Vista 32 to Windows 7 64 on an empty hard drive?

[frostbox88]

I'm putting together a new computer and my university offers a discounted Windows 7 64 bit upgrade. The problem is that they only offer the upgrade and the only Vista they offer is 32 bit. I'm wondering if there is any way to upgrade the O.S. after I install a Vista 32 bit Business. I would be going from a Vista 32 bit Business to a Windows 7 64 bit via upgrade. As it is a new machine I would have no concern about having to lose all of my data. Any advice would be extremely helpful. Thanks!

P.S. As a side note the tech store only offers Vista 32 bit upgrade for Business, however the guy from the store said you could do a full install of Vista from just an upgrade disc. Is that true?

 

[saint19]

Hi newcomer and welcome to the Tom's hardware forum.

U can't upgrade from a 32btis OS to 64 bits OS and yeah, u can do a clean installation with a upgrade disc.

 

[frostbox88]

I just spoke to the tech guy again and he said the Vista versions they have are in fact full installs.

He also said that through a custom install I would be able to go from Vista 32 to Windows 7 64. Any truth to this?

 

[saint19]

Yeah, the Vista should be full install but u can't upgrade from 32 bits to 64 bits, the custom install is for do the installation with a upgrade disc.

 

[cassandraf_winteam]

Yes, frostbox88. Since you will be running Vista the Windows 7 Upgrade software from your university will work for you. However, since you will be going from 32-bit to 64-bit, you will need to do a custom installation. Here is a guide to walk you through each step of the installation process (I recommend printing it out so you have it by your side) - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/help/upgrading-from-windows-vista-to-windows-7-custom

Cheers,
Cassandra
Microsoft Windows Outreach