32bit key for 64bit??

Hi

my m1330 came with vista home premium 32 bit. and i want to try 64 edition.

so i followed orev's clean installation guide and download the any time upgrade disc from microsoft (digitalrivercontenet.net)
the installation was fine, except that i can't restore the activation..

my question is, does 32bit home premium product key works for 64bit home premium??? as far as i know i do not need the purchase a new 64bit home premium if i have a oem

 

OEM licenses, like yours...I do not think so. Retail copies are okay for either version.

 

Are you saying you tried using your 32bit key on the 64bit installation and it does not work? Just want to confirm. thanks

 

If you used Orev's ABR tool and backed up your 32bit OEM key and certificate, it SHOULD(and I have) have let you install the 64bit version and use the ABR tool to restore your key and certificate. Going from 32bit to 64bit is not an upgrade- it's more like a lateral. A new key is not needed as long as you go from 32bit home premium for example, to 64bit home premium....

 

Your key will work for 64 bit. Keys are not specific to 32 or 64 bit, they will work for either (as long as its the same flavor of vista).

 

the key should work for both versions. the problem for you is to get DVD x64 Vista since the one you have from Dell is x86 (32bit).
the licence key will (should) work, because as is said higher, going from 32 to 64bit edition is not an upgrade, just a different architecture of a system that you have already purchased. The problem is that USING your key from 32bit to 64bit if your 32bit is OEM is ILLEGAL.

 

hmm..

i selected the same version of vista (home premium). and the vista 64 disc is downloaded from digitalrivercontenet.net it's a original disc without product key, in theory it should works :S

 

you said you have?? so you have done what i'm doing now and it worked??

 

Let me try to help....

First off, if you use your 32bit key on your 64bit installation, IT IS LEGAL. I got this directly from Microsoft and will mention what they did to me. Your key is valid for a 32bit or 64bit system as long as there is only ONE key for one installation.

The only way you can activate your new 64bit system is to call them to activate and you have to activate by speaking to a rep. He/she will ask you the important question of how many systems this key is running on. You will then have to read to them the lengthy code and they will read to you the verification which you will type in.

Next, if it is an anytime upgrade, I don't believe it will work with the Dell supplied oem OS version; at least this used to be the case. The anytime upgrade is specifically designed for retail purchased versions and not for those supplied with systems; the reasoning for this is ofcourse money oriented where you never paid full price for your oem os so you shouldn't be entitled to a cheap upgrade.

Hope this helps...

 

The any time upgrade i mean is the disco, i m not upgrading my vista to other version of vista.

of course I'm only installing one key to one installation ( i have only the notebook)

ms did not offer sopport to oem product key :S

and the most important thing is.. i'm not from USA, i should call them anyway?? is there alternative way to talk to them?

and i found this.. http://www.vistax64.com/general-discussion/123800-install-64bit-32bit-key-same-computer.html#post583315

is it true what he said??

 

wow...sorry if I was spreadin misleading info then....but I read in many places that OEM is to be used only in the version that is supplied....sorry Les...

 

My OEM Dell key doesn't work on an anytime upgrade x64 disk.. Have no idea about other people...

 

HI, my conclusion is:

A OEM 32 bit product key will NOT work for a 64bit (even the same version of vista).

what's the proof? well, when I installed the x64 home premium the product ID (not product key) is like a retail ID xxxxx-xxx-xxxxxxx-xxxxx which all are numbers (that means a retail product ID) after a restored the activation using ABR, the product ID has changed to yyyyy-OEM-yyyyyyy-yyyyy (a OEM ID) so that means the activation restored successfully but vista still don't want to activate it because it's OEM, and like xBender said "OEM is to be used only in the version that is supplied"

so... 32bit again

 

xbender...just passing on what I learned in the process from Microsoft.

This is not advertised but there are versions available on the net even, win-beta was one once upon a time that works just fine. My first version was a win-beta download as it was publicly available and I then questioned Microsoft as I had to manually verify my number via phone with a Microsoft representative.

Its a simple process where your validation window will pop up, you call the number associated to your country, the rep asks you to rhyme of the numbers and he gives you a validation code to input in response.

If you have ANY worries whatsoever, ask this person and he will advise, most probably, as he did I. So long as you have one sticker with ID on one system, you can use it for the upgrade...no matter where the upgrade was obtained. The upgrade has to require you to use the same number as is on your sticker.

Through the last year, I have learned that the anytime upgrade will not work with OEM, whereas, other versions such as the win-beta did.

 

You are doing something wrong. I took the key directly off the bottom of my laptop when installing Vista 64, it took it and activated fine.

 

how really curious how this is going to turn out because Ill be doing exactly the same in a week or so, once my XPS will get in my hands (finally!!!) :-D then Ill definitely put up a post

 

really? do you have to call microsoft to actived it? did you just input the key at the button of ur laptop?

 

Yep, thats all you have to do.

 

ok, so this is a bit confusing...then, how do I get vista 64-bit? Don't I get it for free?

 

dam let me reinsntall my windows again :S hope it work like urs :S

 

WOWOWOW It works !! now I have my 64bit vista activated using 32bit product key that was easier than i thought lol

 

I was kind of confused by what you said on your first post on this thread. Did you say you BOUGHT vista 64-bit?

 

What x64 media did you use? I used the Anytime Upgrade DVD, and it did not work for me..

 

No, i did not buy a vista 64bit, and you don't have to if you have a ORIGINAL copy.

as the first post said, I downloaded the anytime upgrade dvd from digitalrivercontenet.net(microsoft marketplace), and it's a ORIGINAL dvd but without product key, like those 5$ anytime upgrade dvd sold at compUSA.

If you don't know what I'm talking about you can read orev's thread, he made a good explanation of these terminologies. and how to get those medias. if that helped you, you can also rep him

PD:

 

I have the 64 bit Vista image that is provided by my college. It is just a standard Vista 64 image.

 

Do you mean ORIGINAL copy of vista 32-bit?

 

Even if you have a legit 32 bit key/cd you still need to pay for the 64 bit disk.

 

THAT was the answer I was looking for! Even though I don't like it...thanks for answering. I guess I'll have to stick with 64-bit, I might change later

+rep

 

Hi all, I am about to upgrade to 64 bit vista as well, but a thought just occurred to me, will my warranty be voided by upgrading? I've read in a few forums that dell will refuse to help you with issues if you do not have the default OS installed, or is it just software only?

I've got Dell Care Plus, 2yrs xps premier service with 2yr complete cover.

Thanks

 

uhm, no, there are legal ways to get software for free. Payment is not necessary if the authorized distributor gives it to you Like I got tons of retail software like Vista Ultimate, Office 2007 pro, and didn't a penny for them.

 

u just need to pay for a standar x64 legit copy of vista for about 5$ they are just legit copy without product key.

or just download a copy

have a look this thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=240320