Member Avatar for JwAlstrom

Windows7 - UpGrade ????
I have Win7 Home Premium 32 bit - ordered by mistake -
I want the 64 bit version - or -
Professional 64 bit - - for more memory use -
Is there an "UpGrade" for Win7 I can purchase
without
starting over and paying the full price?
.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by rproffitt

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Short practical summary tied to the replies above: moving a Windows 7 install from 32‑bit to 64‑bit is not an in‑place "upgrade" — it requires a clean (custom) install and careful preparation. 's point about cross‑architecture upgrade limits is correct, and 's anecdote appears to be an unsupported exception that caused driver problems; retail product keys generally work for either bitness but OEM/recovery media behave differently. (learn.microsoft.com)

Concrete, ready steps to follow (apply in order):

  1. Verify the CPU is 64‑bit capable (System > Properties or run System Information). (support.microsoft.com)
  2. Back up everything (user folders, browser bookmarks, license keys). Use Windows Easy Transfer or copy to external storage — note Easy Transfer moves files/settings, not programs. (support.microsoft.com)
  3. Obtain appropriate 64‑bit installation media for the same Windows edition (retail ISOs work with retail keys; OEM keys may require OEM recovery media). Create bootable USB/DVD. (learn.microsoft.com)
  4. Boot the media and choose Custom (advanced) install to wipe and install 64‑bit Windows. Reinstall drivers (64‑bit versions) and applications, then restore files/settings. (learn.microsoft.com)

Notes and cautionary context: Windows Anytime Upgrade (edition changes) does not change architecture and the online WAU channel is no longer available; also Windows 7 left mainstream support years ago (end of support Jan 14, 2020), so reinstalling 64‑bit Windows 7 leaves the machine unsupported unless ESU or another plan is used — consider moving to a supported OS if security and driver availability matter. (learn.microsoft.com)

References above supply the official steps and compatibility notes.

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Member Avatar for Ancient Dragon

Have you opened the package yet? how long ago did you install it? Windows 8 is out now so I don't know if you can still get Windows 7. If you live in USA ask someone at Best Buy.

Member Avatar for caperjack

im assuming not supported means it can be done but is not supporte by Microsoft .I have a acer laptop,AMD Turion64 x2, I use for things like this and testing other crap ,I had win7 home priemun 32 bit ,installed and did a upgrade to win7 Ultimit 64 bit about 2 weeks ago now and it still works ,only issue the sound driver will not stay installed ,works but is gone on reboot ,not saying do it ,just saying it worked for me , I used the windows anytime update to do it ,I have a msdn acct so I have keys for all the different versions .

sometime next week im going to try a upgrade to a version of win8 32bit ,just for the heck of it

Edited by caperjack
Member Avatar for Mamun_3

I want my windows 7 chaing 32 to64 .but how?

Member Avatar for rproffitt

@Mamun+3, To change any Windows version from 32 to 64 bit requires a clean install. There are no supported other methods. The good news is that I've tested this to see if the product or CD KEY works in such an install (retail versions only) and it was all good news. There could be issues if the OS was an OEM version so my advice is to install a blank drive and test your install so you don't burn your bridges. That is, keep your current OS safe by not touching it.

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