Switching to Windows 64-bit

frau kaleun · 12-16-10, 06:07 PM

Hey all,

I am thinking about switching to the 64-bit OS provided I don't have to completely rebuild my 1 year old machine. Trying to figure out how much of what I have already would be compatible with the switch.

My processor is an AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core, the specs for it say "yes" for simultaneous 32- & 64-bit computing, I am assuming that means it will support a 64-bit OS?

If so, what else do I need to verify before I consider making the change? I know I'll need 64-bit drivers for "all devices" which I can check on easily when it comes to printers and external stuff and drives I guess but what other stuff in the innards of the beast do I need to check on?

Thanks for any help/advice!

stoppro · 12-16-10, 06:17 PM

You will have to make sure the mother board can handle 8 or more gigs of ram and that it is two channel[I think} i'm sure the brainworms will be along to exspand on this

frau kaleun · 12-16-10, 06:23 PM

The motherboard specs on memory say:

Quote:

4 x DIMM, Max.8 GB, DDR2 1066/800/667/ ECC,NonECC,Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel memory architecture
*DDR2 1066 is supported by AM2+ CPU only

stoppro · 12-16-10, 07:01 PM

so far das goot you should be able to change over with out any problems except reformating the drive which when I did it I had someone else do it.I wasn't confident then to try it.

onelifecrisis · 12-16-10, 07:13 PM

Frau, is your hard drive partitioned? If so, you could install W64 on a different partition... if you're tech-savvy enough for that.

frau kaleun · 12-16-10, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

Frau, is your hard drive partitioned? If so, you could install W64 on a different partition... if you're tech-savvy enough for that.

It's partitioned into a C drive (that boots with XP) and a small D drive for the "Image Backup" that was done when the system was built. There's a little over 49 GB free on the C drive.

frau kaleun · 12-16-10, 07:14 PM

I downloaded and ran the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor and the 64-bit report looks good.

There are a couple programs that aren't compatible but they are MS stuff that would probably not be reinstalled anyway after the upgrade.

The only other notices are about updating drivers on printers and stuff.

I know I'll have to update stuff for the BIOS (?) and chipset and that's the kind of stuff that worries me - hardware that I installed or added, I know about and can tick off on a list as I go. The innards that came with the rig are a different matter.

Anyway, looking at Win7 it appears that if you buy it you get both 32 and 64 bit versions so if I upgraded the OS at all, I'd still have either option to fall back on.

Yikes, though - I've got a 1TB external drive that all my music and backups and program setup files are on. Will that have to be reformatted if it's not a bootable drive in order to access the files again? I'd have to back up 200+ gigs of data somewhere.

longam · 12-16-10, 07:19 PM

64bit refers to your OS and its CPU processing. Your external drive is formatted with NTFS because windows XP can read it, so its good to go.

stoppro · 12-16-10, 07:19 PM

no you can keep your back-ups gee frau your losing your touch. It took almost an hour to get anyone over here!

frau kaleun · 12-22-10, 01:36 AM

Well I am back to XP after having tried for most of the last 24 hours to get Win7 up and running.

Actually, I had it up and running fine after the initial install - until I played with it a bit and then shut it down and tried to add a second internal hard drive to my system.

After doing that, 7 would not load except in safe mode. I shut it down again and removed the second drive, which didn't help. I tried completely reinstalling it - it went through the whole process but at some point during the final series of reboots it just hangs and I sit there looking at a black screen with a cursor in the middle and nothing happens until my system gives up and reboots itself.

So I reinstalled XP and did the "factory restore" thing that came with my rig when I got it and got it running fine again. Then I tried to install 7 again (and yes I know I have to do a custom install to switch to 64-bit) and I get the same problem, Win 7 will not finish installing.

So I shut it down again and disconnected and reconnected all the drives and got XP up and running again, with all drives recognized (altho I've deleted the partition on the second drive pending getting 7 running again) and all the original drivers working fine... tried to install 7 again, and got no joy.

Reinstalled XP and am searching online for some clue as to what I did that I shouldn't have, or didn't do that I should have... trying to figure out if there's something I need to have to run the additional drive with Win7.

My internal drives are SATA II, the motherboard has 5 ports for SATA drives, two of which have DVD drives attached leaving three (I thought) for other devices, so I didn't see where a second HDD would be a problem. I also have an external drive hooked up via e-SATA. When I boot up all the connected SATA/e-SATA drives are recognized, and I can access them all in XP - but something I'm doing or lacking is making it impossible to get 7 up and running with that configuration.

I don't know whether to pop the 7 disc back in and try one more time, or what. In the BIOS setup screen for SATA configuration it's got options something that lets you choose between SATA, RAID, and AHCI. It says I need a driver for AHCI, which I found at my PC support site... is that what I need?

