can i use my OEM win7 32bit key with a retail Win7 64bit disk?

khmiller

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Apr 6, 2014
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bought a dell latitude E6510 w an i5 processor off ebay. it is currently running Win7 32bit. ran the svc tag thru dell website to see original specs. the seller included a Dell Win7 Professional 32bit Reinstallation DVD (but the Dell "P/N 8X4PY" on the disk i do not find on the original shipping spec summary - so it is unclear if this is the original OEM reinstall disk that came with this exact particular machine). there is no Prod Key on this disk or its sleeve, nor is there the usual shiny COA Prod Key sticker anywhere on the laptop, including in the battery compartment (looks like its been peeled off). i have extracted the Product Key by running Belarc Advisor. at some point, someone upgraded the RAM to 8G and the Hard Drive to 500GB from the original 160. the RAM above 4gb obviously cannot be recognized by the 32bit OS. the laptop easily meets hardware specs for 64bit OS. i have a full retail DVD Win7 Home Premium 3-license disk and have already used all 3 licenses on other installs.

can i clean install Win7 64bit Home Premium off my retail disk and activate it using the OEM Win7 32bit Professional disk Prod Key? my hazy understanding is that there are all versions of Win7 on a retail disk but the Prod Key limits activation to the specified purchased version and quantity. best scenario is to somehow get 64bit Professional installed. i cannot determine from all my searching whether the OEM disk would actually have the 64bit (hidden) on it but just didn't come with a Prod Key that would activate the 64bit version - only the 32bit. (retail disks let you choose: 32 or 64) i don't really need Professional so Home Premium would be next best solution. it just seems i have searched and searched and cannot find an answer to this particular dilemma. if i must purchase anything, i'll probably just leave it alone at 32bit or eventually buy Win8.1 (or Win10!).

in summary: i have available:
-Dell OEM Win7 32bit Professional Reinstallation DVD and abstracted Prod Key
-Retail Win7 32/64bit Home Premium DVD w 3 Licenses - all 3 already used
any work-around to get 64bit Professional installed with what i've got at hand? no harm trying....