32 bit to 64 bit

Hi, I am wondering how to upgrade Windows 7 from my 32 bit to 64 bit. My copy of Windows 7 is store purchased so I have both CD's for the 32 and 64 bit. I have already tried to do this once but during the re-installation process it asked me to insert the disc and I put in the 64 bit disc and it wouldn't allow me to install. I then put in the 32 bit disc and the installation started right up again. So any ideas why this might be?

Also, I am wondering if I even should upgrade. I just ordered an AMD quad core processor and will all the core's be recognized on the 32 bit? My system when I have the quad core consists of 2 GBs of Ram, Nvidia 9600 GT, and a 300 GB hardrive.

But the main question isn't "should I upgrade" it's "how do I upgrade"? Need help please!

Greetings Morries Glories! Welcome to the Windows 7 Forum!

I hope we'll be of some assistance for you... if not, please let us know.

Let's take your questions in the order you've submitted them.

1. You CANNOT upgrade from 32 bit to 64 bit. You will have to do a clean install of the 64 bit OS. Remember to set your DVD drive to be the first bootable drive in the BIOS and then put in the 64 bit disk and reboot from there. You'll see a prompt stating: "Press any key to boot from DVD/CD drive". Do that within 5 seconds and the install will begin. Make sure you have downloaded all pertinent 64 bit hardware drivers and store them on a thumb drive, external hard drive or burn to a CD-RW disc so you have them after the install is done

2. Yes, all four cores of the AMD CPU will be recognized by Windows 7 64 bit. To be honest its more a matter of your motherboard recognizing the CPU versus the operating system. BE SURE you have the latest BIOS firmware update installed on your motherboard's CMOS.

3. You won't regret going the 64 bit route, it's a little quicker than 32 bit, but you'll really notice a difference when you decide to add more RAM. With 4 - 6 GB of RAM your system will be quite quick.

Just remember it will take a new clean install, Okay? Be sure to reformat your hard drive or partition you'll be installing it to.

Also double-check all your settings in the BIOS, some motherboards have a 32 bit or 64 bit setting in either the peripheral or power setting section. Be sure to consult your motherboard's manual to apply the proper settings. It's the ACPI setting in the BIOS.

So the quad core processor I ordered is the "AMD phenom 9650 quad core". So that should be compatible with the my "Winfast N570SM2AA" sol series motherboard right?

And for installing the 64 bit, I think I might need to plug in an older keyboard or something that isn't connected to the USB jack because my keyboard doesn't become functional until Windows is starting up.

If you go to the BIOS in your motherboard and enable the USB keyboard setting you should be okay. Nearly all motherboards built since 2005 have those types of settings.

Also enable the "Legacy USB" settings too.

Ok so I have my processor and ive tried to install it. I have done everything according to the instructions manual and Youtube videos on installing an AMD CPU. But for some reason it is not working. I know it is compatible with my motherboard but when I turn on the computer everything seems to be working fine but none of the programs start up. It is like everything is working normal within the computer except there is no beep on start up and the screen remains blank. I have reinstlled my old CPU in the meantime (which btw is an AMD 64x2 Dual core) and it all works fine. So what do you think the problem is?

Did you update the BIOS before installing the new CPU?

That may be the problem. I had that happen on a client's computer also, after the BIOS update it worked.

I selected the 64 bit option. I would like to switch to the 32 bit option. How to - please.

If you have already installed the 64bit version and you want the 32bit version, then you must do a clean install.

May I ask why you want to revert to 32bit? It's kind of counter-intuitive to me, like going from a Ferrari to a Fiat.

Ok so I do know that the BIOS is the problem. The question is now how do I update it? I have never flashed my motherboard before so I don't know how. I have heard however that it is something that can be very risky. So when I look for the driver am I supposed to look for a driver that specifies my AMD 9650 quad core? Or do I just look for the most recent driver for my motherboard?