Dual Booting

My PC has a 32 bit version of Windows 7 installed. I have 2 hard drives. I would like to do a clean install to tidy and speed things up.

I also have a copy of Windows 7 64 bit.

Is it possible/practical to retain my current 32 bit OS on the C drive but do a fresh install of the 64 bit version on the Drive? Is there any advantage in doing this rather than just doing a clean install of the 64 bit version over the top of the 32 bit?

As part of the above, is there any gain in partitioning the drive that contains the operating system or is it a case of "You're either in to partitioning or you're not"?

Cheers, Simon

Is the "copy of Windows 7 64 bit" for the same license (just a different install disc)?
If you only have one license (for 1 PC) you should install 64 Bit over the 32 Bit with a clean install.
A single license allows for one Win 7 install - 32 Bit or 64 Bit, but not both at the same time.
If you have two licenses you can dual boot the 32 Bit and 64 Bit versions.
That would allow you to test things on one OS and always have a stable system with the other OS.
If you have 4GB or less RAM there may not be any advantage to changing to 64 Bit.
How much RAM do you have, and why do you want 64 Bit?

I prefer partitioning to keep the OS+Programs on one partition, and all user data on other partition(s).
It makes backup and restore much easier for me.
I can restore the "OS" partition and not lose any personal data.

Here's a good thread on Installation and Partitioning strategy.
An Old School Geek’s approach to Installing & Setting Up a Windows PC

Different licences.

Only 2GB.

Why 64 bit? I thought that as I was doing a clean install and I have a 64 bit copy then I might as well install that. Whilst I might not gain much I don't think I would lose anything - would I?

Thanks for the link re partitioning.

Incidentally, can I install 2 copies of 32 bit Windows 7? Can't think why I'd want to though.

As you have 2 licenses you can install the 64 Bit without a "licensing concern".
With 2 GB RAM I think you will find the 32 Bit performs as good if not better than the 64 Bit.

If the 64 Bit is an OEM license, it will be tied to the PC it is activated on, and can not be transferred to a different PC later.

In my experience 64 Bit uses more disk space than 32 Bit, if that is a concern for you to consider.
My 64 Bit OS's use apx. 10 GB more space than 32 Bit, after 3+ years...

No, I have 2 separate retail versions of Win 7 not OEM, not tied to any computer.

I guess that I am just looking for the easiest, and quickest, way of doing a clean install and thought that by 'dual booting' I could have a nice clean version, re-install all the software and when all was running okay just delete the old version.

Maybe I should just bite the bullet and clean install over the existing system I do have complete system backups- Macrium Reflect - so loss of data, drivers and settings shouldn't be a problem.

Well, with that, you should have no problem installing the 64 Bit while keeping you current 32 Bit OS installed "just in case".
If you do want to keep the 32 Bit intact, disconnect the 32 Bit HD before installing the 64 Bit on the other HD.
That way there will be no boot issues for either OS.
You would have to use the Bios boot selection screen to choose the "secondary" OS when you want to use it, but that's not difficult.

If you want to test 64 bit I would upgrade my RAM first. Then shrink C to create a new partition for install. Partition or Volume - Shrink

No more than four Primary partitions or you need to first convert non-bootable one to Logical to add an adjacent Logical. Do not convert the disk to Dynamic! If in doubt post back a screenshot of Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image - Windows 7 Help Forums

Install to new partition, test which one you prefer during the 30 days to activate, when you decide we will help you delete the old OS if preferred to Recover Space Used by an Older OS, or you can just delete the new one in Disk Mgmt. Partition or Volume - Delete