New PC and moving from W7 32bit to 64bit

Hello,

I am soon to be building a new computer. At the moment I'm using a pre-built Dell, the specs of which you can view in my profile.

My Dell came with Vista, but the system has been upgraded to Windows 7 32bit using an upgrade disc.

My new system will be much more powerful, so I'm looking to be using Windows 7 64bit. If my understanding is correct, you can't upgrade to 64bit -- it has to be a clean install.

Will I have to install Windows Vista first (of which I have on a disc from Dell) and then use the W7 upgrade disc? Or can I just use the W7 disc off the bat?

I'm wondering if my copy of Windows Vista is tied to the motherboard (which is being replaced), in which case I might run into some problems if just solely using the W7 upgrade isn't possible?

If clean install of W7 64bit is possible, how do I go about doing a clean install?

And what data will I lose in doing a clean OS install? System customisations, user accounts and things like that?

Thanks in advance for all the help.

Look over these steps for a perfect Clean Reinstall Windows 7 and ask back any questions you have.

When you boot the Win7 64 bit installer if it doesn't see another OS on the drive it may reject Upgrade key, so install without the key and then afterward do the quick Option 3 registry workaround in Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version provided as a courtesy by MS so consumers don't need to reinstall the qualifying OS too.

gregrocker said:

Look over these steps for a perfect Clean Reinstall Windows 7 and ask back any questions you have.

When you boot the Win7 64 bit installer if it doesn't see another OS on the drive it may reject Upgrade key, so install without the key and then afterward do the quick Option 3 registry workaround in Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version provided as a courtesy by MS so consumers don't need to reinstall the qualifying OS too.

Thanks for the response and those links. They look super helpful.

It was my understanding that a factory reset is different from a clean OS install. Is it possible to do a clean install of the OS, but still retain all system data, installed programs, etc?

A factory reset is different from a clean install.

You have to do a clean install if you want to move from 32 bit to 64 bit.

You will have to reinstall all programs.

So back up anything important--personal data files, bookmarks, email, etc.

ignatzatsonic said:

A factory reset is different from a clean install.

You have to do a clean install if you want to move from 32 bit to 64 bit.

You will have to reinstall all programs.

So back up anything important--personal data files, bookmarks, email, etc.

Thanks for that confirmation.

To be clear, backing up personal data, bookmarks, email etc is just a precaution. If the transition is successful, that data should remain after the OS install?

YouAndI said:

To be clear, backing up personal data, bookmarks, email etc is just a precaution. If the transition is successful, that data should remain after the OS install?

Totally wrong. NO!!!

If you do a clean install, each and EVERY thing on the hard drive will be gone, lost , goodbye, PERMANENTLY.

If you don't care about anything on the drive, then don't back it up. Up to you.

The general procedure would be:

Before you begin, go to your motherboard or PC manufacturer's web site and download the "NIC" driver aka "Ethernet" driver for your specific model. Put it on a USB thumb drive or a CD. This is normally supplied by Windows, but do this as a precaution in case Windows does not supply it.

Then disconnect all other hard drives and everything external except monitor, mouse, and keyboard.

Then boot from your installation disc and proceed to the point where you are asked "where do you want to install Windows?".

At that point, delete ALL partitions so the drive appears as 100 percent "unallocated space".

Then continue. Windows will delete all partitions and create the new necessary partitions and format them. You will go through several reboots.

Then reinstall your anti-virus and anti-malware applications.

Then go to Windows Update and get all critical and important updates, probably in several stages (batches) rather than all at once.

When that's finished, copy your data back to desired location from your backup and continue installing your applications and configuring the machine as you wish.

That's why I linked for you the tutorial to Clean Reinstall Windows 7, to answer those questions. Perhaps you should actually read it?

Over 1.4 million consumers have followed that tutorial and have the best install of Win7 possible. Not a single one has returned here with problems who stick with the tools and methods given. But you have to read it first.

gregrocker said:

That's why I linked for you the tutorial to Clean Reinstall Windows 7, to answer those questions. Perhaps you should actually read it?

Over 1.4 million consumers have followed that tutorial and have the best install of Win7 possible. Not a single one has returned here with problems who stick with the tools and methods given. But you have to read it first.

I input my W7 upgrade key here: Microsoft Software Recovery

But get the following message:

Error
We encountered a problem with the validation request. Please assure your product key is for a product supported by this site and was entered correctly, then try your request again.

Which alternative method from your guide do you think will be best for me?

Thanks.

Unfortunately I've not found anyone that can get that site to work yet, even though it supposedly was the official replacement for the Digital River downloads we relied upon so much here.

So try one of the other options. Did your Dell come with the Upgrade Kit from Vista or did you buy a retail copy of Win7 UPgrade? What is the licensed version? I may loan you mine if you can't find one.

gregrocker said:

Unfortunately I've not found anyone that can get that site to work yet, even though it supposedly was the official replacement for the Digital River downloads we relied upon so much here.

So try one of the other options. Did your Dell come with the Upgrade Kit from Vista or did you buy a retail copy of Win7 UPgrade? What is the licensed version? I may loan you mine if you can't find one.

I have a copy of Windows Vista which came with my Dell machine and is on a Dell disc.

I also have a 'family pack' of Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade. I bought this separately.

I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean by "what is the licensed version". Please could you clarify?

Thanks for your help!