Upgrade from Windows 7 32bit RC1 to Windows 7 64bit

Hi guys,

I have a few quick questions...

I have an HP Pavillion DV6500 laptop that came preinstalled with 32bit Vista.
Right now I am using Windows 7 Evaluation Copy Build 7100 32bit.

I'm wondering if there's any way to upgrade to 64bit windows 7 when the upgrade disc comes out in October or even now.

I don't mind having to reformat the hard drive.

Can I possibly reformat the hard drive now and install a fresh copy of windows 7 rc b4bit?

I tried talking to HP support about this, but they wouldn't give me a direct answer to any question.

They wouldn't even tell me if my laptop could support 64bit. (I did some research, and I think it can.)

Thanks in advance!

You have to reformat your hard drive and then do a clean install of 64-bit of windows 7

Can I do that with the upgrade disc that will ship in October?

or is it possible to do that with the rc (Build 7100) that was released some time ago?

I understand that it will take a clean install, but don't I need to have at least XP installed to upgrade to Windows 7 (using the upgrade disc that will ship in october)? Since I have been on 32bit, wouldn't it just upgrade to 32bit windows7? Or can i choose to upgrade to 64bit, and itll just do a clean install from there.


Would my processor/motherboard etc even handle 64bit?

Sorry for asking so many stupid questions. I just want to make sure I know what I'm doing before I get myself into anything.

hmmm... my laptop didn't come with a CD... the hard drive was originally partitioned with recovery data on one partition. I also made "optional" recovery discs, just to be safe, so i'm pretty sure that the actual process is not going to be a problem.

The only thing i'm worried about is given my situation, if I would be able to do a clean install to a 64bit version using the upgrade disc that will come out in a few months.

Seems like you're saying that its definitely doable.

Thanks!

sirdizzle said:

hmmm... my laptop didn't come with a CD... the hard drive was originally partitioned with recovery data on one partition. I also made "optional" recovery discs, just to be safe, so i'm pretty sure that the actual process is not going to be a problem.

The only thing i'm worried about is given my situation, if I would be able to do a clean install to a 64bit version using the upgrade disc that will come out in a few months.

Seems like you're saying that its definitely doable.

Thanks!

you can use the upgrade disc, you just need to do a clean install with the disc, and upgrade that install with another one. Basically you are installing twice.
Clean Install From Upgrade Vista - Vista Forums

I'm not sure that you are going to be able to do this with the "upgrade" disc. i believe when you change from 32-bit to 64-bit...you have to buy the full version.

In the past, you could insert your previous OS disk to prove ownership. My understanding is that Win7 upgrade will actually need to see an installed and (here is the key) activated copy of Windows running in order to perform an upgrade. So, unless you have 64-bit installed and activated...I don't think you will be able to upgrade your 32-bit to 64-bit.