Upgrading from XP Pro 32 bit to Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

Hi guys. Recently, I rebuilt my computer and installed a new mobo, CPU, graphics card and 16 GB of RAM. Imagine my chagrin when I found out I can't use all the RAM because my 32 bit version of XP Pro limits it. A friend has provided me with a legit Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit disc so I can upgrade the OS. I have to admit I'm nervous about the change and losing programs and access to online apps for the college courses I'm taking. I've done lots of hardware swaps but this is the first 32 to 64 bit change I've ever done and I'm just looking for advice as to what I can expect to run into in terms of conflicts and issues. The Mobo is an ASUS M5A97R2.0 and the CPU is an AMD Phenom II X4 945 Quad Core Processor - 3.00GHz, 6MB Cache, 2000MHz . Graphics card is an EVGA 01G-P3-1302-LR GeForce 8400 GS Video Card. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated. I've already backed up all my files, documents, program files and downloaded apps, over 32 GB worth and I'm happy to provide any other info necessary.

 

Normally there is a Back up all ready of older OS on file in windows 7 i am not sure how to use the older back up to copy from it.It is not to hard to swap xp to 7 i done it a few times.

 

You cannot upgrade a 32-bit OS to a 64-bit OS.

You will need to do a clean install of Windows 7 64-bit, then reinstall all your applications and transfer your data (or restore from backup).

 

pwillener is correct. I just upgraded my laptop from XP to 7 a few weeks ago. One minor issue I had was with drivers. Since my laptop (Dell Vostro 1000) came with XP only as a special order (prevalent OS at the time was Vista), Dell had no Win 7 drivers for it. Fortunately, the drivers on the upgrade CD work fine.

The process is pretty simple. Including installation of over 100 Windows updates, it took just at 2 hours.

 

The first thing I would suggest is to run Windows 7 Advisor. You can download it here http://windows.microsoft.com/is-IS/windows/downloads/upgrade-advisor . This will scan your hardware and report any comparability issues. Then do what "pwillener" suggests.

You could run your existing Windows XP under Windows 7 as a VM with VMPLAYER, which is free. Provided that your Windows XP Pro is a retail version and not an OEM version. In that way you wouldn't have to change a thing in your XP. You would need to run VCENTER convert to build your virtual image, also a free application.