Dell Studio 1535 operating system

Hi there! This is my first post on these forums, so forgive me if I seem like an idiot. >_<

Anyway, I have a Dell Studio 1535 laptop that was given to me as a gift. It included Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit. However, I want to use the 64-bit version (it's an option when you initially buy the laptop), but Dell does not seem to have an option to order replacement OS recovery disks. I tried chatting with their live support people, but they were unable to help, and I really don't feel like shelling out $200 for a new license to an operating system I already have. If it comes down to it, though, I would not mind paying shipping costs for the disk itself.

So, tl;dr: Is there any way I can get hold of the 64-bit Vista Home Premium recovery disks for the Dell Studio 1535, or at least somehow install the 64-bit version using my existing 32-bit product key?

Thanks in advance for any help.
-Brendon

 

Do you REALLY need 64bit?

 

I'm pretty sure when you reinstall windows (clean install) there is an option. I wanted to do this too. Can someone confirm how to do this and if Iam right?
BTW the dell chat representatives are TOTAL idiots. They now nothing about computers.

 

No only the Retail version of Ultimate comes with both bit versions. If you PM Chris M on the Dell forums apparently he can set you up with a copy.

 

I don't need it any more than I need Vista itself. If I really wanted to, I could get by with Windows 2000. It's just a nice thing to have.

Also, I do plan on upgrading to 4GB of RAM soon, so once I do that, 32-bit would be quite a bottleneck.

The recovery disks included with pre-built computers are not full retail operating system disks. The disk I have is ONLY Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit edition for Dell Studio notebooks.

I'll have to keep that name in mind.

Anyway, I just got off the phone. Dell Support actually called me, and after about 10 minutes of debating, they agreed to send me the x64 Vista Home Premium disk, but on the condition that I can no longer get free tech support because it's not the same as the original pre-installed OS. Ah well, I know I can handle reformatting and installing a new OS, and I know where to get 64-bit drivers.

Thanks for your help, all of you. I'll probably be back with more questions in the future.

 

LMAO did they really say that? They are so incredibly moronic.

 

They sure did. Either way, it's really no loss to me.

Also, I just noticed:

Me too! What year/major are you?

 

I'm a senior in accounting. You?

 

Freshman in CIS.

 

Nice, I took a few CSE classes, they aren't too bad.

 

Yeah, I'm just in 201 right now, which doesn't even count towards the major, it's just a pre-req. Seems easy enough so far. (This notebook is actually surprisingly good at running stuff like Eclipse. The CSE lab computers have similar hardware but take a good 4 minutes for Eclipse to start! =p)