I was wondering if there was a way to trick a 64 bit program to run under a 32 bit OS. I'm asking because I have Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit and I really want to try out the Battlefield 4 beta, which requires 64 bit. Reinstalling my entire OS and programs isn't really worth it at the moment, especially if I do a clean install of Windows 7/8 a year from now.
nope there's a fundamentally different way the programs work especially regards to memory space. Which is why 64 bit stuff is incompatible with 32 bit stuff. So you cant fake it.
You could always boot different versions of Windows from a thumb drive as well. Just set the boot priority in your BIOS to usb and you could boot just about any version you wanted.
Thanks for all the advice. I recently asked my dad why he never bothered to install the 64 bit OS to begin with, and he said that some of the drivers for my hardware were not available for 64 bit OS. I did a quick search on my motherboard ( GIGABYTE EP45-UD3L) and found 64 bit drivers. Could I be missing something? Also, based on what I've read, it seems that I need to open up a new partition to install another OS. Once I do so, will I still be able to access content from the hard drives, or will it be like a clean install?
Yes, you can trick your 32 bit OS into thinking that it's a 64 bit OS, but it's not easy. You must be very persuasive. You must think like a military drill instructor. You need to break it down, confuse it, recondition it, and rebuild it back up as a 64 bit OS. You must make it truly believe that it has changed. Like teaching a puppy to walk on two legs, it will not be easy... EDIT: Sorry, I'm on pain meds after my surgery :P
Thanks for all the advice. I recently asked my dad why he never bothered to install the 64 bit OS to begin with, and he said that some of the drivers for my hardware were not available for 64 bit OS. I did a quick search on my motherboard ( GIGABYTE EP45-UD3L) and found 64 bit drivers. Could I be missing something? Also, based on what I've read, it seems that I need to open up a new partition to install another OS. Once I do so, will I still be able to access content from the hard drives, or will it be like a clean install?genius2365
Sounds like he was thinking of or was put-off by Windows XP 64-bit. Â The driver support for that was TERRIBLE, but that's not the case for Vista/7/8 64-bit. Â For those that didn't know much about the subject at the time, there was a general mentality of "64-bit sucks for drivers" going around. Â Might be a case of that. Â Either that or you have some special proprietary hardware sitting on one of your PCI/PCIe slots (maybe like an old TV capture card or something) where the manufacturer never wrote a 64-bit WDM certified driver for it.
You won't be able to do an in-place Windows upgrade to a 64-bit edition from a 32-bit, but as previously suggested, either carve out a partition on your hard drive or install a second hard drive and dual-boot your computer with Windows 7 64-bit. Â Windows 7 has a 30-day grace period before it forces you to enter a key and activate, and even after that it'll still work without activation but just nag you about activating when you boot up and turn your wallpaper black for another 60 days or so. Â More than enough time for the beta.
Why are you using 32-bit OS these days? Do yourself a favour and get 64-bit version of Windows 7.
Cyberdot
Well, I'm probably going to get myself a new computer a year from now, and it would probably be simpler if I do a clean install on the new computer of all the programs I need (unless it's simpler to install vista 64 on another partition, install all programs in 64 bit, and then do a direct upgrade from Vista to Windows 7/8 ?). Based on what I've read, I think I'm going to open a new partition on my hard drive and install the 64 bit version of Windows Vista. I do have Windows 7 and 8 ( my Dad picked up Windows 8 for 40$ and it's not that bad), but I think it would be best to wait until I make my new computer to upgrade my OS. What do you guys think?
Thanks for all the advice. I recently asked my dad why he never bothered to install the 64 bit OS to begin with, and he said that some of the drivers for my hardware were not available for 64 bit OS. I did a quick search on my motherboard ( GIGABYTE EP45-UD3L) and found 64 bit drivers. Could I be missing something? Also, based on what I've read, it seems that I need to open up a new partition to install another OS. Once I do so, will I still be able to access content from the hard drives, or will it be like a clean install?genius2365
Tell your dad he is living about 6 years in the past.
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