Win7 32bit to 64bit

Hi All
I have purchased 8gb of ram upgrade to help speed up my home video work. I am currently running Win7 Home Premium in 32bit mode. I have read that 64bit handles larger ram over 4gb better.

It appears from what I have read that if I install 64bit from my existing disk it will do a clean start and wipe out all the existing installation. I want to avoid doing that a back up never seems to catch everthing and it can be a real pain setting it all up again.

SO if I purchase Win Ultimate Upgrade can I install it using the 64bit option without wiping out all my files?

OR is there any other way of doing it?

Thanks for any advise offered.

Ken Davison said:

Hi All
I have purchased 8gb of ram upgrade to help speed up my home video work. I am currently running Win7 Home Premium in 32bit mode. I have read that 64bit handles larger ram over 4gb better.

It appears from what I have read that if I install 64bit from my existing disk it will do a clean start and wipe out all the existing installation. I want to avoid doing that a back up never seems to catch everthing and it can be a real pain setting it all up again.

SO if I purchase Win Ultimate Upgrade can I install it using the 64bit option without wiping out all my files?

OR is there any other way of doing it?

Thanks for any advise offered.

No. When you go from 32bit to 64 you must do a clean install.

You can not upgrade 32bit to 64bit without doing a clean install.

zigzag3143 said:

Ken Davison said:

Hi All
I have purchased 8gb of ram upgrade to help speed up my home video work. I am currently running Win7 Home Premium in 32bit mode. I have read that 64bit handles larger ram over 4gb better.

It appears from what I have read that if I install 64bit from my existing disk it will do a clean start and wipe out all the existing installation. I want to avoid doing that a back up never seems to catch everthing and it can be a real pain setting it all up again.

SO if I purchase Win Ultimate Upgrade can I install it using the 64bit option without wiping out all my files?

OR is there any other way of doing it?

Thanks for any advise offered.

No. When you go from 32bit to 64 you must do a clean install.

Thanks for a swift clear answer, not sure it was the one I wanted but I can live with it.

What is your opinion on remaining with the 32bit ver using the 8gb ram ?

Looks as if I will have to bite the bullet, in the past I have always had those little nigs with backup, I use Incredimail and store a rake of information in folders, receipts and other important stuff. Must try to find a way of backing that up safely.

Thanks for advise. Ken

You would also have to make sure that your processor architechture is the right size to handle the 64bit OS. If it is only a 32 bit processor then it can only handle the 32bit OS. That is my problem. I wanted to upgrade to professional x64 but had to do x86 because of my processor.

I have an amd phenom tm 9450e which is aimed at 64bit so that is ok, I am now sorting through required software for reloading.