Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit installing 32-bit on my Dell Lattitude E4300

I just bought a used Dell Latitude E4300 which contains an Intel Core 2 Duo P9400 2.4GHz 64-bit processor and every time I install my copy of Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, it installs the 32-bit version.

I have been searching for the last 24 hours online for any issues with Windows 7 64-bit and the Latitude E4300 but cannot find anything helpful for my situation; in fact I have found a couple of sites where people have installed the 64-bit version of Win 7 on thier Latitude and they are having other issues.

I have 8GB of memory in the laptop I would like to be able to utilize, but the system type says it is a 32-bit operating system.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The Intel Processor Identifier utility says it is indeed a 64-bit processor so I am unsure why Windows 7 keeps installing the 32-bit version:

Intel(R) Processor Identification Utility
Version: 4.41.20111201
Time Stamp: 2012/03/03 06:10:29
Operating System: 6.1-7600-
Number of processors in system: 1
Current processor: #1
Active cores per processor: 2
Disabled cores per processor: 0
Processor Name: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU P9400 @ 2.40GHz
Type: 0
Family: 6
Model: 17
Stepping: 6
Revision: 610
Maximum CPUID Level: A
L1 Instruction Cache: 2 x 32 KB
L1 Data Cache: 2 x 32 KB
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Packaging: µFCPGA/µFCBGA
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep(R) Technology: Yes
MMX(TM): Yes
Intel(R) SSE: Yes
Intel(R) SSE2: Yes
Intel(R) SSE3: Yes
Intel(R) SSE4: Yes
Intel(R) AES-NI: No
Intel(R) AVX: No
Enhanced Halt State: No
Execute Disable Bit: Yes
Intel(R) Hyper-Threading Technology: No
Intel(R) 64 Architecture: Yes
Intel(R) Virtualization Technology: Yes
Expected Processor Frequency: 2.40 GHz
Reported Processor Frequency: 0.61 GHz
Expected System Bus Frequency: 1066 MHz
Reported System Bus Frequency: 412 MHz

Thanks for the reply Culberti.

I have a Dell Operating System Reinstallation DVD which is labeled Windows (R) 7 Ultimate 64-Bit. Is there a way to tell whether it truly is what it says it is? Is there an MD5 hash for the 64-bit versus the 32-bit I can check against a file or files on the DVD? I am at a loss. I thought I had all my ducks in a row when I purchased the laptop and dvd. The laptop came with Vista Business 32-bit installed but I wanted 64-bit Win 7 to take advantage of the extra ram so I bought it separately.

Here is the latest official Win7 install ISO with SP1:
http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-59465.iso Windows 7 Ultimate x64 English

Burn to DVD or write to flash stick using:
Windows 7 USB-DVD Download Tool

Follow these steps to get a perfect Clean Reinstall Windows 7 Factory OEM

Thanks gregrocker I will give that a try and let you all know how it goes.

Have you ever installed YOUR COPY on anything else ? That`s really the only way to know for sure. Just download and burn the Iso as Greg says.

You do know your gonna need a key. The key on your laptop will be for Vista, that is if you can even read it.

He has a Dell Operating System Reinstallation DVD.

Did Dell sell you a Win7 Reinstallation disk for a Vista computer?

Is this an Upgrade version copy of Win7?

Is there a Product Key with it?

cluberti said:

.....The thing is, Dell "reinstallation" DVDs are just Microsoft DVDs in most cases - they don't even have token activation or drivers inside... .

I beg to differ.

Just about a month or two back DELL India sent me the OEM Reinstall Disk (not the Recovery Disk) -Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit - for my DELL Inspiron 1120 (M 101Z) netbook.

With a clean install it auto-activated confirming that it has the token activation built-in.( I have checked the OEM-SLP key too after the clean install. Tallies with what I had backed up earlier.) It was also heavy at 5.74 GB. The reason as I found out was it is a multilanguage pack.