• Going from 32-bit to 64-bit
    18 replies, posted
I've had Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit for a while, and I was wondering what I would have to go through to upgrade to 64-bit. Will I have to back up everything, or will it put my programs and settings and such into a special folder? Will I need to completely wipe my computer? I've installed operating systems before but Windows 7 is a little different to me. Any help is appreciated! :buddy:
I just put all my important shit in a forlder on the root of the C:/ drive, name ut "Put back after install", and then shutdown the pc. Then I use an Ubuntu LiveCD to delete the rest of the crap from the harddrive manually. Then I restart the PC, pop in the Windows DVD, and install Windows 7 x64. Put the files you backed up earlier where they belong, and all is complete without a format, but working just as good as one.
just install x64 over x86. the old install will appear as windows.old when you're done installing x64.
There are practically no 64bit applications for Windows, so there's no reason to run it.
[QUOTE=Jookia;27735116]There are practically no 64bit applications for Windows, so there's no reason to run it.[/QUOTE] Unless you are running 16bit applications ( win95 programs that aren't dos programs, for the most part ), you honestly have no reason not to run x64 windows if your hardware supports it.
You need to do a complete reinstall of windows to switch architectures.
[QUOTE=FlashStock;27735039]just install x64 over x86. the old install will appear as windows.old when you're done installing x64.[/QUOTE] So everything from my desktop, my downloads, pictures, programs, program files, everything will be in windows.old?
It might, but it's probably the safest to back up your documents and pictures and whatnot to an external harddrive or Dropbox or something similar. Personally, I have pretty much everything in my Dropbox. Saves the trouble having to think about this. But you can bet on it that programs you have installed will need to be reinstalled.
[QUOTE=Jookia;27735116]There are practically no 64bit applications for Windows, so there's no reason to run it.[/QUOTE] Excuse me sir, what the fuck are you talking about.
[QUOTE={ABK}AbbySciuto;27772019]Excuse me sir, what the fuck are you talking about.[/QUOTE] He will have fun with less than 4gb of ram in this age.
[QUOTE=Jookia;27735116]There are practically no 64bit applications for Windows, so there's no reason to run it.[/QUOTE] This sort of blatant misinformation should be bannable
MS should not even make 32 bit anymore (or at least not enough so everyone only has 32 bit by de facto).
[QUOTE=Jookia;27735116]There are practically no 64bit applications for Windows, so there's no reason to run it.[/QUOTE] Excuse his reply, it makes no fucking since whatsoever. Some applications require 64bit (Adobe CS5). Flashstock is correct, your root (C:) drive gets put in c:\windows.old, yet all programs have to be manually reinstalled. Just make sure youve done the research about your hardware.
[QUOTE=The Baconator;30055466]MS should not even make 32 bit anymore (or at least not enough so everyone only has 32 bit by de facto).[/QUOTE] The problem with that is that it would detract from the user base. There are various reasons why 32-bit windows needs to stay around, including the still huge Pentium 4 install base (only the later P4s supported EM64T.) Despite Pentium 4s disappearing from the gamer market years ago, they still have a strong install base in office environments and general use in homes, where they still have enough spunk to muscle on. Many people will keep their computers for 10 years, and just upgrade the OS to gain new features. Windows x64 also uses more resources by default than 32-bit. The default install uses significantly more hard drive space, and I've seen up to 10-15% more RAM usage by default. And if you have less than 4 GB of RAM, you don't need it either.
If you have 4GB of RAM or less, don't do it. x64 binaries are larger and (for some purposes) slower. Don't upgrade to x64 just because your hardware supports it. On the other hand, if you are planning to get more RAM, do it up.
[QUOTE=KD007;30276978]If you have 4GB of RAM or less, don't do it.[/QUOTE] Forgetting VRAM here. [QUOTE=KD007;30276978]x64 binaries are larger[/QUOTE] Yeah, because they have to use long ints that are 64-bit values instead of 32-bit ints. It's a miniscule change.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=KD007;30276978]and (for some purposes) slower.[/QUOTE] We're not even talking nanoseconds here, in real world applications, 64-bit is just as fast as 32-bit.
[QUOTE=Jookia;27735116]There are practically no 64bit applications for Windows, so there's no reason to run it.[/QUOTE] hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Hijacking topic a bit right here. I have 4gb or ram But windows 7 32bit is only capable of allocating 3gb (because it also needs space for the graphics card). My pc is pretty old (2003 by now) Specs are. 2x Xeon 3.6 Nocona. 4gb Ram - Clocked at 400mhz. GT240 My PC is pretty decent other then the ram speed. If i would move to 64 bit but it would move the bottleneck even more to the ram, Is this difference noticeable While a 64 bit OS, would use more memory for Pointers. (64 bit instead of 32) making in theory applications a bit slower and the ram would need to be accessed more often, Should i install the 64 bit version for the 1 gb of extra ram, or should i stick with 32 bit because it might be a bit faster.
[QUOTE=CawldFussuian;30369153]Hijacking topic a bit right here. I have 4gb or ram But windows 7 32bit is only capable of allocating 3gb (because it also needs space for the graphics card). My pc is pretty old (2003 by now) Specs are. 2x Xeon 3.6 Nocona. 4gb Ram - Clocked at 333 mhz. While a 64 bit OS, would use more memory for Pointers. (64 bit instead of 32) making in theory applications a bit slower, Should i install the 64 bit version for the 1 gb of extra ram, or should i stick with 32 bit because it might be a bit faster.[/QUOTE] Install 64-bit. There is absolutely no speed difference (that you will ever, ever notice).
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