32 or 64 bit?

z32dave · 15 Jun 2010

Hi - I have an HP Compaq nx9420 laptop currently using XP Pro and would like to upgrade to Windows 7 Pro.

As I am not a particularly clever computer user is this a 'simple' procedure and should I buy a 32bit or 64bit version?

Cheers - Dave

ryo · 15 Jun 2010

fill your system specs, so we know suggest which one..

The first thing to do when registering with our forum (especially if you have an issue you want assistance with) is to fill out your system specs. This allows our knowledgeable members to assist you better with your issue. It is very simple to do: please follow these steps below

First click on UserCP

Next click on Edit System Spec

Now you will see various fields for different types of hardware. Don't worry if you have no idea what kind of hardware it is asking for or the brand you have as I will explain how to get Windows to list it for you. For now keep that window open

Now click on start and type msinfo32.exe in the search field and press enter

Now you should have a window resembling mine below

With this information in hand lets start to fill out the specs

System Manufacture/Model Number
As you see in my screen shot I have no listing due to my laptop being a custom build (I made it myself). For most people out there usually this will list a name brand like Dell and a model like 1525.

OS
OS or Operating System for short is the main program that drive's your computer...notable example here being the Windows Operating System developed by Microsoft Corporation. Notice that I am running Windows 7 Ultimate x64

CPU
CPU or Central Processing Unit (Processor) is the brain of the computer. Notice that I have an Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz

Motherboard
The motherboard is where all the hardware parts of the computer are connected to. Mine is a custom build JFT02

Memory
Memory is what allows applications to run on your computer. The more memory you have the faster an application start. I have 4GB of Memory

Graphics Card(s)
A graphics card/cards allow the computer to display an image to a monitor and allow you to play games. Notice I have a NVIDIA 8600M GT 512MB

Sound Card(s)
A sound card/cards allow the computer to play sound. Notice I have an HD Audio Device

Screen Resolution
This is the output measurement of the image being displayed by your monitor. Mine is 1680*1050

Hard Drives
Hard Drives are the primary storage of the computer (think of how this relates to a stomach on a human being). This is where your documents/music/photos/videos are located. Notice mine is a Seagate 7200RPM 120GB

electrotune1200 · 15 Jun 2010

Filling out some of your specs can help us give you a more straight forward answer.

But I'm going to honestly say to stick towards 32 bit.

z32dave · 15 Jun 2010

Thankyou ryo, I've filled in all I can find on my 'system specs' and hope this will help to answer my question.

Cheers - Dave

electrotune1200 · 15 Jun 2010

Thank you for filling out your specs.

With the information you posted, you would be better off installing the 32 bit(x86) version of Windows 7.

fishnbanjo · 15 Jun 2010

Go to this page Windows 7 system requirements - Microsoft Windows

It gives the minimum requirements needed to run Windows 7 and has a compatibility test you can run on your PC.

I did not check your specifications for your laptop but am guessing it will run 32 bit, however, your hard drive is the show stopper being only a 30Gb drive, I would upgrade to a 100 or 120Gb drive if compatibility tests state it will work with your laptop.

Since there is no direct upgrade path from XP to Windows 7 you would need to do a clean installation so upgrading your hard drive at this time would make sense and you could purchase an external case to place our old drive in and attach it to you laptop to download any files you want.

si8mon · 15 Jun 2010

Run this Microsoft tool it will tell you whether your computer can run Windows 7 and if not what parts need upgrading. You will need a 32 bit Windows 7 because 64 bit needs a minimum of GB. Plus you will need a bigger hard drive.

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

z32dave · 15 Jun 2010

Thanks for the advice and information.

I now understand that I need the 32bit version of Windows 7 but
I am a bit frightened that the advice says I need to carry out a
'clean' installation. Can I do this by using Windows 7 upgrade or do
I need to buy something different?

Also I had some wrong info on my 'system specs' which I am now correcting
namely, I have 1GB memory NOT 2GB and my Hard Drive is 105GB NOT 30GB
as I first thought.............sorry.

Cheers - Dave

SinRival · 15 Jun 2010

An upgrade version, as far as I know (In which I'm pretty sure) will work by using a clean installination and using the product key provided. Just find the Pro upgrade version

To be on the safe side, if you have the money to spend I suggest upgrading to 2GB Of Memory as that can improve your hardware.

Hopefully, Windows 7 Will work out for you.

madtownidiot · 15 Jun 2010

I've installed windows 7 on several laptops like yours, and have never had a problem. 1gb of ram will work adequately for the 32bit version, but if you have $40-$50 to spare, definitely add more memory. One suggestion I would make is if you have a 4GB or larger flash drive, copy the files from your install disk to it, then use the flash drive to run a custom installation from inside your current version of windows. It will go much more quickly than if you boot from the dvd. You will end up with a windows.old file that you should move to a backup location after the install. Don't activate windows right away. Instead use it for a few days, make sure you have everything backed up somewhere other than your system partition, then once you're sure it's working fine, go ahead and reinstall, booting from the DVD and reformatting your HDD.. good luck.

Your computer will support the 64 bit version, but I wouldn't recommend installing it unless you're going to upgrade the RAM to at least 3 GB.