OEM 32 bit to 64 bit?

Hi All

Ive been looking at buying a laptop and most come with Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit but one I like the look of is advertised with Win 7 Professional 32 bit. If I were to buy the machine with 32 bit installed, could I legally reinstall this to 64 bit either using the OEM supplied (HP) media or by getting an OEM 64 bit OS installation CD, or would it be stuck at 32 bit?

This isnt an in place upgrade question, Id happily do a clean install, just need to know if the license covers both or not.

thanks
Chris

 

all you would need is the media and the same key works. only one computer, however.

 

Thanks, I assume I'd need HP branded OEM media to do that though because the key will be tied to HP hardware only, is that correct?

 

Incorrect.

License key in the COA sticker in the bottom of your laptop installs with normal OEM/Retail disc. That key is not specifically bound to any hardware.

If you use HP branded OEM disc, it should have HP generic key+certificate inside and it will install/activate only on HP hardware.

 

maybe try a search first next time.
Yeah i know, why do i mind, right? Because i see about 3 new threads with the same question daily.....and the answer is ALWAYS THE SAME.

 

Get out of bed on the wrong side did we?
I'm damned if I can find these 2-3 threads per day where it says you can swap from 32 bit to 64 bit OEM freely? I did a search both on here and on the net generally, lots about upgrading to Business / Pro / Ultimate, quite a bit about how retail versions come with both 32 bit and 64 bit, some about whether you can/can't in-place-upgrade a 32 bit OS to 64, but couldnt find anything about the OEM licensing situation when it's supplied with 32 bit.
Hey ho

 

really? try entering both 32 bit and 64 bit win 7....OEM or otherwise doesn't matter. You can even just download it illegaly as long as you've got a valid key. This was already the case with Vista and hasn't changed, there hasn't been a difference between an OEM key and a retail one in this matter.

 

This is illegal.

OEM licenses do not allow you to interchange between x86 and x64 editions. Your best course of action is consulting with HP for a x64 license.

 

I apologise if the answer to my exact question is out there somewhere but all the searches I did, including the one you suggest, either bring up 32/64bit comparisons or if they do mention licensing its when people have bought a full / upgrade license seperately to install on an existing machine, NOT when a new machine comes pre-installed with a particular flavour of Win 7 that you want to change.

Anyway, bored now. Thanks to everyone else for their assistance

 

The media will most likely NOT work - I had the issue with Vista 32 to 7 64, I had to make a Frankenstein list of media drivers from models with similar hardware but running a 64 BIT OS.

Not due to licensing issues...but hardware compatibility.
Then again...it is a NEW computer you're looking at.

Licensing will NOT work, I can tell you that. The key cannot be used for any other edition besides the exact one you're running.

 

If it was anything like Vista, the product key will most likely work, contrary to the license. This is reiterated above.