XP 64-Bit Upgrade

[TheGreatSatan]

I know you can drop in a XP Pro to upgrade XP Home without wiping the files, but can you drop in XP 64-Bit to upgrade XP 32-Bit without wiping the files too?

[nevermind1534]

You don't have to wipe the files, although you can't do an upgrade from 32 bit, or to any vista. You have to do a clean install, but if you don't format the drive, you only lose your settings, not your files. You can upgrade to Vista x64 from a 32-bit version, though.

[ContraptionMaker]

I know you can drop in a XP Pro to upgrade XP Home without wiping the files, but can you drop in XP 64-Bit to upgrade XP 32-Bit without wiping the files too?

Don't do an upgrade! Any problems you might have in the original os will still be there after you upgrade. You can't "upgrade" from a 32-Bit system to a 64-Bit system because they are two total different systems.
From the Microsoft web site:

Q.Can I upgrade from 32-bit Windows XP Professional to Windows XP Professional x64 Edition?
A.No, you can't upgrade. You can use the Technology Advancement Program until the end of July, 2005, to exchange your copy of Windows XP Professional for the x64 Edition of Windows XP Professional, but doing so replaces your existing license with the new license. The actual installation of Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is a fresh install, not an upgrade. All your programs will have to be reinstalled, and if you have data on the same drive as your operating system, it will be wiped out. Make a thorough backup of your important files before doing the installation.

If you don't want to wipe your files out with a format you can always set it up as a dual boot system and have both os's to work with and still see your files in either. Personally I like this way the best because if you have something that only runs on a perticular os you can just reboot and switch back. Just incase you didn't know you can also use and upgrade disk to do a clean install if you have your original windows disk, not a recovery disk.

Hope this helps.

[TheGreatSatan]

I guess I'l just leave it alone. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

[nevermind1534]

I don't think I did a formated the drive when I installed it... I think I read on Microsoft's website that you can upgrade from vista 32 to vista 64 for free.

[Datech]

TheGreatSatan: In my opinion, XP 64-bit was more of an afterthought than a useful operating system. Server 2003 64 and now Vista 64 outshine XP 64 in many areas, so if you really want to have a 64 bit OS, and Windows, I'd just bite the bullet and get Vista 64. Plus, you get DX10 if its a gaming rig.

nevermind1534: You can upgrade XP to Vista (both 32-bit), I've done it twice. Again, its not really recommended as ContraptionMaker said due to lingering OS problems, not to mention any rogue device drivers that may choose to rear their heads.

Just snag a new license and an external hard drive, and copy/blast/copy away.

[nevermind1534]

nevermind1534: You can upgrade XP to Vista (both 32-bit)

Yes, but you can't upgrade the 64-bit version of xp to vista. If that were possible, I would have done it instead of doing a clean install over xp 64 when I installed vista ultimate x64 two days ago.

[TheGreatSatan]

I will wait till Windows 7 comes out for that system. My new system (My Sig) will be getting Vista Home Premium 64-bit