Windows 10: Installation of Windows 10 32-bit

installing a windows 10 64 bit OS is fine on my windows 10 computer,

when i try installing a 32 bit OS on 64 bit machine,

i always get this error when i try to install windows 10 32 bit OS on 64 bit machine using usb or cd,.............

File: \Windows\System32\boot\winload.efi

Status: 0xc0000359

Info: The application or operating system couldn't be loaded because a required file is missing or contains error.


This error occurs even when I install after having wiped all partitions clean by using diskpart

:)

 

Windows 10 Upgrade 32-bit to 64-bit

So, Windows 10 Upgrade is being rolled out worldwide, and I have 'reserved' my upgrade.

Currently my computer is running Windows 7 Pro 32-bit. I'm planning to 'upgrade' it to Windows 10 64-bit (via fresh install, of course).

After reading many references, these will be the steps I'll do:

1. Let the "Get Windows 10" app upgrade my OS to Windows 10 32-bit
   
2. Note the activation key
   
3. Download the Installation Media for Windows 10, but choosing 64-bit instead
   
4. Perform a clean install
   
5. Reactivate using the activation key in Step #2
   

(Of course I'll backup my data first.)

However, I still have some questions:

1. On Windows 7, the activation key does not differ between 32- or 64-bit versions. Is it still so with Windows 10?
   
2. Will I be able to download a different architecture on Step #3?
   
3. Is there anything I need to prepare beforehand?
   

Thank you for your assistance.

 

How to install windows 10 32 bit on window 10 64 bit.

First determine if there are 32 bit compatible drivers available for all your hardware. Also, if you have more than 4 GBs of RAM installed, it won't be recognized by 32 bit Windows 10.

If you have all pre-requisites, then you can download the corresponding 32 bit edition then perform a custom install over your 64 bit install:

Step 1:
How to download official Windows 10 ISO files

Step 2:
How to: Perform a custom installation of Windows

As a precaution, backup the 64 bit install in case something goes wrong:

• How
  to: Create a system image in Windows 10
• How
  to restore a Windows 10 system image to an existing or larger storage device
  

Personally, I would setup a virtual machine instead with a 32 bit copy of Windows and run the necessary apps there.

Please note, you will need to enable 16 bit mode in Windows 10 32 bit in order to use those older 16 bit apps:

How to Enable 16-bit Application Support in Windows 10 - groovyPost

 

windows 10 32 or 64 bit ?

The responses on this seem to be not totally consistent.

If you are willing to jump through hoops such as installing Windows 10 multiple times, some of which would be clean installs, is it possible to upgrade from Windows 7 32-bit to Windows 10 64-bit using the free upgrade?

I'm thinking a process something like:

Step 1: Upgrade from Windows 7 32-bit to Windows 10 32-bit.

Step 2: Clean Re-install Windows 10, but opt to install as 64-bit.