Can you easily upgrade from W10 32-bit to 64-bit?

Forums › Microsoft Windows › Can you easily upgrade from W10 32-bit to 64-bit?

kiwifidget

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#189529 3-Jan-2016 11:38

The title says it all really.
I have an HP Probook 4525s laptop running Win7Pro-32bit.
I'm currently upgrading it to W10-32bit.
I notice it only has 2GB of RAM and would upgrade it to 4GB if these 2 conditions can be met :

1. The laptop is 64-bit compatible, and I think it is.
2. I can upgrade from 32-bit to 64-bit without paying for a new license.

Am I pushing the proverbial uphill here or is it a bit of a cake-walk?

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Batman

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#1460559 3-Jan-2016 11:45

There are many layers of answers

1. You cannot "upgrade" from 32 - 64 bit. You need to reinstall the OS from scratch.
2. You do not need a new licence. BUT ... you need the 64-bit installation media.
3. Plus a bit of head scratching to get MS to accept your "key" (no drama but there are a few hiccups and need to trial and error from my experience thanks to UEFI)

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#1460560 3-Jan-2016 11:48

Ah re-read your post. The best way is to install Win 7 64 bit. Then activate it. Then upgrade to Win 10. As your computer is win 7 there is no UEFI, and your key is linked to your HP BIOS so it's less hassle.

kiwifidget

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#1460562 3-Jan-2016 11:55

joker97: Ah re-read your post. The best way is to install Win 7 64 bit. Then activate it. Then upgrade to Win 10. As your computer is win 7 there is no UEFI, and your key is linked to your HP BIOS so it's less hassle.

That makes sense.
But I've already started the W10-32 upgrade.
Its probably easier now to roll it back when its done and then do what you suggested.

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#1460564 3-Jan-2016 12:01

There's no point rolling it back. You need to install windows 7 64 OVER your current system.

There IS a way to "test" it - partition your drive and install Win 7 64 on that partition and try to activate it.

robjg63

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#1460566 3-Jan-2016 12:07

I understand that w10 32 bit is ok with memory up to 4GB - so if you are considering going from 2GB to 4GB then you would still be ok with 32bit.

If you were trying to exceed 4GB then that would be a waste on 32bit windows.

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toyonut

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#1460584 3-Jan-2016 12:55

Generally with 32 bit you get about 3.5GB available so you lose a bit, but not much of your 4gb. Since windows 10 10586 (current version), you can activate using valid windows 7 and 8 keys. Just download the media and put your key in during install. Works fine. Just did it on my desktop and it worked perfectly. Plenty of guides on getting the windows 10 media. If you are on windows, just download the media creation tool. I was on linux and the page just gave me an ISO which covers home and pro depending on the key. I just used the x64 download.

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coffeebaron

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#1460613 3-Jan-2016 14:42

Complete the upgrade to Win 10 32bit. Then...
Full fresh install Win 10 64bit, including blowing away all drive partitions & format. Or install to a fresh SSD drive.

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#1460756 3-Jan-2016 19:41

How true ... Win 10 doesn't use uefi ... What junk was i going on about!

jhsol

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#1465885 8-Jan-2016 13:25

joker97: How true ... Win 10 doesn't use uefi ... What junk was i going on about!

- FYI Win Vista x64 & Win 7 x64 have the capability to support a UEFI installation.
- UEFI capability is determined via the Motherboard chipset and its BIOS setting.
- Win 8.1 and onwards supports UEFI installations on both x86 and x64 installs

coffeebaron: Complete the upgrade to Win 10 32bit. Then...
Full fresh install Win 10 64bit, including blowing away all drive partitions & format. Or install to a fresh SSD drive.

+1 What this guy said.