Windows 7 32-bit to 64-bit upgrade

tim3003 · 18 Aug 2018 at 12:06

I am running Windows 7 32-bit, but want to upgrade it to 64-bit. As I understand it I do not need to purchase a whole new license but can use my current license. I have a 64-bit CD which says 'Intended for distribution with a Refurbished PC'. I've tried to boot to this to install but it won't. Looking on Amazon there are plenty of 'Re-install Win 7 64-bit' CDs, for around £6.97. Are these the ones I need? If not, what do I need? There are none saying 'Install' except full license versions.

Thanks.

Deleted member 77746 · 18 Aug 2018 at 12:21

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows7

Stick your key in, download the 64 bit ISO and make a USB installer. Boot to your USB key and follow instructions.

Orcvader · 18 Aug 2018 at 15:09

7 keys are both 32-bit and 64-bit so you just need a 64-bit ISO for installation.

What's your system specs? What exactly happens when you try to boot with the 64-bit disk that you have?

tim3003 · 18 Aug 2018 at 20:14

Orcvader said:
7 keys are both 32-bit and 64-bit so you just need a 64-bit ISO for installation.

What's your system specs? What exactly happens when you try to boot with the 64-bit disk that you have?

How big is the ISO? My broadband is slow, so it may take hours to download. I also have no USB stick larger than 256mb to boot from, , and no CD/DVD-write drive. hence wanting the set-up CD. The 64-bit disk will not boot, even if I go into the Bios and make my CD-drive the only bootable one it's ignored and I get the 'press any key to reboot' msg. If I try to run the CD whilst in Win 7 it says 'this CD is not valid for the version of Windows you have, get an installation disk and boot from it.'

My system is AMD FX-8350, 8gb RAM, Asus M78A5L mobo, Radeon 6850 graphics.

Jamin280672 · 18 Aug 2018 at 22:21

tim3003 said:
How big is the ISO? My broadband is slow, so it may take hours to download. I also have no USB stick larger than 256mb to boot from, , and no CD/DVD-write drive. hence wanting the set-up CD. The 64-bit disk will not boot, even if I go into the Bios and make my CD-drive the only bootable one it's ignored and I get the 'press any key to reboot' msg. If I try to run the CD whilst in Win 7 it says 'this CD is not valid for the version of Windows you have, get an installation disk and boot from it.'

My system is AMD FX-8350, 8gb RAM, Asus M78A5L mobo, Radeon 6850 graphics.

It would be cheaper to just get a 4gb or safer 8gb USB stick and download the ISO yourself, write it to the USB stick using rufus and then boot from it, as stated above, to download the ISO from the Microsoft site, you just need to give them your key to verify you have a valid license.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8GB-Exec...568416?hash=item1caf34f7e0:g:6WoAAOSwg4tbJ7qR

bremen1874 · 18 Aug 2018 at 22:28

You could probably install Windows 10 if you prefer. I've installed Windows 10 (Pro and Home) on about 6 machines recently using the their Windows 7 OEM keys and they've all activated with digital licences.

tim3003 · 19 Aug 2018 at 12:23

Jamin280672 said:
It would be cheaper to just get a 4gb or safer 8gb USB stick and download the ISO yourself, write it to the USB stick using rufus and then boot from it, as stated above, to download the ISO from the Microsoft site, you just need to give them your key to verify you have a valid license.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8GB-Exec...568416?hash=item1caf34f7e0:g:6WoAAOSwg4tbJ7qR

Ok thanks. Are you saying it is not possible to get a bootable 64-bit upgrade CD without paying for a full license version? Because if it is, I'd still prefer to get one..

Deleted member 77746 · 19 Aug 2018 at 12:28

What's up with Chrome remote desktop?

EDIT: Sorry posted this in wrong thread. Ignore above.

bremen1874 · 19 Aug 2018 at 12:39

Follow the Microsoft link you’ve been given above and enter your key and see if it verifies.

If it does you’ll be able to download the ISO and then create a bootable USB stick from it.

Orcvader · 19 Aug 2018 at 13:10

As above, buy a cheap 4/8GB USB or blank DVDs (whatever is cheaper/easier for you to get), and download the image from above. For Home at least for the 64-bit SP1 image it's around 3.2GB. Would be much cheaper than buying a 64-bit licence just to get the bootable disk.

That Windows link doesn't seem to work for my retail 7 Pro key though so I had to grab an image elsewhere...

tim3003 · 19 Aug 2018 at 14:27

I've tried the ISO download link. I have 3 Win 7 Product keys - I think my old laptop went bang, so that accounts for 2 - however all 3 were rejected with the msg 'key comes from a manufacturer refurb'd PC, contact them about upgrading'. I can understand this for my laptop(s), but my desktop I upgraded from XP to Win 7 myself. Is the problem that this wasn't a from-scratch install, so it isn't a full Win 7 32-bit, so I cant just install Win 7 64-bit without a full license?

bremen1874 · 19 Aug 2018 at 15:04

In your first post you say that you have an installation CD (DVD) which should be suitable but you can't boot from it.

I'd start by working out why that isn't working. It won't be licence key related at that stage.

If you want to upgrade from 32 bit to 64 bit you will have to basically wipe the machine in the process..

tim3003 · 19 Aug 2018 at 16:43

I have CDs for Win 7 32 & 64, both Microsoft, saying 'Intended for distribution with a refurbished PC'. The 32-bit one will run from win 7 and start to re-install. The 64-bit one says it's not valid for the system I have. Get the right one, and boot to it. Can I tell if the CD is bootable? It has a boot folder inc bootsect, etfsboot DOS app, plus bootmgr in the root.

MagicBoy · 19 Aug 2018 at 16:48

All Microsoft sourced Windows 7 source optical media is bootable.

Is the system from a big manufacturer?

Deleted member 77746 · 19 Aug 2018 at 16:53

To be fair you don't boot it from Windows you boot it from startup. How old is the system you are trying to boot too?

chaparral · 20 Aug 2018 at 08:56

I always thought you had to do a fresh windows install to change from 32-bit to 64-bit

Orcvader · 20 Aug 2018 at 09:13

You need to fresh install it, you can't run it from within Windows itself.

The 64-bit disk will not boot, even if I go into the Bios and make my CD-drive the only bootable one it's ignored and I get the 'press any key to reboot' msg.

Reset the BIOS, and unplug the hard drive and try see if it can boot from the disk this time without any settings changed. If that doesn't work, does it work with the 32-bit disk?

Deleted member 77746 · 20 Aug 2018 at 10:06

chaparral said:
I always thought you had to do a fresh windows install to change from 32-bit to 64-bit

Correct. This has always been the case.

tim3003 · 20 Aug 2018 at 12:26

Thanks for all the suggestions. I finally managed to boot from the 64-bit CD, and installed no problems. Interestingly, I did not delete the old Win 7 32-bit system from the hd. (I'd backed it all up though), and after Win 7 64-bit had installed it had kept all the 32-bit system in a win.old folder, also some program files in a Program files (x86) folder. It didnt matter as I'd backed them up, but it does show a new Win7 install has a look at the hd it's about to blat and keeps old stuff (at least old Win 7 stuff)...
I was also concerned as I have a twin-boot system with an old Win XP hd. This survived the installation too - perhaps not so surprising as Win 7 created the twin-boot bios menu when I originally installed the 32-bit version on a new hd..

Deleted member 77746 · 20 Aug 2018 at 12:53

You should have pulled all drives when installing Windows on the primary drive and also the drive should have been formatted for a clean install. Advice is do it again correctly to ensure nothing is left over.