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I didn't even read this page from MSFT, because I upgraded from XP-32 to W7-64 in July 2009, via formatting and doing a fresh load.
Even on my laptop, I installed a new hard drive and did a clean load of W-7.
But, you may find the information helpful.
Basically if you have a processor made in the last 5 years, and have 4 gigs of ram or more you should be golden (4 gigs being where 64-bit becomes helpful)
You don't need to have 4 gigs of ram to upgrade but it is useful as running 4 gigs on a 32 bit system is going to mean you can't use some of it.
Anyways yes you should be ok
Hit start, then search, type in dxdiag and run it and then screencap the results here and we can advise further, But all you should need to do is reinstall windows . Should take less than 2 hours
There is no direct 32->64 bit upgrade path short of reformatting and reloading, which is what you should always do anyway since it gives a cleaner and more reliable result.
Basically if you have a processor made in the last 5 years, and have 4 gigs of ram or more you should be golden (4 gigs being where 64-bit becomes helpful)
Disagree. Plenty of 32b processors still being made.
"How do I tell if my computer can run a 64-bit version of Windows?
To run a 64-bit version of Windows, your computer must have a 64-bit-capable processor. To find out if your processor is 64-bit-capable, do the following:
Open Performance Information and Tools by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Performance Information and Tools.
Click View and print details.
In the System section, you can see what type of operating system you're currently running under System type. Under 64-bit capable, you can see whether you can run a 64-bit version of Windows. (If your computer is already running a 64-bit version of Windows, you won't see the 64-bit capable listing.)"
Disagree. Plenty of 32b processors still being made.
I don't believe that's true, unless you're saying that the processors support 32-bit, but then that's true of every 64-bit capable x86 processor.
I didn't search exhaustively, but on NewEgg, the only non 64-bit capable processors I could find were a couple of refurbished Pentium 4 Prescotts, selling for $17 and $25, and those were new back in 2004.
Disagree. Plenty of 32b processors still being made.
trick is they're backwards compatible... you can work backwards, but you can't work forwards: in other words you can install a 32-bit operating system on a 64-bit capable processor but you can't install a 64-bit operating system on a 32-bit capable processor...
Quote:
Originally Posted by MediocreButArrogant
I don't believe that's true, unless you're saying that the processors support 32-bit, but then that's true of every 64-bit capable x86 processor.
I didn't search exhaustively, but on NewEgg, the only non 64-bit capable processors I could find were a couple of refurbished Pentium 4 Prescotts, selling for $17 and $25, and those were new back in 2004.
exactly. when's the last time you saw a processor released which lacks the x86_64 instruction set? it's at least 2005
exactly. when's the last time you saw a processor released which lacks the x86_64 instruction set? it's at least 2005
Yeah when the Atom in my netbook runs Win7/64, I think its safe to say you're unlikely to find a new PC today that can't run 64 bit.
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