I am just upgrading my music PC hardware and am considering moving on from XP, which has been very reliable for me, to 64bit Windows 7 to allow me more than 4Gb RAM.

I have the chance of the upgrade version (at a good price) rather than a full install version and wonder what problems I might encounter with the upgrade? How easy/successful is upgrading 32bit XP to 64bit 7?

The first thing to know is that its not really an upgrade. You cant upgrade 32 bit to 64 and keep your programs. Its a fresh install. About 97% of programs will still work on Windows 7.

OK thanks. I guess I have to enter my XP serial then during install so it knows the upgrade is genuine.

That's correct yes.
Check your motherboard and other devices websites first to double-check there's drivers available (particularly if you have an older machine), and download those before you upgrade, would be my advice.

I did find this:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows7/help/upgrading-f rom-windows-xp-to-windows-7
You can download a PDF too.

This forum has many helpful people: http://www.sevenforums.com

After installation, do not install any of your VST(i)s into the Program Files or Program Files (x86) folders as Windows 7 is more protective of them. Set up your own, e.g. C:\Music\ Plugins-64 and C:\Music\ Plugins-32 with sub-folders as you wish.

Also, you may need to run some Installers "as Administrator" in order to complete the installs successfully. Note that that is not the same as being logged in on an administrator-type user account. This is needed as not all installers are fully compatible with Windows 7 (even after all this time)
Last edited by DarkStar on Mon Mar 19, 2012 1:58 pm; edited 1 time in total

I'm just upgrading to a newer motherboard/cpu and have already downloaded latest drivers ready for when I start.

Also:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/31402-clean-install-upg rade-windows-7-version.html

Thanks DarkStar. I am trying to decide if the hassle of going 64bit just for a few gig more ram is worth it to me at this point.

Would there be any other benefits other than more RAM?

Well, you get to run 64-bit apps, meaning you get access to more than just 2GB per app. SO you can use more ram in your apps.
You could use rt7lite and strip out some of the junk in 7 before you install as well, if you wanted.
Personally I'm still on xp 32bit here.

I'm happy with XP 32bit, but since I'm upgrading hardware it got me thinking about going 64 bit. Staying on XP will be the easier option.

All your drivers will need to be changed to 64bit drivers such as, sound chip, graphics card, motherboard drivers and so on. If you have a 32bit DAW buy Jbridge it will allow your 32bit daw to use all your ram by making your plugins use a seperate processs, Ram address space. make sure its all backed up and download 64bit divers for any hardware you can think of put it all on a flash stick or backup drive.

If you don't use large sample instruments then 64bit is not too important.

I think this is important to know. You will no longer use 32-bit drivers.. you will HAVE to use the 64-bit drivers.. for everything.

So you can use 32-bit software in win7 64, but the drivers have to be 64-bit only. Before going 64-bit, ensure all of your hardware has 64-bit drivers.


Also, mostly mentioned, there is NO upgrade from XP to windows7. That includes from XP64 to Win7 64-bit. You will be installing fresh (or reformat) on a new HDD.

HOWEVER, there is a method to install the Win7 'upgrade' media cleanly. The basic idea is to install Windows 7 normally, when it gets to asking for the serial dont enter anything.. it should still install.. when you get to your new desktop, go to the activation applet in your start menu and enter in the key then and allow it to activate. At least that is what I think I remember... Google is your friend here to confirm.

In my experience and opinion, Win7 is soooo much nicer than XP and I liked XP. As long as you have stable hardware, Win7 will be stable as well. I've been up on this session for 11 days, 17 hours I more than likely will be skipping Windows8.

Something to know about Win 7 64-bit is that the different editions (Home, Professional, Ultimate) allow for different maximum amounts of RAM. The Home version has an upper limit of 16 GB.

I can get Professional at a good price until the end of the month so I have a week and a half to decide. Maybe I'll buy the 'upgrade' now anyway and see how I get on with XP. I guess I could set up a dual boot for XP and 7.

I use Omnisphere and sometimes Kontakt which I think are my most RAM consuming items. I am happy freezing tracks and haven't hit any problems yet, CPU power has been more of a restriction hence the upgrade.

I am going from a Q6600 marginally underclocked (as fast as my motherboard would allow ) to an i5 Quad at 2.8 so I should see some improvement

The i5 is far faster even at the same Mhz. If you buy a third party cooler you can overclock it a huge amount and overclocking is easier these days.

win 7 Home 64bit can use 16GB RAM
win 7 64bit professional and Ultra can use 256GB RAM. Pro and Ultra also come with usless extra features that only a corporation or the pentagon could make use of.


There is also Win 7 64bit OEM which is cheaper but it's licence is locked to your motherboard so if you upgrade the motherboard you have to buy Windows again the retail versions are better for upgrades.