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0 pointsjerf10y ago0 comments

I tried to update my wife's lil' tabletish Acer netbooky thing, because while I don't like the pushiness I did like Windows 10. And it's been pestering us with little popups for weeks at that point. I go to update it, and it says, Sorry, Windows is 64-bit only.

This is when I discover the machine that I purchased only about 2 years ago now was actually 32-bit. Didn't even know they were still making them at that time.

IIRC it bailed out in the first phase before downloading everything, but, still, couldn't the little popup check something as basic as bittedness?

Also IIRC it didn't stop bothering us until I went and did some registry hack or something to make it shut up, as it was just taunting us at that point. But I'm less confident about this aspect of my memory.

0 pointsjerf10y ago0 comments

This is when I discover the machine that I purchased only about 2 years ago now was actually 32-bit. Didn't even know they were still making them at that time.

IIRC it bailed out in the first phase before downloading everything, but, still, couldn't the little popup check something as basic as bittedness?

0 comments

5 comments · 3 top-level

JoeAltmaier10y ago· 2 in thread

Huh? I upgraded a 32-bit version of Win10 without any problem. So they exist. Maybe not for every platform?

lfowles10y ago

I was unable to upgrade my wife's old 32bit computer, but I think it was some other bit of CPU capability that was the stopper.

Edit: It was NX bit support.

jerfOP10y ago

Heh. Whatever capability it is that would be required, this would be the netbook that didn't have it. It's not a high quality machine.

We/she keep buying cheapos for her... we're to the point now where I would have been better off buying a Real Machine up in the ~$400 price point instead, which would probably have outlasted any three of the cheapos by now. I really ought to have known better. Ah well, live and learn, learn, learn again.

Decade10y ago

Windows 10 runs on 32-bit. The actual requirements are very confusing. And Intel still is making 32-bit processors for embedded systems.

I’m surprised that a 2-year-old machine doesn’t have the required CPU support. I just upgraded a 32-bit Core Duo system from 2007 to Windows 10.

I think the “easiest” way to check for compatibility is to look up that particular processor in the Intel ARK and check that it has the Execute Disable Bit.

But that doesn’t guarantee that it can run 64-bit Windows 10. Early-model 64-bit processors can’t run 64-bit Windows 10, because of missing locking primitives. Fortunately, that is a pretty small number of processors, most of them retired by now, because they were power-hungry and slow.

DanBC10y ago

Here's a reddit thread about a different little notebook: https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/comments/3fnj17/installin...

It's no wonder that people are reluctant to upgrade.

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