Windows 10: My devices are pretty old, are they gonna work on 64-bit Win 10 ?

Hey,

I'm thinking about switching from Win 10 32-bit to 64-bit today or tomorrow. But my mouse, keyboard and monitor and pretty old and is that a problem? I don't know if it even matters but are they gonna work on a 64-bit OS?

:)

 

Win10 from 32 to 64 bits?

I have been working with the Win 10 Previews on a 32 bit machine. In the near future, I plan to replace my motherboard with one that contains a 64 bit Intel CPU. When I finally get to download my free Win 10, how can I ensure that it installs for 64 bits,
or will there be two versions, like Win7?

*Will the download be allowed only to my "old" 32-bit system?

*If I install the 64 bit motherboard, will I still be allowed to download a free copy of Win 10?

Maybe it is too soon to raise these questions, but I'd really like to go ahead with my 64 bit upgrade without losing my "right" to the Win 10 (64-bit?) copy.

 

dual boot win 10

I had upgraded my old 32 bit win 10 to a 64 bit win 10 system and while I was transferring my files, I dual booted from the original 32 bit Win 10 system. Now that everything is running smoothly, I would like to remove the old 32 bit partition and included
the space in my new 64 bit system. However, when I go into the disk management, it is listing the old 32 bit system as 'system,active,primary' partition and is listing my new 64 bit system as (boot, pagefile, crash dump, primary partiton). I am afraid to make
this partition as active in case I lose all my files. Any suggestion of how to get rid of the 32 bit partition and make the 64 bit system bootable?

Thanks

Key Buster

 

Mouse, keyboard and monitor do not matter.

 

Your cpu can handle 64-bit but we'd need a complete breakdown of all your computer's components. You can use this program to find the information if you're not sure.

 

Here are all my specs and parts: HP Pavilion Slimline s5130at Desktop PC Product Specifications | HP(R) Customer Support

Also, my Windows is activated digitally with my MS account, if I install 64-bit is it gonna auto activate when I log in? I started downloading it on a flash drive and it said it might need a product key.

 

Yes, once you upgrade to 64-bit it'l automatically activate. You will need to do a clean installation of Windows in order to change to 64-bit. Before you do, make sure your current installation is properly activated and that you're using a Microsoft Account so you can activate in the future.

 

Hi there

Unfortunately you can't upgrade frpm 32 to 64 bit OS --but what still works is if you have a RETAIL 64 bit version of W7 / W8 W8.1 (not Enterprise) you can use the keys from those products.

You might find modern monitors etc don't have VGA (Old fashioned Monitor cable) input but USB mouse / keyboard still work - as do OS/2 --> USB adapters.

Other old legacy hardware probably won't work as they will need modern 64 bit drivers. (You could run a 32 bit VM of course !!!).

Cheers
jimbo

 

A Microsoft Account is not required for activation. You can activate with a local account. *Wink

 

What's the reason that I can't upgrade to 64-bit?

 

@BicycleRow doesn't need a product key because he or she already has Windows 10 32-bit installed and activated. During the installation process, just click the little link for I Don't Have a Product Key and once connected to the internet Windows 10 will activate itself again assuming you install the same version (Home or Pro) onto the same computer. 32 bit and 64 bit Windows 10 use the same license - if they are the same version (Home or Pro).

As @alphanumeric pointed out, a Microsoft Account is not even required for it.

You can't go from 32-bit to 64-bit with an upgrade. You have to do a clean install to switch.

 

NavyLCDR - Yeah, I know. That's what I meant by "upgrading". I'm gonna download it on a flash drive tomorrow but I wanna be 100% sure there won't be any problems before I do it.

Just a few more questions: Does 64-bit use more RAM and CPU? Will my rig get a bit slower if I install 64-bit? I've read on a site that it uses more. But if so, how much?

I currently have 3.12 GB of RAM available. Will I be able to use all 4 GB, or at least a little more, with 64-bit?
And are there any downsides of running it under 4 GB of RAM?

 

There is no upgrade path from 32 bit to 64 bit. It's a fundamental shift in architecture.

 

It will use more RAM and more CPU - that's pretty much the whole point of moving to 64 bit .

You will see available RAM jump to 3.8 GB +

With your computer specs, I would say you will get a tiny improvement in performance and probably only when running actual 64 bit applications. The increase in free RAM will be used mostly by the increase in what 64 bit Windows requires to run itself. Going above 4 GB installed RAM is when you really need to move to 64 bit.

 

Now I don't know on whether I should install it. I mean yeah, the freed RAM will be used by the 64-bit system but it's still gonna use more of the CPU, right? Thus making my system a bit slower? I wanted to change to 64-bit for the RAM and because I currently have a problem with the video card drivers crashing and I was hoping that it'll fix it. It could be something else though.

I mean, I can still try it. I can make a backup of my 32-bit version and if my performance gets slower with 64 I can bring back 32. I don't know, with these low-end specs I really wanna get the most out of my PC. I know that I should buy a better one but for now I gotta stick with this one.