Windows 7 - Windows7 32 OEM -> Win7 Professional 64bit

hi, i asking to know 2 things:
1) Is it possible to install the 64 bit professional over my already instaled 32bit Windows 7 home premium edition
2) will i need a fresh install of windowsor just use the in place upgrade?

As i have a large amount of games installed using Steam, will it be possible to make a hard drive partition to store the files on and then copy them back, removing the need for the tedious downloads?

thanks for the help in advance.
(hope this is in the correct section)

Yes it is possible, and yes it absolutely needs a clean install. No the games need to be re-installed and you should use the 64 bit versions of any app that is 64 bit.

thanks, before when i moved the steam files from my old pc to the new one(current), i simply copied the files to an external disc, are you sure this cant be done again? or will everything have to be downloaded new? it would be a shame to lose all those saves...

Was the old PC and new PC both 32bit? Most apps need to be installed, and 64 bit installs them both to a different location and uses different files. I am not a gamer so not 100% sure, but.....

You night be able to import the data by using the easy transfer wizard.


Good luck

Cheers
im just reasured now that the 64bit wil install over the32bti of the same OS
Thanks alot, i appreciate it.

By install over do you mean without a format? It wont. You need to format the partition

Just remember this: a 32-bit Windows can not be in-place upgraded to a 64-bit and vice versa. Your only option is to do a clean install.

ty for querying but i realised that a clean install would be needed.thus the quetions about the installed games.