I've decided to upgrade from W7 32bit to W7 64bit mostly because of Photoshop. I typically work with very large files in PS and easily run out of RAM.
I'll install 8GB of compatible RAM and my MOBO is 64bit ready. I purchased a 64 bit version of Photoshop CC2015.
The issue is that I want to install the 64 on my SSD where the 32 now resides. I also want to install 32 on another HDD. Can I do that from a system image and still have the 32 be Genuine?
Thank you
Hi carbonterry2,
You can have one copy of Windows 7 on one computer at a time. With your Product Key in hand, there is no problem uninstalling from one machine and putting it on another. If you do this a lot you may have to explain to Microsoft what you're doing, but that's not normally an issue.
If you are planning on putting the HDD in another machine, then an Image won't work.
Windows will see that it's working with a different set of hardware and may very well not even boot. A clean installation will be necessary. You will have to re-install all your programs, too. With the backup I'm sure you made, you can then transfer all the data files over to your new installation (Windows doesn't care about data files or where they are stored.)
All you need is your Product Key and you can install that Windows 32-bit version anywhere you like-- one machine at a time.
I hope I understood the question and that this helps,
Richard
If this is an OEM build then the W7 32bit cannot be uninstalled and reinstalled to another HDD. You could clone the W7 32bit to another HDD but you would not be able to run both 32bit and 64bit with the same product key.
If you have W7 retail version and you have the 32bit and 64bit DVD then you can uninstall the 32bit from your SSD and do a fresh install with your 64bit DVD.
One thing I need to ask, is why do you need the 32bit W7? I have had no porblem running 32bit software with a 64bit W7 Home Premium retail version.
A better scenario would be to install the W7 64bit and then upgrade to W10 and then install W7 on another HDD, if you have the retail version, and dual boot the two, which is what I do. To tell the truth their is very little that W7 will do, that I can't get W10 to do.
Just make sure that mobo will support 8GB of ram.
Let me clarify my question.
I have 2 retail versions of W7, a 64bit and a 32 bit.
My machine currently has the 32 on a SSD and the 64 is not installed at all.
I want to move the 32 to another HDD inside the same machine by using a system image and then install the 64 on the SSD.
I have DVD's and COA'sand serial #'s for both versions of W7.
It's OK to do this without having to do a clean install of the 32?
Yes Terry, that will work.
Just one thing you need to be aware of:
If you restore the system image to the HDD and then leave both hard drives, the SSD and the HDD, connected while you install the 64-bit Windows on the SSD, it's highly likely that Windows will recognize the 32-bit installation and set up a dual boot configuration.
If you would prefer not to have the dual boot menu and to boot each OS separately from the BIOS boot preferences menu, you'll need to disconnect the HDD temporarily after restoring the image, then install Windows 7 64-bit on the SSD, and then reconnect the HDD.
Hope that makes sense.
Not only possible but preferable, that is if you want a dual boot system/menu.
Restoring the 32-bit system image second won't pick up the other installation and automatically create a dual boot menu. So, order of preference would be to restore the 32-bit image to the HDD first and then clean install 64-bit on the SSD.
I'm assuming you got past the first hurdle by creating a bootable USB flash drive to install Windows?
Follow the steps here: https://neosmart.net/wiki/setup-was-unable-to-create-a-new-system-partition/
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