upgrading windows vista to 64 bit

I have vista ulitmate 32bit on my PC I have 4GB of ram of which vista is using 3GB

I wanted to upgrade (if you can call it that) to the 64 bit so I can put another 4GB in giving me 8GB as memory's pretty cheap.

the window upgrade site isn't working, I phoned Microsoft and asked for the upgrade and I was told I could either I could get it from the site (which isn't working, her words no mine) or buy another full copy of vista, not gonna do that paying once is enough.

so what is the deal with this should I get an upgrade to 64 bit for free? pay a small fee?

i'll probably give them another ring Tuesday and hope to get somebody a bit more resourceful

Find more posts tagged with

Free for TechExams community: Cybersecurity salary guide

Compare cert salaries and plan your next career move

Button

Comments

tiersten

Its not free and you need to buy a 64 bit copy of Vista. You can't upgrade from 32 to 64 from the marketplace. The upgrade is only from another 64 bit version of Windows up to Vista.

Sie

Good Morning!

I think this may be what you need:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/1033/ordermedia/default.mspx

Bear in mind that currently due to a huge MS bungle the setup.exe for the 64bit version is a 64bit application and as such cannot be run from a 32bit OS. Go Figure......

However with the 64bit DVD im not sure if you will be able to do a clean install and avoid that problem....

tiersten

Hmm. Looks like you can reinstall from scratch with the same key if you can find the appropriate media. You'll probably have to phone up Microsoft though to reactivate but thats not too much of a hassle. I've done it several times and it takes about 5 minutes.

tiersten

The 64 bit media order link above apparently only works if you've got a retail version of Vista. If you have an OEM version then it won't validate.

aueddonline

tiersten wrote:

The 64 bit media order link above apparently only works if you've got a retail version of Vista. If you have an OEM version then it won't validate.

that's why, yeah i have OEM

tiersten

If what I'm reading is correct then the OEM keys will work either way. Borrow the DVD from somebody and it should work.

Sie

OEM Keys dont work for Retail Media on any version of Windows that I know of.

Will have to look into this more to find an answer unless someone else posts for you in the meantime.

astorrs

Sie is correct, you'll need to get someone who works for a System Builder to lend you the 64-bit CD. Or call Microsoft and see what they have to offer.

poortech

the serial number for the 64bits and 32 bits its the same and u can use this only in one computer::: so u can borrow or download a 64bits DVD and use ur 32bits serial (I did that with my computer) but be carefull use the serial in one computer one time so if u install the 64 u cannot intsall the 32 in the SAME TIME
u can download the DVD for free from M$ marketplace

aueddonline

i've had a further read around and there is so many conficting ideas, it looks like this would all be easier if I had a full retail version

looks like another call to Microsoft is needed, thanks guys, you've answered a lot of questions

tiersten

Yeah. It isn't very clear at all. There are so many variants of the OEM key alone. There is a preactivated one that gets entered at the factory, the one written on your sticker which isn't the same and the type which has a corresponding signature in the BIOS.

JDMurray

aueddonline, your computer has a 64-bit processor, right?

aueddonline

JDMurray wrote:

aueddonline, your computer has a 64-bit processor, right?

yeah i've got an intel 2.4 Quad Core

aueddonline

ok rang Microsoft today, this is the deal

because I have an OEM version of Vista there is no Upgrade avalible though Microsoft, if I had of got my computer though a large retailer i.e. dell or HP the Microsoft would have refered me to them for the Upgrade and it would have been possible.

because mine is a custom PC build and I have OEM. the only way to do it is buying a full retail version.

I'm going to leave the upgrade for another time until I can stand 3GB of RAM no longer

JDMurray

aueddonline wrote:

I'm going to leave the upgrade for another time until I can stand 3GB of RAM no longer

What do you need more than 3GB for? Running a lot of VMs?

aueddonline

JDMurray wrote:

aueddonline wrote:

I'm going to leave the upgrade for another time until I can stand 3GB of RAM no longer

What do you need more than 3GB for? Running a lot of VMs?

I probably don't, it's my gaming machine and I figured if i could get a 64 bit version of vista for free (which I can't) I may as well put another 4GB of DDR2 in there for £50 ($100), you know what they say, you can never have enough RAM.

I bought one of these instead

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4U-SERVER-CASE-RACKMOUNT-19-INCH_W0QQitemZ200227275463QQihZ010QQcategoryZ1484QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

gonna build a linux server, well ubuntu desktop will probably do the trick seeming me and the penguin haven't spent much time together yet. need these little projects to keep me off the streets

poortech

why did u call M$
me I build my computer with Q66XX and I have V home premium, and 8G ram, and I need to install vista 64 to ran a virtual lab (vmware server) with 3 servers and 2 clients, with win2008 and hyper-V that has another 3 OS installed in it, and some linux distros (the whole lab is about 15 VM), so I went to M$ market place download the 64 bits image from them I think its *.wmi and a boot iso too (google it I forget the link) I installed the 64 bits with the 32bits code and it works and I called M$ to activate it

just I cannot install the 32 with the same serial and no need for that

I think its not illegal that u download M$ iso from internet if u have LEGAL licence.