HELP! I loved Win7 when I had it running the first time, it's so pretty and now I can't see it any more!

Castout · 12-22-10, 05:53 AM

First you need to go to your BIOS. You may select between AHCI and others I think. I'd suggest choosing AHCI in BIOS and only then you install windows 7 on AHCI setting.

Problems could occur if you change the BIOS setting after installing windows 7. If you installed under AHCI BIOS setting it should stay as AHCI in BIOS after installation. I'm guessing you didn't install it in AHCI mode in BIOS and then changed the BIOS setting to AHCI after installing. Revert back or reinstall under AHCI setting.

And if I may suggest be very careful popping in and out especially if you do that often, the 7 disc they are prone to cracking. I suggest a different place to store them than their original box.

@Tessa, I'm done with Norton it's bad. And now I bit my own tongue and go back with COMODO.

I can get Kapersky or Avira Security Suite but somehow I'm contend enough with CIS having had bad experience with the damn Norton Internet Security. I've never had an infection with COMODO.

Gerald · 12-22-10, 06:07 AM

Not always necessary to go into the BIOS, in case of emergency, perhaps, the software is usually correct to find a good path itself

Castout · 12-22-10, 07:17 AM

It's either IDE or AHCI.

No if you installed the operating system under IDE you cannot later switch it in BIOS to AHCI and vice versa, absolutely not as far as I know.

I think Frau may have made that mistake.

Gerald · 12-22-10, 07:39 AM

Possible, that is the case

stephenf555 · 01-12-11, 04:12 AM

I took the plunge and moved to 64-bit (dual boot), expecting a whole heap of problems. Had no problem at all. A lot of my hardware doesn't have specific 64-bit drivers but they worked fine. Just make sure your proc and motherboard support 64-bit. Your processor does alright.

If you're worried about it then you can install 64-bit while still keeping your 32-bit windows intact (dual boot setup).

12-16-10, 06:07 PM	#1
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	Switching to Windows 64-bit Hey all, I am thinking about switching to the 64-bit OS provided I don't have to completely rebuild my 1 year old machine. Trying to figure out how much of what I have already would be compatible with the switch. My processor is an AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core, the specs for it say "yes" for simultaneous 32- & 64-bit computing, I am assuming that means it will support a 64-bit OS? If so, what else do I need to verify before I consider making the change? I know I'll need 64-bit drivers for "all devices" which I can check on easily when it comes to printers and external stuff and drives I guess but what other stuff in the innards of the beast do I need to check on? Thanks for any help/advice!

12-16-10, 06:17 PM	#2
stoppro Sonar Guy Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: vero beach fl Posts: 380 Downloads: 493 Uploads: 0	You will have to make sure the mother board can handle 8 or more gigs of ram and that it is two channel[I think} i'm sure the brainworms will be along to exspand on this __________________ win 10 64-msi-32gig cosair ddr4-ryzen9-5600evga gtx3060-corsair850watt-2-ssd 500 gig drives 1m2 1tig

12-16-10, 07:01 PM	#4
stoppro Sonar Guy Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: vero beach fl Posts: 380 Downloads: 493 Uploads: 0	so far das goot you should be able to change over with out any problems except reformating the drive which when I did it I had someone else do it.I wasn't confident then to try it. __________________ win 10 64-msi-32gig cosair ddr4-ryzen9-5600evga gtx3060-corsair850watt-2-ssd 500 gig drives 1m2 1tig

12-16-10, 07:13 PM	#5
onelifecrisis Maverick Modder Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: England Posts: 3,895 Downloads: 65 Uploads: 3	Frau, is your hard drive partitioned? If so, you could install W64 on a different partition... if you're tech-savvy enough for that. __________________ Freedom of speech - priceless. For everything else there's Mastercard.

12-16-10, 07:19 PM	#9
stoppro Sonar Guy Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: vero beach fl Posts: 380 Downloads: 493 Uploads: 0	no you can keep your back-ups gee frau your losing your touch. It took almost an hour to get anyone over here! __________________ win 10 64-msi-32gig cosair ddr4-ryzen9-5600evga gtx3060-corsair850watt-2-ssd 500 gig drives 1m2 1tig

12-16-10, 07:14 PM	#7
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	I downloaded and ran the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor and the 64-bit report looks good. There are a couple programs that aren't compatible but they are MS stuff that would probably not be reinstalled anyway after the upgrade. The only other notices are about updating drivers on printers and stuff. I know I'll have to update stuff for the BIOS (?) and chipset and that's the kind of stuff that worries me - hardware that I installed or added, I know about and can tick off on a list as I go. The innards that came with the rig are a different matter. Anyway, looking at Win7 it appears that if you buy it you get both 32 and 64 bit versions so if I upgraded the OS at all, I'd still have either option to fall back on. Yikes, though - I've got a 1TB external drive that all my music and backups and program setup files are on. Will that have to be reformatted if it's not a bootable drive in order to access the files again? I'd have to back up 200+ gigs of data somewhere.

