Vista 32-bit to windows 7 64-bit

[iahwhite]

Hey guys, as the title suggests I am trying to upgrade my computer running vista 32-bit to windows 7 64-bit. I have downloaded the Windows 7 ISO from the microsoft website and am trying to put it on a flash drive and run it as if it is a CD so it will automatically install...at least that is what I have gathered from the research I've done online.

I have run the CMD and done the whole List Disk and Assign thing, my problem is actually doing the CD Boot, bootsect /nt60 E: commands. I have followed the directions of this website (and many others that did not help me) http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-install-windows-7vista-from-usb-drive-detailed-100-working-guide/.

However, when I type it bootsect /nt60 so that I can get my flash drive to auto-install like a CD, it says "This version of E:\boot>BOOTSECT /NT60 E: is not compatible with this version of Windows. Check your system information to see whether you need a x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit) version of the program."

Can someone please help to tell me how to get the Windows 7 ISO on this flash drive and then get it to run like a CD so I can install it? I'm a total noob and have no idea what I am doing here. Thanks a bunch for the help!

 

[The_Prophecy]

I hope you're not trying to do an in-place upgrade of Vista 32 to 7 64. If so, you're going to be disappointed. 32 bit operating systems cannot directly be upgraded to 64 bit. You must wipe the drive out and do a fresh install.

As for creating a bootable flash drive to install 7 from, I created a thread detailing how to do it here

 

[iahwhite]

No I am aware that I have to do a "clean installation" of Windows 7, losing all of my files and such unless I put them on a backup drive. Thanks for the link to your guide, but when I opened my ISO Image with your USB/DVD Download Tool, at step 4 it said it was "unable to run bootsect to make the USB device bootable. Click online help etc...". The online help didn't help at all, so I don't know what to do now. I am using windos Vista so I should have a bootsect but I am at a total loss at this point. Any suggestions?

 

[The_Prophecy]

Will replicate and post back once I find a solution. Surprisingly, Google did not provide any relevant solutions.

Edit: In the meantime, grab a copy of UltraISO and follow the guide posted here. Don't worry about buying the program, it's not necessary for what you're trying to do. Once I find a solution, I'll update my thread that I linked to above.

Edit 2: Couldn't find a solution for this one. I have updated my guide detailing how to create a bootable flash drive with UltraISO.