Best way to upgrade from vista business 32bit to a 64bit OS?

I want to upgrade from vista business 32bit to vista business 64bit or ultimate 64bit...can i use the key i get from business 32 bit on either of these?

and should i upgrade, or uninstall and then install? using a latitude e6400 btw.

thanks!

 

You won't be able to do an in place upgrade. Even if you try to select upgrade, it will do a fresh install for you anyway.

You don't need to reformat, just install.

 

Your key will work on either 32-bit or 64-bit, as long as the edition is the same (i.e. Business).

As Greg says, you cannot upgrade in-place. Just back up anything important, put the 64-bit Vista disc in, and run the installer.

 

do i have to redownload dell drivers or whatever though? im scared the hardware wont be detected right or something weird will happen lol

 

I let Windows find most of the drivers using Windows Update... but the ones it doesn't find you'll need to download from Dell.

The weirdest thing you'll probably experience is non-native resolution... but it'll be usable enough to download the video driver.

Oh yeah... you may want to grab the 64-bit network drivers before reinstalling. Chances are you'll be able to use at least wired networking with Vista's built-in drivers, but... just in case... and if you're on wireless then you may need that driver to get it to work.

That's all I'd really worry about though. Any other drivers you can just download after doing the install.

 

Yeah, like others said, the way 64-bit Vista handles the filesystem is just too different. Even if there was a utility that could theoretically do it, I would never trust that utility.

You'll see once you have 64-bit installed.

The advantage is memory usage limits:

Code:

      RAM limitations

Allocation for:     32-bit:     64-bit:
System              3.?? GB     More than any system supports atm.
Each Process        2.0 GB      More than any system supports atm.

For drivers on a reinstall make sure you install the Dell System Software for your unit first. It's basically the "chipset driver" you're used to downloading when you install windows on a homebuilt. It IS important to install it first.

Also MAKE SURE YOU GET THE 64-BIT DRIVERS. I have a strong suspicion that the Dell factory techs themselves made that mistake on my order.

 

You'll need to load the Dell System Software first as stated above.

However, the chipset software which you'll install next is a different package - load the Dell Chipset software - current version for x64 is R182522 (the current Intel version infinst_autol *may* be slightly newer).

 

ah, this makes me sad: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=354701