12-16-10, 07:19 PM	#8
longam Admiral Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 2,014 Downloads: 26 Uploads: 0	64bit refers to your OS and its CPU processing. Your external drive is formatted with NTFS because windows XP can read it, so its good to go.

12-22-10, 01:36 AM	#10
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	okay just kill me now Well I am back to XP after having tried for most of the last 24 hours to get Win7 up and running. Actually, I had it up and running fine after the initial install - until I played with it a bit and then shut it down and tried to add a second internal hard drive to my system. After doing that, 7 would not load except in safe mode. I shut it down again and removed the second drive, which didn't help. I tried completely reinstalling it - it went through the whole process but at some point during the final series of reboots it just hangs and I sit there looking at a black screen with a cursor in the middle and nothing happens until my system gives up and reboots itself. So I reinstalled XP and did the "factory restore" thing that came with my rig when I got it and got it running fine again. Then I tried to install 7 again (and yes I know I have to do a custom install to switch to 64-bit) and I get the same problem, Win 7 will not finish installing. So I shut it down again and disconnected and reconnected all the drives and got XP up and running again, with all drives recognized (altho I've deleted the partition on the second drive pending getting 7 running again) and all the original drivers working fine... tried to install 7 again, and got no joy. Reinstalled XP and am searching online for some clue as to what I did that I shouldn't have, or didn't do that I should have... trying to figure out if there's something I need to have to run the additional drive with Win7. My internal drives are SATA II, the motherboard has 5 ports for SATA drives, two of which have DVD drives attached leaving three (I thought) for other devices, so I didn't see where a second HDD would be a problem. I also have an external drive hooked up via e-SATA. When I boot up all the connected SATA/e-SATA drives are recognized, and I can access them all in XP - but something I'm doing or lacking is making it impossible to get 7 up and running with that configuration. I don't know whether to pop the 7 disc back in and try one more time, or what. In the BIOS setup screen for SATA configuration it's got options something that lets you choose between SATA, RAID, and AHCI. It says I need a driver for AHCI, which I found at my PC support site... is that what I need? HELP! I loved Win7 when I had it running the first time, it's so pretty and now I can't see it any more!

12-22-10, 05:53 AM	#11
Castout Silent Hunter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Jakarta Posts: 4,794 Downloads: 89 Uploads: 6	First you need to go to your BIOS. You may select between AHCI and others I think. I'd suggest choosing AHCI in BIOS and only then you install windows 7 on AHCI setting. Problems could occur if you change the BIOS setting after installing windows 7. If you installed under AHCI BIOS setting it should stay as AHCI in BIOS after installation. I'm guessing you didn't install it in AHCI mode in BIOS and then changed the BIOS setting to AHCI after installing. Revert back or reinstall under AHCI setting. And if I may suggest be very careful popping in and out especially if you do that often, the 7 disc they are prone to cracking. I suggest a different place to store them than their original box. @Tessa, I'm done with Norton it's bad. And now I bit my own tongue and go back with COMODO. I can get Kapersky or Avira Security Suite but somehow I'm contend enough with CIS having had bad experience with the damn Norton Internet Security. I've never had an infection with COMODO. __________________ My blog: http://exposingsingapore.wordpress.com/

12-22-10, 06:07 AM	#12
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,223 Downloads: 548 Uploads: 0	Not always necessary to go into the BIOS, in case of emergency, perhaps, the software is usually correct to find a good path itself __________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

12-22-10, 07:17 AM	#13
Castout Silent Hunter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Jakarta Posts: 4,794 Downloads: 89 Uploads: 6	It's either IDE or AHCI. No if you installed the operating system under IDE you cannot later switch it in BIOS to AHCI and vice versa, absolutely not as far as I know. I think Frau may have made that mistake. __________________ My blog: http://exposingsingapore.wordpress.com/

12-22-10, 07:39 AM	#14
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,223 Downloads: 548 Uploads: 0	Possible, that is the case __________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

01-12-11, 04:12 AM	#15
stephenf555 Watch Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Cork, Ireland Posts: 28 Downloads: 49 Uploads: 0	I took the plunge and moved to 64-bit (dual boot), expecting a whole heap of problems. Had no problem at all. A lot of my hardware doesn't have specific 64-bit drivers but they worked fine. Just make sure your proc and motherboard support 64-bit. Your processor does alright. If you're worried about it then you can install 64-bit while still keeping your 32-bit windows intact (dual boot setup).