Windows 7: Downgrade(?) mishap, need to fix- 64bit to 32

I've tried to find the answer to my problem here but it's a little confusing, so I need clarification.



Basically my friend's second-hand laptop came with a dodgy copy of Windows 7 and it kept asking her to install a legit one. She bought the retail version but has no computer literacy and asked me to install it. She wanted her stuff backed up too.

I backed up to an external drive using easy transfer, then followed the directions on the white card that came with the disks. I put the top disc in and ran the installation, then I tried to open the easy transfer file to restore her stuff and discovered the whole 32-bit 64-bit thing that I was completely unaware of. The error message was along the lines of "64 bit program cannot be opened on 32 bit operating system".

I tried to install the 64bit version but windows couldn't read the disc. I'm not sure if I accidentally downgraded her OS or if I did something wrong with easy transfer. Is the 64bit OS able to read the 32bit installation disc, but not the other way around?

I obviously need to install the 64bit OS so that the backup files can be restored, but is this possible? I gathered from other posts that I should re-boot from the CD drive but am a bit confused because clearly I'm not that great with this sort of thing. I didn't want to mess around with BIOS settings if I'd gotten it wrong. If I re-boot from the disc does that mean the disc isn't being read by windows, and the files can be recognised? Should I do this?

Another scarier option involved partitioning the hard drive and installing both versions? I don't really understand this.

Do you have the two (2) different DVD's (32bit & 64bit) ?

Yes you need to boot the 64 bit Windows 7 installation DVD as it will not run from 32 bit environment.
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/tipstr.../bootcddvd.htm


Follow this: Clean Install Windows 7

Oh cool thanks guys yes, I have both the discs...i thought both discs were meant to be used in the installation. The 32 bit and 64 bit markings are extremely small!

I'm going to have to go into setup and change the boot up disc, which I'm a little wary of doing in case something goes wrong. I'm going to try and search for info on this specific to this model laptop.

Is internet connection vital to installation? She only has one of those telstra wireless USB modems and I couldn't get it to connect after the installation. It's not very user friendly and the troubleshooting guide isn't helpful.

Keep asking questions so we can help

Doc, the boot selection menu is different on every system. Dells are F12, my HP Pavilion is Esc., I work on some HP workstations that are F9. The OP needs to watch the screen during boot for the proper key to use for bringing up the boot menu.

Or set the DVD drive to boot first in BIOS setup which is a good default to maintain anyway as you could need to boot DVD for repair at any time: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/tipstr.../bootcddvd.htm