Win 8 to Win 10 upgrade

[Deleted member 2913]

I am going to upgrade a Win 8 laptop to Win 10.

Installed OS is Win 8.1 Pro
System properties shows - 32 Bits OS, x64 based processor.
Does this means I can install 64 Bits OS on the system?
And I can use 32 Bits OS (Win 8.1 Pro) key to activate 64 Bits OS (Win 8.1 Pro)?
And I can upgrade the system to Win 10 Pro 64 Bits?

 

[Sven]

Yes, you can install 64 bits OS (and if you have 4 or more Gigs of RAM).
You can't use your Win 8.1 Pro key natively to install Windows 10. Your key is transformed to a unique Windows 10 key during update process.So, you won't deal with key entering process, just skip if it needs a key.
Most probably (as far as I remember) you can not choose whether 32 bits or 64 bits to install. The upgrade (from tray icon) does not contain that option. If you want to upgrade to 64 bits Windows 10, you must use Media Creation Tool and install from that option.

 

[Deleted member 2913]

So I can ---
1. Download Win 8.1 Pro 64 Bits & clean install & can activate it with Win 8.1 Pro 32 Bits key, right?
2. After installing & activating Win 8.1 Pro 64 Bits it can be upgraded to Win 10 Pro 64 Bits, right?

3. Can I use the media creation tool to upgrade to Win 10 Pro 64 Bits on Win 8.1 Pro 32 Bits?

Are these specs good for 64 Bits system?
Operating System
Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit
CPU
Intel Core i3 3110M @ 2.40GHz 44 °C
Ivy Bridge 22nm Technology
RAM
4.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 798MHz (11-11-11-28)
Motherboard
Hewlett-Packard 183F (U3E1) 46 °C
Graphics
Generic PnP Monitor (1366x768@60Hz)
Intel HD Graphics 4000 (HP)
Storage
465GB Hitachi HGST HTS545050A7E380 (SATA) 50 °C
Optical Drives
hp DVD-RAM UJ8D1
Audio
IDT High Definition Audio CODEC

 

[Sven]

Check this link and we will be all set. (Don't forget to upgrade to Win 10 32bit first, because it generates a unique key. We are doing this because your Win 8.1 key WON'T WORK on Win 10 directly.)

For media creation tool use this link

 

[Ink]

You're asking can you use a Windows 8.1 32-bit license for a Windows 8.1 64-bit installation? It may be possible, but it's been a few years since installing Windows 8. Try it and find out.

The Windows 10 Upgrade will retain the OS architecture, ie. 32-bit to 32-bit and 64-bit to 64-bit.

 

[Deleted member 2913]

Check this link and we will be all set. (Don't forget to upgrade to Win 10 32bit first, because it generates a unique key. We are doing this because your Win 8.1 key WON'T WORK on Win 10 directly.)

For media creation tool use this link

I checked the link.

But is that sure i.e Win 8.1 Pro 32 Bits - Upgrade to Win 10 Pro 32 Bits & check the license is activated - Then you can do a clean install of Win 10 Pro 64 Bits?
I mean MS stores info of the upgrade. Upgrade was to 32 Bits. Will 64 Bits activate?

My license is OEM i.e preinstalled OS
I dont have OS disc/recovery disc/recovery partition to reinstall Win 8.1 if clean install Win 10 64 Bits will not activate.

 

[Sven]

Yes. I have done the nearly same process. I've upgraded my Windows 7 64 bit to Windows 10 64 bit first. There was some errors and slowdowns on my system and my upgrade process was not that much smooth, so I've decided to do a clean install Windows 10. The only way to clean install a Windows 10 is passes through that you must have upgraded from your Win 7-8-8.1 to Windows 10 before a clean install..

And Yes, it is valid for either 32 or 64 bit, its up to you which architecture you want to use. Please verify that if you have a sticker under your laptop with your OEM key? If it does not have a OEM key, then search Google to "how to find OEM key" etc. Save it as a precaution

 

[Deleted member 2913]

I too have done the same as you i.e upgraded Win 7 64 to Win 10 64 then did a clean install of Win 10 64 with no probs.

This scenario is different.
We are going to upgrade a 32 bits system to Win 10 32 bits - this is fine.
But later clean install of Win 10 64 will activate or not thats the worry coz the upgrade & activation was to 32 bits Win 10.

 

[Sven]

I think that %90 it will work. The keys does not differ from flavours. 32 and 64 keys are the same (as far as I know). Give it a try yourself, but first, please do save your OEM key for Win 8.1

 

[Deleted member 2913]

My relative lost the license sticker too.
I tried produkey, belarc & magicjellykeyfinder & all show the same key for Win 8.1...hope this is the correct key.

I have never used Win 8. This is a relatives laptop.
How to change the boot sequence in BIOS? I googled but the mention "UEFI Settings" doesn't appear here. Many users have mentioned they dont see the option in their system too.

Mine was Win 7 system. I had changed the boot order to boot from USB. There was an option to restore BIOS to default. After Win 10 clean install I restored BIOS settings to default. I dont see these things in Win 8.1...any info?

 

[Deleted member 2913]

I have downloaded Win 10 Pro 32 & Win 10 Pro 64 ISO.
How to create bootable USB with Rufus?
Current OS is Win 8.1 Pro 32 Bits. I am going to upgrade it to Win 10 Pro 32 Bits. Then I am going to clean install Win 10 Pro 64 Bits.

 

[jamescv7]

@yesnoo : Information from FAQ can be located on their section site .

UEFI are design on newer computers that integrates that function on their BIOS and motherboard, so still you can install Windows 8 without that.

 

[Deleted member 2913]

I think that %90 it will work. The keys does not differ from flavours. 32 and 64 keys are the same (as far as I know). Give it a try yourself, but first, please do save your OEM key for Win 8.1

It worked.
Thanxx for all the info & time.

 

[Deleted member 2913]

@yesnoo : Information from FAQ can be located on their section site .

UEFI are design on newer computers that integrates that function on their BIOS and motherboard, so still you can install Windows 8 without that.

I dont know much about UEFI. But after installing Win 10 32 Bits prepared with media creation tool I reset the BIOS to defaults then I was getting boot device not found & system boot was not possible.
After searching I found on HP site to solve the error disable secure boot, enable legacy in BIOS & this solved the prob.