32- 64 bit with Anytime Upgrades

I recently purchased a laptop that is only availible with windows vista business. I also am going to use 4 gb of ram and I have learned that to fully use all of the ram I would need a 64-bit version of windows only available with vista ultimate. Would it be possible to upgrade from the 32 bit vista business to the 64 bit version of vista ultimate with Windows Anytime Upgrades? Thanks

 

You cannot directly upgrade from a 32bit version to a 64bit version. A clean install will be necessary. The upgrade DVD is the same as any Vista DVD and so you can install it if you have the correct product key for Ultimate.

BTW all versions of Vista are available in both 64bit as well as 32bit flavors. 64bit is not limited to just Ultimate.

 

Correct, all versions come in 64 bit. Clean install necessary. I'm using 32bit vista right now, but on my old laptop I used Vista Ult 64. The 64 bit version ran great and quick, but drivers were a bit problematic sometimes. But that is getting better all the time.

 

Plus to future proof your laptop you might want to get 64bit anyway if the drivers put you off.

 

So this means that if I buy the Anytime upgrade from vista 32 bit to vista ultimate and buy the 64 bit disk I can do a clean install and the keys will work?

 

So if you're running the OEM version of Business, you can use the anytime upgrade to get Vista Ultimate but if you select the 64 bit system, does that dvd they give you include both the 32 and 64 bit versions to do a clean install?

Curious because I'm looking to do the same but I found this on Microsoft's site:
"Windows Anytime Upgrade discs are available in 32 and 64-bit.
Note: Your upgrade disc must match the current system type of the computer you want to upgrade. 32-bit upgrades are only valid for 32-bit systems and 64-bit upgrades are only valid for 64-bit systems."

To me that reads, you can only upgrade to 32 bit from 32 bit or 64 bit to 64 bit as in they wont ship you the disc for a clean install. Am I interpreting that the right way?


Some responses in this older thread seem to confirm what I'm saying: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=118169

 

There are 2 vista discs, 32bit and 64bit. Each of them has ALL versions of vista, from home basic to ultimate. If you want to install 64bit, then you need the 64bit disc.

@coolfilmaker: I don't think this has been made clear. You do NOT need Ultimate to run 64bit Vista. You can run 64bit Vista Business with no problems, without buying a new license. All you need is the anytime upgrade disc, which is less than $10. Just make sure you get the 64bit one. See the Clean Install Guide in my sig for more information.

You do however have to do a clean install, because you cannot upgrade 32bit to 64bit... only clean install it.

 

Since this is a thread about upgrading to 64bit, i have a laptop that is pre-installed with Vista ultimate 32bit with an OEM key i think. And i am wondering whether i have to purchase a new vista ultimate and have new cd key or i can just use the upgrade DVD and use my OEM key?

Thanks for any replies.

 

No, you do not have to purchase a license for it, as long as you are installing the same edition of vista (premium, ultimate). The 32 bit key will work fine on the 64bit install.

 

thanks for the reply orev, do you know where i can get a x64 version of vista ultimate? or should i just download the iso and install it using my own license?

Sorry if any rules are broken >_<

edit - would i need the retail or OEM edition of the vista?

 

The DVD is the same for OEM and retail.
You can just buy the disc, without downloading. It's 5 - 10$.

 

Take a look at the Clean Install Guide in my sig. There's information there on the differences between the discs, and how to get them for less than $10 (check the f-a-q). Downloads can be suspect because you don't know if the image has been modified with additional software.

edit - any 64bit disc will do, they are all the same.

 

Thanks for the quick answer =).