Windows 7 32 64 Dual Boot

Night Hawk · 22 Oct 2010

When you look at the system information the 32bit still shows an 8gb total while 4gb is the max for the 32bit kernel to start with. Some of that ends up as memory addresses being mapped out to hardwares whether you have 4gb or 40gb.

That is expected for the 32bit Windows however not the 64bit. With 6gb installed you should be seeing the 6gb total with a certain amount lower available once you have a look in the performance tab of the task manager to see how much ram is used while the system is idle.

The only other reason for Windows not reporting the full 6gb as the total would be a bad dimm or slot if everything else seems to be running normally there. The initial post screen when not having the Gigabyte factory logo screen option enabled in the bios will show the total physical memory installed when first powering up or seeing a full restart.

If the logo screen is enabled you can disable that in the Advanced section's options in the bios setup and watch the total count. If you don't see 6gb indicated that would certainly point out a problem.

mjf · 22 Oct 2010

Actually I always thought the licensing was for either 32bit or 64 bit but not both and the reason for providing the 2 was for distribution convenience.

gregrocker · 22 Oct 2010

mjf said:

Actually I always thought the licensing was for either 32bit or 64 bit but not both and the reason for providing the 2 was for distribution convenience.

Correct: One installation at a time.

You get one license with two disks: use either, but only one at a time.

Night Hawk · 22 Oct 2010

The licensing for the home user would be one machine per product key while volume licenses for multiple systems using the same key are purchased separately. There's no restrictions on how many times you can install Windows on the same system however or whether you run one or both(32, 64bit) as long as you are abiding by the terms of the license agreement.

The 32bit saw an instant activation being installed on the second drive since the activation process keeps a record of the hardware profile from the previous 64bit install. Yes there's an automatic record of that made by MS in order to prevent other things! and why the 32bit install just seen had no activation problems.

As for the convenience of having both disks included if you have 32bit only programs or lack hardware support typical with older hardwares for the 64bit Windows you run the 32bit. This allows you to try both out when first getting 7 as well. If you end being unsure on which to stay with at first... https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...-120-days.html

mjf · 22 Oct 2010

Probably dragging out the issue past it's use by date:
How many computers can you install Windows 7 on?

Back to the core reason for wanting to do this - I think you may find 32 bit as well as 64 bit Windows 7 will have problems running 16 bit applications. You may need to run XP mode anyway.

Night Hawk · 23 Oct 2010

Windows 7 in Microsoft Volume Licensing