how do I remove Win7 64bit and install 32bit?

[wmb]

I want to unistall/remove/delete the 64bit version from my Asus netbok and install the 32bit version so I can run some old 16 bit software.

I have an original intallation disc for the reinstall and hope to use the licence number on the computer rather than one from my disc. Also, the drive was formatted by the previous owner to poorly chosen partitions. Can it be reformatted and repartitioned as part of the reintallation process, or do I need to buy other software for this, just like in the golden olden days?

My experience/background-

I started ot typing on the command line under DOS (MS DOS 2-something, DR DOS, etc.) in 1983, and have run most versions of Windows, starting with "run time" but Win7 is a strange new beast to me, so I don't know where to begin unless it's reformatting and then reinstalling from scratch - which is OK but in that case what should I use to reformat? Is it worth setting it up so that Windows is on its own partition and the programs on the other? (I used to keep a complete copy of Windows on a separate partition so I could simply copy it back to C:/windows when it broke instead of reinstalling it from the floppies.)

Thanks for any advice . . .

 

[TrainableMan]

Yes you can install 32bit, in fact for a netbook it is generally recommended because of their smaller RAM; 2MB is listed as the minimum for 64bit.

First you will need to back up your data. Normally I recommend using Windows Easy Transfer BUT IT DOES NOT WORK GOING FROM 64bit to 32bit so you will need to back up your data yourself.

Also the version of W7 you have on the install disk MUST be the same as is on the netbook if you plan to use the netbook key. Many netbooks have/come with Windows 7 Starter and because of their limited power they work better w/o AERO anyway (starter does not include AERO).

So assuming you have backed up your data and you have a DVD with matching product key, go into Control Panel\Administrative Tools and select Computer Management and from there pick Disk Management. Right-click on the extra partitions and pick Delete Volume. Once you have deleted all the extra partitions then Extend the primary partition (NOTE if your desire is to SHRINK the primary partition then you may need to delete data first). If you want a second partition then create that with whatever space is left. Harddrives are usually pretty small on a netbook so I would go with one big partition but 2 is fine if really prefer it that way; leave at least 60GB on the primary for the OS and your userids/temp files etc.

Once you have it partitioned reboot to the DVD, format the harddrive and install.

 

[Thrax]

Why give up the benefits of 64-bit? Install VirtualBox, or any other free VM application, and virtualize the environment for those 16-bit apps.

 

[TrainableMan]

It's a netbook. WMB, how much RAM does your machine have? For a VM 3GB of RAM is recommended.

 

[Thrax]

Netbook spans a wide range of hardware these days. Netbooks based on ULV Pentiums or the AMD E-350 are more than capable of running a VM. Clarity is needed.