32 bit to 64 bit

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Anthony_202

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Apr 27, 2017
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my laptop came with windows vista 32bit installed but the system says that the cpu is 64 bit capable can I upgrade to 64 bit vista?
 
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Phillip Corcoran
Plus, as it's a laptop, you need to check your laptop manufacturer's support area on it's website to see if they have released any 64-bit Vista drivers for your model - - don't take it for granted just because the CPU is 64-bit capable.

It's possible they may only have released 32-bit Vista drivers for it - - unlikely but you need to check to make sure, otherwise you could find yourself having to hunt down compatible drivers for it.

Also bear in mind what's already been said - there's no point installing 64-bit Vista anyway unless you also increase the RAM to at least 8GB (assuming your lappy supports that much of course).
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Solandri

Solandri

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Jan 4, 2012
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There is no upgrade path from 32-bit Windows to 64-bit Windows. You have to wipe the drive and reinstall from scratch.

The main benefit of 64-bit Windows is the ability to use more than 4GB of RAM. A smaller secondary advantage is that 64-bit calculations (very rare outside scientific circles) can be done more quickly. If you have 4GB or less RAM, there's practically no advantages and some disadvantages (have to wipe and reinstall, 64-bit programs use more RAM). So you should just stick with 32-bit Windows.

Long-term support for Vista ended earlier this month. That means Microsoft is no longer patching security flaws found in Vista. It's gradually going to turn into a malware cesspool, so I would highly recommend upgrading the laptop to a newer version of Windows, or Linux if you can't afford it. A retail Windows license works for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, so if you get a new copy of 32-bit Windows for your laptop, in a few years when you upgrade to a new laptop you can re-use the license on a copy of 64-bit Windows for your desktop. Just make sure it's a retail copy, not the cheaper OEM copy. You are only allowed to install the OEM copy onto one system - you cannot transfer it to a different system in the future.
 
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10tacle

10tacle

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Dec 6, 2008
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There's a good chance that laptop only came with 2GB (likely in the form of one stick) with 32-bit Vista. That's the way my eight year old Lenovo T400 came (C2D). Several years ago I eBayed that single stick and bought a 2x4GB kit with Win7 and it's much snappier. Vista even after the SP2 patch is still a memory and CPU hog (and now with security update support gone, a security threat...dump Vista!). If his is one of the early i5 (Sandy Bridge) laptops, it could have come with 4GB even with a 32-bit OS.

*Everyone needs to list their computer specs when posting a question for help*
 
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Phillip Corcoran

Phillip Corcoran

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Sep 7, 2013
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Plus, as it's a laptop, you need to check your laptop manufacturer's support area on it's website to see if they have released any 64-bit Vista drivers for your model - - don't take it for granted just because the CPU is 64-bit capable.

It's possible they may only have released 32-bit Vista drivers for it - - unlikely but you need to check to make sure, otherwise you could find yourself having to hunt down compatible drivers for it.

Also bear in mind what's already been said - there's no point installing 64-bit Vista anyway unless you also increase the RAM to at least 8GB (assuming your lappy supports that much of course).
 
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