32 bit Win 10 to 64 bit Win 10

[rfisher]

I have an old PC running Win10 32 bit.

I'd like to get it running Win10 64 bit, without anything else looking any different.

So all files and settings the same, but a 64 bit OS.

Is there any clever software that can do that, or will I have to go through all the files on the machine that I want to save and transfer them to a backup drive?

[grumbledoak]

You don't need to change any "files", at least not your own. You just upgrade the OS, keeping your files the same.

It looks to be clean install time:
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-upgrade-32-bit-...
Backup your data, clean install, restore your data.

I would wonder if it is worth it - can you physically install more than 4GB RAM on it? If not, I wouldn't bother.

[mattley]

Good guide here.

https://www.howtogeek.com/228042/how-to-switch-fro...

[droopsnoot]

grumbledoak said:

I would wonder if it is worth it - can you physically install more than 4GB RAM on it? If not, I wouldn't bother.

I stuck with 32-bit Win7 when I built my current machine, and later on discovered one or two bits of software that are now only being developed in 64-bit versions, for whatever reason.

[twister]

grumbledoak said:

I would wonder if it is worth it - can you physically install more than 4GB RAM on it? If not, I wouldn't bother.

Depending on how much of the 32-bit address space all of the motherboard stuff consumes, even a 4GB system could end up with close to a gig of extra useable memory by switching to a 64-bit OS.