Upgrading to 64-bit Win 7 Pro from 32-bit Vista Home Premium?

[BiddlyWiddly]

Hi all!

***First up, mods - if this is in the wrong sub-forum, please move! I wasn't sure the best place to post up ***

Admittedly I feel a little late to the party with Windows 7 (what with 8 being on the horizon) but after several years (!) of plugging away with Vista Home Premium on my laptop (used every day for work), I'm at the point where I need to update it.

Don't have the money to replace it outright, and it's also recently had a new HDD and RAM upgrade, so I'm exploring the possibility of finally upgrading to Win 7 (particularly seeing as mainstream support of Vista has now finished).

From what I understand, a clean install of Win 7 is probably better than an update over Vista (and I am happy to do a clean install as I have all programs and everything backed up), but the one thing I am unsure of is whether I can jump to 64-bit Win 7 Professional with the hardware specs of my machine.

The laptop is an Acer 5103WLMi with the following spec (from System Information):

Processor: AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-52, 1600 MHz, 2 Cores, 2 Logical Processors
BIOS: Acer V2.70, 07/12/2006

The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor report seems to indicate that upgrading to 64-bit is possible on a custom install, but the IT tech I spoke to at work says that because System Information lists the System Type as 'X86-based PC' that it can only use a 32-bit version of Windows. Is that correct?

 

[archer]

Hello BiddlyWiddly, Welcome to Sevenforums.

If your processor is a 64Bit, then without any doubts it can run win7 64 bit. And I am pretty sure your processor is a 64bit.

for reference, please see this

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2944

 

[Dave76]

Welcome to Seven Forums.

Aspire 5100 Series Specifications

Processor / Speed AMD Turion™ 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-50 (1.6 GHz, 2x 256 KB L2 cache) or Turion 64 MK-36 (512 KB L2 cache) featuring: Dual-core processing, Simultaneous 32- and 64-bit Windows®-compatible support, AMD PowerNow!™, AMD HyperTransport™, Enhanced Virus Protection and 3DNow!™ Professional technology

Mobile AMD Turion™ Processors
Click on 'Product Brief' near the bottom.

Simultaneous 32- and 64-bit performance, designed to
be compatible with the next generation 64-bit Windows
operating system, Microsoft Windows Vista

Looks like it is 64bit capable.

 

[bobkn]

A clean install of an OS is best. In going from 32 bit to 64, it's also the only path permitted. (An upgrade-in-place is not supported.) Also, Microsoft does not permit an upgrade-in-place from Vista Home Premium to Win 7 Pro, even at the same bit depth. (A Custom installation is permitted.)

Your CPU supports 64 bit instructions. The "X86-based PC" is reported from a 32 bit OS, regardless of the capabilities of the hardware.

It appears that Acer doesn't offer any 64 bit drivers for the notebook. That may make going to Win7 awkward, especially if any of the hardware (like the graphics) requires a custom installer. I expect that it will be possible, but it may require more effort.