Upgrade from Windows 7 32bit RC1 to Windows 7 64bit

sirdizzle said:

hmmm... my laptop didn't come with a CD... the hard drive was originally partitioned with recovery data on one partition. I also made "optional" recovery discs, just to be safe, so i'm pretty sure that the actual process is not going to be a problem.

The only thing i'm worried about is given my situation, if I would be able to do a clean install to a 64bit version using the upgrade disc that will come out in a few months.

Seems like you're saying that its definitely doable.

Thanks!

I have a Lenovo notebook that also did not come with an installation disk. However, even though people keep talking about needing the original installation disk to use the upgrade disk, I believe what you really will need is the original Vista or XP installation KEY, which you should have somewhere. Mine's on a sticker on the bottom of the notebook.

Snuffy said:

The answer to this post was the very first answer..

YOU CAN NOT UPGRADE FROM X86 (32B) TO X64 (64B).

yes, you can clean install from a UPGRADE DISK.

To find out if your system is x64 ready. run the Win7 Upgrade advisor or insert any x64 disk and see what it say..

Snuffy's right - you can install with the upgrade disk but will need to do a clean install.

You can see if your computer supports x64 by looking in the Windows Experience Index details. There may be a field that says "64-bit capable" and a Yes/No beside it. I can't post a screenshot because I'm running x64 right now and that field won't be in the details.

l337 said:

I looked at the other thread what the hell is MS Doing, and I saw the link you posted. The guy says when you put the disc in while you are in vista or xp, but what I am saying is that you boot from the disc and do a clean install and upgrade that, that should work.

Why do you think that will work? Everything I keep reading and posting says that you have to "upgrade" an "activated" copy of a previous operating system. This would seem to indicate that you cannot do the double install trick without entering a key the first time....because without the key you cannot activate it. Unless you have the full install version of the disc, I think you are going to have to have an installed and activated OS on your computer in order to upgrade or do a custom "clean" install.