Thinkpads Forum

My X61 comes with 32bit Vista Business. I have been using 4GB ram on my X61 since I first got it, and since I am thinking about upgrading it with a SSD harddrive, I am thinking about fresh installing a 64bit Vista on it. I have been using Vista 64 bit Ultimate on my desktop and it is working great, I have checked that all the softwares I use on X61 work under Vista 64.

Question:
(1) If I order the recovery DVD for Vista 64bit from Lenovo, how much does it cost? Do I have to purchase additional product key or that came with my 32bit Vista will work?

(2) Some say that all retail Vista DVDs are the same (beside the 32bit and 64 bit difference). That is Home/Business/Ultimate all have the same DVD, the only difference lies in the product key. Is that true?

(3) The reason why I am asking is that, since the Vista Ultimate for my desktop is retail version, I have both the 32bit and 64 bit DVD. I wonder if I can use that DVD to install Vista 64bit on my X61, and enter my X61's Vista Business 32bit product key to get Vista Business 64bit. Has anyone tried that?


An unrelated question about Vista 64 bit. Has anyone found Vista 64 bit faster/more responsive than Vista 32 bit? My X61 has a Core 2 Duo 2.4G, 4GB ram, Hitachi 7k200. My desktop has a Core 2 Quad Q6600 overclocked to 3G, 4GB ram, and a Samsung 7200rpm harddisk. While without doubt that a quad core PC running at 3G is definitely faster than a dual core running at 2.4G, I would expect that I can notice the difference only when playing games or running cpu intensive simulation. Not that my X61 is slow, but I always find my desktop much much more responsive, say in switching between a few windows of IE, in opening outlook, etc. And my X61 is definitely "cleaner" in terms of softwares installed on it.

i can answer the first question:
No, u cant order 64 recovery DVD from lenovo coz I tried many times, and got rejected..

As far as I know, the only Vista version that allows you to share the same license betwen 32-bit and 64-bit is Ultimate. And your 32-bit Vista Business license will not be valid for 64-bit.

Ah... that sucks. Just checked eBay, the cheapest Vista 64bit liscense still cost more than a hundred.

(2) Some say that all retail Vista DVDs are the same (beside the 32bit and 64 bit difference). That is Home/Business/Ultimate all have the same DVD, the only difference lies in the product key. Is that true?

This is true.

khtse wrote:(2) Some say that all retail Vista DVDs are the same (beside the 32bit and 64 bit difference). That is Home/Business/Ultimate all have the same DVD, the only difference lies in the product key. Is that true?

(3) The reason why I am asking is that, since the Vista Ultimate for my desktop is retail version, I have both the 32bit and 64 bit DVD. I wonder if I can use that DVD to install Vista 64bit on my X61, and enter my X61's Vista Business 32bit product key to get Vista Business 64bit. Has anyone tried that?

2: True, there are 4 DVDs: Vista 32, Vista 64, Vista 32 SP1 and Vista 64 SP1. You would want Vista 64 SP1, the original Vista 64 might not install with 4GB RAM in the system.

3: Yes, that's what I have done, with one difference. I didn't want to activate my copy of Vista via telephone (that's what you have to do with an OEM key). Instead I backed up the pre-activation information of the 32 bit preload, and after the installation of Vista 64 SP1 I restored it. This way, my system got activated permanently just like a preload system. To see how this is done search for "thinkpad clean install guide".

but, your vista business 32-bit will work on vista business 64-bit

RaysMD wrote:but, your vista business 32-bit will work on vista business 64-bit

I can CONFIRM that the vista business 32bit serial key WILL WORK on a vista business 64bit installation.

All you have to do is obtain the 64bit installation installation dvd/iso. I did have to call microsoft to activate (since I had already activated it once before) but the automated system took only about 10 minutes.

Your Vista Ultimate 64bit dvd SHOULD WORK because it is true that all of the 32bit installations share the same dvd, with the only difference being the serial key.

However, if you cannot find an offical dvd/iso by any reasonable legal means (like msdn, msdnaa, friends, on the bookshelf, etc) you can order the 64bit dvd from MICROSOFT for a "nominal fee" from the link below.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/1033/ordermedia

I don't know how much this nominal fee is, but i assume its less than $10.

That should answer (1) (2) and (3). Hope this helps clear up your questions.

patch wrote:However, if you cannot find an offical dvd/iso by any reasonable legal means (like msdn, msdnaa, friends, on the bookshelf, etc) you can order the 64bit dvd from MICROSOFT for a "nominal fee" from the link below.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/1033/ordermedia

Unfortunately this doesn't work as expected: Microsoft checks the license key as part of the ordering process. Because OEMs have to provide alternate media themselves, Microsoft will not allow you to order a 64 Bit DVD if you enter an OEM key as part of the ordering process.

Regards, Martin