Solved Change Windows 7 32 bit to 64 bit

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caleb97

New member
I installed Windows 7 on my Toshiba A210-1C4 laptop back in April. I installed the 32 bit version as I only have 2GB of RAM but now I am thinking of upgrading the RAM to 4GB.

If I do upgrade the RAM then I have read that 32 bit Windows won't be able to utilise it all, meaning that I need 64 bit to use the full 4GB.

What I need to know is that if I have already installed Windows 7 32 bit, can I reinstall Windows 7 but use the 64 bit version instead?

Thanks in advance!
 

My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Toshiba Equium A210-1C4 Laptop
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit SP1
CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK-57
Motherboard
AMD SB600
Memory
2GB (1GBx2) DDR2 PC2-5300 SO-DIMM
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Radeon X1200
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
15.4" Toshiba TruBrite Laptop LCD Display
Screen Resolution
1280 x 800
Hard Drives
80GB Hitachi TravelStar 5K250/
1TB Western Digital Elements USB
Case
Toshiba A200 Series
Mouse
Microsoft Comfort 500 Optical Mouse
Internet Speed
3.5 Mbps Download/0.6 Mbps Upload
Other Info
Avast! Free Antivirus
Microsoft Office 2010
Hi there
32 bit is fine for up to 4GB RAM - however the future is 64 bit.

Your laptop if it has DDR3 type memory should be upgradeable to 8GB RAM. The price of RAM would make this a worthwhile option if you do things like Photoshop or run Virtual machines.

Si in your position I'd go for 2 X 4GB memory modules and then install 64 bit Windows. If you have the retail version of W7 the 64 bit version will work with the same key but you will have to do a "New" install.

This is a good reason why you should keep OS and apps on ONE partition and all your data on other partition(s) or disks.

Then a new install won't destroy your data.

cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom built, several laptops HP/ASUS
OS
Linux CENTOS 7 / various Windows OS'es and servers
CPU
Intel i7 Intel i5
Memory
8GB, 16GB
Graphics Card(s)
On Motherboard
Sound Card
Realtek HD audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Apple Cinema display, Samsung LCD
Screen Resolution
1920 X 1080
Hard Drives
4 X 1TB SATA
Mouse
Toshiba wireless laser
Internet Speed
> 20MB up
jimbo45 said:
Hi there
32 bit is fine for up to 4GB RAM - however the future is 64 bit.

Your laptop if it has DDR3 type memory should be upgradeable to 8GB RAM. The price of RAM would make this a worthwhile option if you do things like Photoshop or run Virtual machines.

Si in your position I'd go for 2 X 4GB memory modules and then install 64 bit Windows. If you have the retail version of W7 the 64 bit version will work with the same key but you will have to do a "New" install.

This is a good reason why you should keep OS and apps on ONE partition and all your data on other partition(s) or disks.

Then a new install won't destroy your data.

cheers
jimbo
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply!

After running the Crucial System scanner, it appears that my laptop uses DDR2 memory and that the maximum I can install is 4GB.

So if I only install 4GB of RAM, are there any more benefits of choosing 64 bit?
 

My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Toshiba Equium A210-1C4 Laptop
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit SP1
CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK-57
Motherboard
AMD SB600
Memory
2GB (1GBx2) DDR2 PC2-5300 SO-DIMM
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Radeon X1200
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
15.4" Toshiba TruBrite Laptop LCD Display
Screen Resolution
1280 x 800
Hard Drives
80GB Hitachi TravelStar 5K250/
1TB Western Digital Elements USB
Case
Toshiba A200 Series
Mouse
Microsoft Comfort 500 Optical Mouse
Internet Speed
3.5 Mbps Download/0.6 Mbps Upload
Other Info
Avast! Free Antivirus
Microsoft Office 2010
With 4GB and Windows 32-bit, you'll probably have no more than 3.25GB actually available to you. With 64-bit you would see the full 4GB. That's advantage #1.

#2 is that applications running under 64-bit are assigned a virtual address space of 4GB each, whereas in 32-bit they're limited to 2GB (unless you use the /increaseuserva option in bcdedit). (Note: such programs must be LAA aware, that is, compiled with the "large address aware" bit set on.)

For demanding apps this can be a real boon as they won't crash or otherwise bomb out if they need more than 2GB.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom-built
OS
Windows 7 Professional SP1 32-bit
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz
Motherboard
Asus PL5D2
Memory
4GB DDR2-667 (4x1GB in dual-channel config)
Graphics Card(s)
nVidia GeForce 9800 GT
Sound Card
Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic
Monitor(s) Displays
Acer P236H
Screen Resolution
1920x1200 (DVI)
Hard Drives
OCZ SSD Vertex Plus 60GB SATA (Firmware 3.55), 64MB cache
Hitachi HD321KJ SATA, 320GB, 7200rpm, 16MB cache
PSU
Antec TruePower 2.0
Case
Cooler Master Centurion
Cooling
Too many fans
Keyboard
Standard
Mouse
Microsoft wireless optical mouse
Internet Speed
AT&T U-verse (18mbit/sec)
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials
Browser
Firefox
Other Info
Other devices:
Compaq CQ-60 laptop
Google Nexus 7 (2012) tablet
Nvidia SHIELD tablet (US/LTE)
Hardkernel ODROID-XU single-board computer (Samsung Exynos 5420)
Your product code is good for 32 bit or 64 bit so you should have no problem doing a clean install with the 64 bit media and activating. I'd download all your required 64 bit drivers before you start the re-install.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home Built
OS
Windows 10 Education 64 bit
CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
Motherboard
Asus M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
Memory
8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
Graphics Card(s)
Zotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Sound Card
VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
Screen Resolution
1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
Hard Drives
Crucial M100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
PSU
Thermaltake TR 620
Case
Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
Cooling
Stock heatsink and fan
Keyboard
Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
Mouse
Logitech Wireless M570 Trackman Wheel
Internet Speed
80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Browser
Internet Explorer 11
Other Info
HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Thanks for your help Corazon and alphanumeric! This information is very useful to me.
 

My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Toshiba Equium A210-1C4 Laptop
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit SP1
CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK-57
Motherboard
AMD SB600
Memory
2GB (1GBx2) DDR2 PC2-5300 SO-DIMM
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Radeon X1200
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
15.4" Toshiba TruBrite Laptop LCD Display
Screen Resolution
1280 x 800
Hard Drives
80GB Hitachi TravelStar 5K250/
1TB Western Digital Elements USB
Case
Toshiba A200 Series
Mouse
Microsoft Comfort 500 Optical Mouse
Internet Speed
3.5 Mbps Download/0.6 Mbps Upload
Other Info
Avast! Free Antivirus
Microsoft Office 2010
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