32 bit system to prevent having to re-install all applications? Is there no
way around re-installing all the apps?

 

Your explanation and questions are somewhat confusing.

Do you want Vista 32-bit on your new computer or Vista 64-bit?

You cannot use a 64-bit install DVD to install the 32-bit
versions.

Your hardware is not the determining factor in which version
you install; on a 64-bit cpu you can install either the
Vista 32-bit or the Vista 64-bit.

 

There is no way to avoid reinstalling all the apps, except that they may not
all install on 64-bit. Make sure before where you can. I am seeing more
and more apps that are only for Vista86.

 

LewT:
Upgrading to 64-bit hardware doesn't mean that you have to change to
Vista x64. Vista x86 runs fine on 64-bit hardware. If you want to run Vista
x64 it will have to be a custom or clean installation, start by backing up
all files from the 32-bit installation, perform a custom or clean
installation of Vista x64, install required applications finally transfer
your files from the backup. Unfortunately there isn't a direct upgrade path
from 32-bit to 64-bit because the systems, drivers and requirements are
different. Have a great day.

 

Thanks for all the responses. I get it now. I did find that one of my
critical apps will not run on 64bit install so I am going to stay with the 32
bit Vista on my 64 bit hardware for now.

Lew

 

Ok, it is not possible to upgrade from Windows Vista 32bit to Windows
Vista 64bit.
Other question: is it possible to upgrade from Windows XP 32bit to
Windows Vista 64bit?

If not, so a day in the future we will be all forced to do a clean
installation of Windows?

 

It is not possible to do any upgrade from 32-bit to 64-bit. Clean installs
only.

 

Who has the gun pointed at your head? You can continue to run 32-bit XP for
the next few years. 32-bit Vista will be the most popular for at least
another year or two. I would never upgrade an OS, but always do a clean
install. Windows is unstable enough without trying to upgrade. I had a
notebook at work that came with XP 32-bit on a P4M based IBM G41. It no
longer would display the popup when I told the OS to eject a USB drive. A
new USB drive in one of the USB slots would not install correctly to where
it could be used. I have never found an installation of Windows to run
flawlessly for more than one year.

I don't think it will ever be possible to upgrade a 32-bit OS to 64-bit
unless you have access to the OS sources and a very long time to write the
code yourself. A lot of the infrastructure in Windows has been changed in
the 64-bit version. The location of various registry keys and files differ.
Of course, no 32-bit driver can run on a Microsoft 64-bit OS. No matter
what Microsoft says, there is no 64-bit version of XP. It is the 64-bit
Server 2003 that has been reduced from server to workstation functionality,
mostly by eliminating server oriented software.

 

No. It is not possible to perform an in-place upgrade from *ANY*
Microsoft 32-bit OS to *ANY* Microsoft 64-bit OS. The architectures of
the two types of operating systems are too different.

Only when changing between radically different architectures.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

Why not? Granted, some people will blindly recommend that one always
perform a clean installation, rather than upgrade over an earlier OS.
For the most part, I feel that these people, while usually well-meaning,
are living in the past, and are either basing their recommendation on
their experiences with older operating systems, or are simply
inexperienced and uninformed.

Certainly, there are times when an in-place upgrade is
contra-indicated:

1) When the underlying hardware isn't certified as being fully
compatible with the newer OS, and/or updated device drivers are not
available from the device's manufacturer. Of course, this condition also
causes problems with clean installations.

2) When the original OS is corrupt, damaged, and/or virus/malware
infested. I've also seen simple, straight-forward upgrades from WinXP
Home to WinXP Pro fail because the computer owner had let the system
become malware-infested. Upgrading over a problematic OS isn't normally
a wise course to establishing a stable installation.

3) When the new OS isn't designed to properly, correctly, and safely
perform an upgrade.

A properly prepared and maintained PC can almost always be
successfully upgraded by a knowledgeable and competent individual. I've
lost count of the systems I've seen that have been upgraded from Win95
to Win98 to Win2K to WinXP (usually with incremental hardware upgrades
over the same time period), without the need for a clean installation,
and that are still operating without any problems attributable to upgrades.

Utterly untrue. What's your real reason? (Although, if you do lack
the basic ability to maintain a stable Windows installation, upgrades
might not be the best course for you.)

Just because your defective hardware caused problems, it doesn't follow
that the OS is inherently unstable. Look up "cause and effect" when you
get a chance.

Then you either haven't looked, or know only complete technical
incompetents.

The first correct thing you've said.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

Maybe, but given the thousands of posts with horrific results in the Vista
groups, I certainly wouldn't attempt one without a complete system backup.
Way too many that fail and can't find their way back to undo the upgrade as
it is supposed to do, and far too many that can't even get XP or Vista to
install from scratch on the drive after the failed upgrade.
It's also a great time to review what programs you really want to install
and use on a new system.

 

My .02 -

In my experience, upgrading between platforms (9x to NT) is problematic
at best. Can it be done without negative consequences? ABSOLUTELY.
BUT, that said, when you factor in WHO will typically be doing the
upgrades, it's really not advisable. Most people forget to or simply
don't know to check their hardware and software for compatibility which,
ultimately, leads to a negative user experience. Further, especially
now, YEARS after the last 9x class OS, any system still running a 9x
class OS is more likely to have corruption and/or be in poor condition
through years of installs/upgrades/uninstalls/"tweaking".

In my experience, upgrading from NT4 to 2000 and 2000 to XP, there have
been VERY few problems. For SAME-platform upgrades, I have little
concern about doing them. Even for the "uninformed" home user.

Anyway, that was my .02 on this portion of the debate. That and
currently there is no supported method of upgrading from a 32-bit
Windows OS to a 64-bit Windows OS.

-Lee