Upgrading to Vista64x from 32x

TheGooch69

Gawd
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Dec 7, 2007
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I bought the Gateway P-6831FX and have completely configured it to my likings, installed all of my usual programs and games, copied my documents, pictures, films, ect to it and so forth.

I then remembered I had a copy of Vistax64 Home Premium that I wish I installed to take advantage of 4gigs of ram in the future.

My question is how much of a pain in the ass is it to upgrade to 64 bit? Will my programs not run correctly and need re-installing, will I lose all of my preferences and settings?
 
I'm pretty sure an upgrade is impossible, you'd have to install x64 by booting from disc, which would move all your files and settings into \windows.old, and you'd have to reconfigure and reinstall everything. Really I don't see the big deal, it shouldn't take more than a few hours.
 
Windows upgrade is disabled going from 32bit to 64bit. You would have to completely wipe the drive.
 
Almost any device that has a vista-32 driver will have a vista-64 driver, it's mandated by microsoft to have the driver achieve WHQL certification.
 
So many answers, who to believe?

Oh and a "few hours" out of my day is a big deal. Busy man.
 
My question is how much of a pain in the ass is it to upgrade to 64 bit? Will my programs not run correctly and need re-installing, will I lose all of my preferences and settings?
No pain in the ass, It's very easy. Just plop the disc in reformat just like you did with x86 version.

Yes, it'll be a fresh installation. You'll lose all your preferences and settings and have to reinstall software.
 
No pain in the ass, It's very easy. Just plop the disc in reformat just like you did with x86 version.

Yes, it'll be a fresh installation. You'll lose all your preferences and settings and have to reinstall software.

It's the reinstall part that is the pain in the ass. I'm in the same boat (except I'm coming from XP) - can't decide whether to pull the trigger or not.
 
I don't know why these guys are telling you to reformat, that accomplishes nothing unless the disk is unformatted or corrupt, if you want to keep your files don't reformat, just reinstall windows and salvage your files from \windows.old.
 
That's possible, but it isn't saving anything over a normal fresh install. Data would still need to be restored, and apps will still need to be reinstalled. It is also better to have your data removed from the system before a major operation.
 
I don't know why these guys are telling you to reformat, that accomplishes nothing unless the disk is unformatted or corrupt, if you want to keep your files don't reformat, just reinstall windows and salvage your files from \windows.old.

Because you can't just reinstall. Even Microsoft suggests that you use windows easy transfer to backup first. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932795
 
So basically the best way is transfer all of my important stuff to an external hard drive. Reinstall windows, or simply format and install windows64, transfer back the important stuff, re-install any neccessary programs, respec everything, and update necessary drivers.

I'll wait a bit.
 
Yes, that's it. With proper preparation, that could be done in a few hours. That's not bad at all, to be honest.
 
Is There the remote possability that I could put in a Vista 64-Bit Ultimate disk and just upgrade my windows home 32 bit xp ?
 
It's not possible to do an in-place upgrade of any 32-bit Windows to any 64-bit version. You can only do an in-place upgrade of 32-bit XP to 32-bit Vista.
 
Because you can't just reinstall. Even Microsoft suggests that you use windows easy transfer to backup first. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932795

What do you mean 'you can't just reinstall'. If you have vista installed and insert the disc and boot it and install windows again, it will move all your stuff to \windows.old and you don't have to copy files off your hard drive and back. That's what I meant by 'reinstall', I already said he'd have to reinstall apps and reconfigure the system... To OP, I've done this several times, believe me it works, but do whatever you like.
 
If you have vista installed and insert the disc and boot it and install windows again, it will move all your stuff to \windows.old and you don't have to copy files off your hard drive and back.
Wouldn't you feel safe knowing you had your data backed up, off the drive? What if something goes wrong during the install process? It is always best to move your data off the computer, or atleast the drive that the OS is being installed to. It won't take long, especially if you've been using good practices with your data storage, and you'd still be reinstalling all your applications? I know it is possible to do it the way you suggested, but it isn't giving you anything over a better method, that keeps your data safe.
 
Wouldn't you feel safe knowing you had your data backed up, off the drive? What if something goes wrong during the install process? It is always best to move your data off the computer, or atleast the drive that the OS is being installed to. It won't take long, especially if you've been using good practices with your data storage, and you'd still be reinstalling all your applications? I know it is possible to do it the way you suggested, but it isn't giving you anything over a better method, that keeps your data safe.

Well, it gives you time and convience. As far as backups, you should have backups regardless of whether you're 'reinstalling' windows or not, a disk can fail at any time. And sometimes it's just not possible to make backups, but that doesn't mean the user has to lose data and they should know that option.
 
What do you mean 'you can't just reinstall'. If you have vista installed and insert the disc and boot it and install windows again, it will move all your stuff to \windows.old and you don't have to copy files off your hard drive and back. That's what I meant by 'reinstall', I already said he'd have to reinstall apps and reconfigure the system... To OP, I've done this several times, believe me it works, but do whatever you like.
No he can't. You cannot do what you are saying if he's trying to go to a 64-bit version of Vista. He HAS to reformat and reinstall. The vista installer will not let him do an in-place upgrade to a 64-bit OS. But, if I actually am mistaken then please correct me. But, as far as I know, you can't upgrade to or install a 64bit version of windows over a 32 bit. He can only upgrade to a 32-bit OS or install a 32-bit OS over another 32-bit OS, which would be redundant as he already has 32-bit Vista installed.
 
No he can't. You cannot do what you are saying if he's trying to go to a 64-bit version of Vista. He HAS to reformat and reinstall. The vista installer will not let him do an in-place upgrade to a 64-bit OS. But, if I actually am mistaken then please correct me. But, as far as I know, you can't upgrade to or install a 64bit version of windows over a 32 bit. He can only upgrade to a 32-bit OS or install a 32-bit OS over another 32-bit OS, which would be redundant as he already has 32-bit Vista installed.

No, you do not HAVE to reformat. You can't upgrade 32-bit to 64-bit and that's not what I'm telling him, I'm just saying 'dont reformat' and all his files will be in \windows.old. I have done this several times, including 32-bit to 64-bit and have never reformatted or lost data on the drive, but of course you have to reinstall apps and you lose all settings in windows.
 
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