Windows 64-bit

Hi all,
I have just purchased a Toshiba L650/077 (http://www.mytoshiba.com.au/products.../psk1ja-077017) from the local computer store. Unfortunately, they only had the display model in store. When I booted up the computer at home, it appears that Windows 7 has only been loaded as a 32-bit system, as opposed to the 64-bit...

I looked up the online specs for the product and the relevant line is this... "Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (32bit) (includes recovery partition for Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit)".

My questions are these;
a) Is it possible to convert from the 32bit to the 64bit operating system (without purchasing a brand new copy of Windows 7 - I note that I got no recovery discs with the computer, but I understand that this is standard practice for Toshibas)? I don't mind reformatting if that is what it takes...

b) How would I go about the upgrade - is it possible to boot from the so-called 'recovery partition' and use that to reinstall?

Thanks guys,
Harish

Welcome to W7forum Harish...

Unfortunately it seems that the vendor hasn't given you the service in the right manner... Since you can see that the recovery partition has a Win7 64bit then you can try installing it but if you can do a clean install of Win7 64bit that'll be a better option since it happened with me as well though i never had a recovery partition...i installed a complete new Win7 64bit since my Motherboard supported a 64bit....

Harish if that doesn't then your only option would be to install Windows7 64bit but installing from the recovery partition should work....

Let us know if that work, if not then we can check...

Yup. But I suggest you do a clean install as well. Recoveries aren't often a good idea. Recovery might work...

It would be more advisable that you note your product key and clean install by downloading an ISO and burning it to a DVD from here:
Windows 7 ISO – Official Direct Download Links

Booting into your recovery partition will work quite well, although you'll have a lot of "crapware" on the computer. The advantage of a recovery partition is that you'll be starting off with the correct type of drivers, although over time, they may need updating. But it will get you going.

The "crapware", you can easily uninstall with "PC Decrapifier" or Revo Uninstaller Pro (a 15 day free trial). I've used my recovery discs four times now, with no issues, except that you can't select how much space you want to use, so if you upgrade your hard drive to 1TB and use your recovery discs, you're going to have one mighty large "C" partition.

But in this case, where the OS that's installed is a 32 bit, but the recovery partition is 64 bit, go for it. That way, you won't need to hunt for drivers, and you should come out good. As soon as possible, you'll also want to burn the recovery discs themselves, there's an option for it, read your manual, or visit the OEM site for your computer.

There are many users who doesn't care for recovery partitions at all, but they can be very useful, especially for newer computers, while there's some crapware built in, some is good, too. My computer came with Power2Go, MS Works (a basic home office app) and HP Update, which keeps your drivers updated (most of the time), it has served me well.

So Harish, if you have the 64 bit version of Windows 7 in a recovery partition, go for it. But please backup first, "just in case".

BTW, welcome to the forum, Harish! I almost forgot my manners.

If you need additional help, always feel free to post, there's plenty of help here.

Best of Luck,
Cat