Solved Cant install 64bit even though my processor is 64bit capable.

[PaavoS]

Hey,

I have searched all over the internet and found no solution to my problem. But considering my situation I am sure there must be a solution so here goes.


Short story: My pc says its 64bit capable but it doesn't seem to be able to recognize any 64bit install disks. What should I do?

Long story: A while back I upgraded from vista to windows 7. When I did this I could choose between a 32bit and a 64bit installation. I tried 64bit but it said that was not possible on my computer (I cant remember the exact error message). I didn't make much of it and just installed 32bit. But now I need 64bit for the new adobe video editor. I don't have that first windows 7 install disk. But I since bought a new windows 7 Home Premium 64bit disk. When I insert this and start up the laptop it simply says: system disk error or non system disk.
It seems like my pc is not 64 bit capable and so cannot recognize the disk. But on my pc specs (you can check your specs somewhere) it says that my pc processor is 64bit capable.
I'm not sure what this means. Does this mean the processor is 64bit capable but the hard drive or motherboard is not?
All the hardware (except the battery and power cable) is still the original from when I bought the laptop (3 years ago) so it wouldn't make any sense to have a 64bit processor with an inferior motherboard/hard drive.

I don't know why my pc wont install 64bit. What should I do?

Things I've tried:
- I read somewhere if you have more than 2GB RAM that could be a problem. I have 4GB RAM. So I took out 2GB ram and then tried installing 64bit. This didnt work. The laptop wouldnt even start anymore until I add the 2gb ram back.
- Change the IPAC to enabled in the BIOS settings. It turns out I have a retarded BIOS (F.0A) without any advanced settings so that I can't change the IPAC. Whether the IPAC is currently on or off I don't know.

In Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor it says that I need 20gb free space for the installation of 64bit windows. My hard drive is 300GB but it is full atm. Is it worth deleting 20GB and then trying to install again? Surely this wont work because 64bit just erases everything anyway. And plus if that was the only problem then my pc would at least recognize the install disk but then say I have no space afterwards no?

I'm at a loss. Please help.

 

[pjhutch]

I would recommend at least 4 GB of RAM and at least 20GB of free Hard disk space. If your HDD is 20GB then I would consider getting a new hard disk to find Windows and any ADobe apps as they do considerably use up a lot of disk space.

 

[PaavoS]

I would recommend at least 4 GB of RAM and at least 20GB of free Hard disk space. If your HDD is 20GB then I would consider getting a new hard disk to find Windows and any ADobe apps as they do considerably use up a lot of disk space.

I'm sorry, I should clarify that.

I have 4GB RAM. My harddrive is full so I don't have 20GB free atm, but the total size is 300GB. I'll try make that clearer in the OP.

 

[gregrocker]

You must boot the installer to install Win7, not try to run it from Win7 32 bit. How to Boot your Computer from a Bootable CD or DVD. Back up your files first.

Reset the BIOS to defaults. WHile in BIOS setup set SATA controller to AHCI to try install, set DVD drive first to boot, Save changes and Exit BIOS setup. Reboot into DVD to try install. Are you prompted to Press Any Key to Boot Disk?

You also do not need to use another Product Key as you're entitled to use either 32- or 64-bit with each license. Save the new Product Key for another PC.

 

[Layback Bear]

Did I read correctly that the OP's hard drive is full?

 

[PaavoS]

You must boot the installer to install Win7, not try to run it from Win7 32 bit. How to Boot your Computer from a Bootable CD or DVD. Back up your files first.

Reset the BIOS to defaults. WHile in BIOS setup set SATA controller to AHCI to try install, set DVD drive first to boot, Save changes and Exit BIOS setup. Reboot into DVD to try install. Are you prompted to Press Any Key to Boot Disk?

You also do not need to use another Product Key as you're entitled to use either 32- or 64-bit with each license. Save the new Product Key for another PC.

Thanks a lot for the help, it works now!

I did have dvd as first boot option and I did try install 64bit from start up, not from my 32bit windows
I could not change my SATA controller. Apparently this is because I have F.0A, a simplified version of a BIOS that doesnt have any advanced settings.

But I could reset BIOS settings to default and after that it did work!

Thanks for the info, I'll let my bro use the new cdkey.

Everything works now, thanks a lot

 

[PaavoS]

Did I read correctly that the OP's hard drive is full?

Yeah. It is not 100% full though. I always keep a few gigs of space for updates and stuff. But I regularly have to remove a lot of stuff because my hard drive always gets full again.

 

[gregrocker]

Good work.

If there's nothing else you can mark the thread Solved when ready.