upgrade of software from 32 to 64 bit compatible version

chaitanya051 · 11 Nov 2010

Hey all,
I have a scenario.
Say, I have a machine with win7 64 bit installed on it.
As we all know a few software donot have 64 bit versions as yet, so say im now using a 32 bit version of a software xyz. lets call the version v1.
now say, we have newer version available for xyz which goes by the name v2.
now v2 is prepared to support 64 bit and I d obviously want to have that on my machine.
So, if I try to install v2 on my machine , what will happen???
Will v1 cease to exist and get upgraded to v2??
or will a seperate installation happen for v2 with all the corresponding files copied to a newer folder, say C:\\programfile\x64???
Will v1 and v2 coexist?

I would also like to know about the registries, whether they would be any different from the 32 bit ones!

Please answer

Thanks in advance!!

Bill2 · 11 Nov 2010

1) On 32-bit Windows, programs are installed by default into a system folder called Program Files, while OS components and shared libraries are installed into the System32 folder. On 64-bit Windows, apart from the regular Program Files folder, there is a Program Files (x86) folder for 32-bit apps. Also, in addition to the System32 folder, there is a SysWOW64 folder. Somewhat ironically, 64-bit OS components and shared libraries go into the System32 folder, while 32-bit ones go into the SysWOW64 folder.

This arrangement lets 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the same apps to be installed side-by-side on the 64-bit OS without overwriting one another’s files or accessing the wrong versions of the same library.

Registry keys specific to 32-bit apps are stored in a branch under the following key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\WOW6432Node.

2) Now, how exactly your particular app behaves would vary from app to app, depending on how each app is designed. E.g. 64 bit win7 has both 32 bit and 64 bit versions of IE8. By default, the 32 bit IE8 runs when you launch IE from locations like the taskbar or a hyperlink.

OTOH, AFAIK, 32 bit Office cannot co-exist with 64 bit. Of course, this may be by design because MS recommends that, for now, customers use the 32-bit version of Office since many of the common Office Add-ins will not run in the 64-bit Office environment.

So, basically I can think of 3 scenarios- one where the 64 bit app would refuse to install if the 32 bit version was already installed, two if it installed there would be conflicts/crashes, and three where both co-exist peacefully.

chaitanya051 · 11 Nov 2010

Thanks a bunch Bill
That more than answers my question
appreciate it