upgrade from 32bit vista to 64bit 7

i was wondering if i was to purchase the windows 7 upgeade DVD would it let me upgrade from 32bit vista to 64bit windows 7

another question is that when windows vista upgrades to windows 7 does it work like a clean install and get rid of all the crap on my hard drive as i would be backing up my hard drive first and might even consider getting a newer faster bigger hard drive and some more ram

 

1) you "upgrade" but a "clean install"" only. all previous settings and programs are lost. if you have separate data partition, files there should be left, but backup those also, anyway. just in case.
2) as it is a "clean install", there is no old rubbish. once finished, restore backed-up files, if not in separate partition.

 

I've already confirmed that my processor can handle 64 bit (Intel Pentium Dual-core T3200), but I'm not sure how the upgrade process would work.

Would I first have to buy Vista x64 and upgrade to that, then buy Windows 7 x64? Or can I go straight from Vista x32 to Windows 7 x64? On the Microsoft website, it says if you've got 32 bit Vista, you've gotta go with 32 bit 7, and vice versa ( http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/32-bit-and-64-bit-Windows-frequently-asked-questions)

*File loss isn't a problem - I can back everything up*

Thanks in advance.

 

You can upgrade from 32 bit vista to 64 bit 7 using an upgrade disk. This upgrade would necessitate a custom install though, and not a straight upgrade which gets to keep all your files.

 

So then Microsoft's just not encouraging the vista x32 to 7 x64 upgrade? Because it pretty clearly says not to upgrade to Windows 7 x64 from a 32 bit OS.

 

It's not that they're not encouraging it. It's just the drivers and architecture are different that's why you can't do an in-place upgrade.

As far as I know, you can't install Ubuntu 64-bit directly on top of Ubuntu 32-bit, either.

 

Or they just don't want to advertise it because of the probable compatability complaints that would flood them.

 

Actually, the installer would refuse to do an in-place upgrade if you have 32-bit Windows installed and you want to install 64-bit. It will force you to do a clean install.

You can buy Windows 7 x64 and upgrade Vista x86 but you'll be losing your programs and settings. That's basically what the upgrade chart means.

 

OK, now I'm following. I think that's what I'm going to do, but (sorry for the bombardment of questions) will Windows 7 x64 be able to use 3GB of RAM? Or does it have to have 4+?

 

Nah, you can use 3GB. I think the minimum for Windows 7 is 1GB RAM.

 

The recommended RAM for 64-bit Win 7 is 2 GB.

 

So I can go from Vista Home Business 32bit to Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit "Upgrade" as long as I do a clean install?

Yes/No

Downloading my upgrade with key right now, 49%

 

so if i bought the upgrade DVD for £59GBP i would be able to do a clean install with this. my laptop did not come with any disks so i have no copy of vista on a DVD only on my laptop.

another question is would i have to get 64bit versions of my software such as ms office and macromedia dreamweaver and fireworks. and i also have some older programs such as PTC Pro Desktop which works in 32bit vista i doubt it would work in 64bit 7 straight away but is there a way to get backwards compatability for these programs

 

i think ill go with 4gb because i think 64bit uses a bit more memory and i always like to have quite a bit left as my graphics card sometimes shares some of it

 

as far as i know with the upgrade disk you can go from vista32bit buisiness to the equivalen in 7 32bit
to go from vista32bit to 7 64bit you will need the full package and not the upgrade.

please tell me im wrong as this is what i want to do.

 

You can do a clean install with the upgrade disc.

 

thanks Rajesh.
also ive got acronis backup files and software on a hidden partition. this will get wiped so whats the best thing recommended. would i have to build another partition or wont that be touched on a new re install.

 

The best thing is to save your personal files to an ext drive and reinstall the programs and copy your documents back after the clean install. I don't think Win 7 installer wipes hidden partitions.

 

I'd suggest a clean install. Just back up your important files. It is probably recommended to install your old drivers (or the new win7 driver if there is one), especially if you have certain hardware that you want to use, but I've been sticking to Microsoft generic drivers for a while now, and so far it's great.

 

This does not work for me at the moment. I have Vista Ultimate 32bit installed. I upgraded from Win Business using the Microsoft steal deal last year.
I bought Windows 7 Professional using the student deal and downloaded the file and attempted to run it as administrator but a message came up saying that this is not a valid 32bit application. I put it on a DVD and usb bootable stick and it made no difference.
Luckily i ordered a copy of the disc as well so i think i probably need to wait until the disc arrives. With these UK Royal Mail strikes i could though be waiting a while to get my DVD.

 

This is because you can't run a 64-bit setup.exe within a 32-bit OS. Look other threads about making a bootable DVD from the install files.

 

Thanks coolguy, i went back to try again using my usb stick by making that bootable and i did it and have installed W7 now.