Windows 7: Upgrade to 64-bit.

I currently am running windows 7 32-bit version and I was thinking of upgrading to the 64-bit version since I just upgraded my RAM to 2GB. I was wondering if I could simply upgrade, and,if so, how? Also I was wondering what the difference was between the two exactly.

You cannot upgrade from a 32-bit OS to a 64-bit OS. You will have to backup data, clean install and then reinstall the software apps that you are going to use.

Plus, 32-bit versions can handle up to 4GB of RAM..so if you only have 2GB of RAM...that's not a good reason to move to 64-bit. There is a bit more overhead with 64-bit apps...so I wouldn't recommend making the switch until you have at least 4GB of RAM.

If you had at least 3GB of RAM I'd suggest switched but I have to agree with Pparks1. Prior to owning this laptop I had a laptop with only 2GB that the Manufacture thought it'd be cool to put 64-bit Vista on it, horrible! Obviously it was a bit better with Windows 7 but still, performance was poor compared to 32-bit.

So all in all, I suggest either staying with 32-bit or upgrading your RAM a bit more.

I m using 64bit with 2 GB and it has not hampered the performance. Infact, the speed and overall performance is increased to some extent. I m very happy with 64bit. I will make it 4 GB by the end of this month.

Thanks for your replies. I think I'm at least going to wait a while until I switch to 64-bit, if I do at all. Thank You.