[allenle37]

I have a PC that has been running xp pro for a while, but I want to upgrade it to Vista Ultimate 64-bit. How do I know if it is ok? Should I do 32 or 64 bit?

[peterh40]

Depends on what you use for computer for and note that there are fewer drivers available for 64 bit OS than the 32 bit one so check if you have drivers for all your peripherals (scanner, printer, camera, video card etc)

[allenle37]

Does my processor need to be 64-bit as well? Also do I need to do a clean install or can I upgrade the XP Pro 32-bit to Vista Ultimate 64-bit?

[dman4862]

yes your processor does need to be 64 bit capable and yes i do believe you have to do a fresh install. Also keep in mind that there is not widespread support for software either. The 64 bit edition of windows will run 32 bit programs but only through an emulation layer which is called WoW64(windows32 on windows 64), so it really wont be taking full advantage unless the programs are written for a 64 bit OS.

[allenle37]

So after installing Vista Ultimate I would need install WoW64? I guess the reason I want to do this is to increase the ram up to 8gb for this PC>

[peterh40]

Wow64 is included with Windows 64 bit so you don't need to worry about that. The emulation layer is completely transparent, so you wouldn't notice the difference, install and run programs as normal.

[gurutech]

I did the same thing - I went from a 32-bit XP to 64-bit Vista. I was required to install a fresh copy. I could not upgrade, since I went 32 to 64. If I had chosen the 32-bit version, I could do the upgrade.