Start a Conversation

This post is more than 5 years old

Solved!

Go to Solution

14148

March 8th, 2018 18:00

Installing a 32 bit on an original 64 bit system

Hi....I have a dell xps 1647 laptop that needs the OS reinstalled....it came with a 64 not system but all I have is a 32 bit Windows 7 disc.....will the 32 bit work and will I be able to get drivers? Sell support only shows drivers for a 64 bit OS.

March 9th, 2018 15:00

Under network controllers which is the wireless and Ethernet I'm assuming...under hardware it's it has 4 sets of numbers...they are listed below.

8086&dev_422&subsys_112808&rev_36......the second one is....8086&dev_422b&subsys_11218086. The third is.....8086&dev_422b&cc_028000...the fourth is.... 8086&dev_422b&cc_0280.......there is one other under unknown device with also a yellow exclamation point.it says.......acp/ supposed to be toward slash but my phone don't have one....then.....ite8708.....then below it is *ite8708.....now what do I do?

9 Legend

 • 

14K Posts

March 8th, 2018 20:00

One additional tip regardless of whether you install 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 7.  Clean installs of Windows 7 are extremely painful these days because there have been so many years of updates since SP1 (which came out in February 2011), and the catalog is now so large that until you install a relatively recent patch, Windows Update can hang for literally hours trying to even figure out what updates need to be downloaded, before you even start downloading hundreds of updates and rebooting multiple times to get everything installed.  However, you can make this drastically simpler.  Microsoft released a "Convenience Update" that includes every update from SP1 through April 2016 (that's 5 years of updates in a single package) and then the rollup that includes the fix for long Windows Update scans.

The instructions and download links for the Convenience Package are here - make sure you also grab the small Servicing Stack update, since you have to install that and restart before you install the Convenience Update.  After that, download July 2016 Rollup KB3172605, which includes the Windows Update fix.  At that point it should become a lot less painful to get current.

March 8th, 2018 20:00

As the technology keeps on changing, many people, companies are now opting for 64 bit operating system.
32 bit has a limitation in Ram and is also slow compared to 64 bit OS.
If you still want to install 32 but OS, check Dell Support Site, if drivers are available, if its not available, try installing 64 bit driver in your 32 bit OS, sometimes it does work, if the drivers were designed for dual architecture.
If even that doesn't work, install a virtual OS software like VMWare, Virtual Does and install 32 bit inside the Virtual Machine, it will pick up drivers automatically

4 Operator

 • 

13.6K Posts

March 8th, 2018 20:00

 

@Sirfredrico"Sell support only shows drivers for a 64 bit OS. "

Hello. You can see all of the drivers that Dell has released for the Studio XPS 1647 here. I didn't check each & every one, but it looks like most items do have a Win7 32 bit driver available.

 

9 Legend

 • 

14K Posts

March 8th, 2018 20:00

It might, but a 32-bit OS would only be able to use 4GB of RAM total, and no application would be allowed to use more than 2GB.  You can download a 64-bit Windows 7 installer directly from Microsoft here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7

9 Legend

 • 

14K Posts

March 9th, 2018 11:00

Go to Device Manager, and if you have an unknown network controller device somewhere, open its Properties, go to the Details tab, select Hardware IDs in the dropdown menu, and post its 4-character VEN and DEV strings.

March 9th, 2018 11:00

I tried all the wireless drivers on both installs of a 64 but and a 32 bit OS. In other words I've been pretty busy. Any idea why none will work? It's a pcs 1647. Does anyone know if one that will? I know the wireless card is good.

March 9th, 2018 14:00

I'll do this later tonight. I currently have erased the 32 but and will go back with windows 64 bit. I really would like this fixed...so I'll keep an eye on this thread after I get it back on and will do as instructed....thank you.

March 9th, 2018 15:00

Ok. I just installed 7 professional 64 bit. I only installed the drivers I knew would work. Do I need to install one of the wireless even though it won't work in order to follow your above instructions? Or is that not necessary?

9 Legend

 • 

14K Posts

March 9th, 2018 15:00

The WiFi card is the Intel Ultimate-N 6300.  You can find the latest Windows 7 drivers for that card here: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27238/Intel-PROSet-Wireless-Software-and-Drivers-for-Intel-Centrino-Ultimate-N-6300?product=59474

The ACPI device is probably a chipset driver.  Go to support.dell.com, try choosing your system by clicking "Select from all products" instead of entering your Service Tag, then go to Drivers and Downloads and select Win7 64-bit in the OS dropdown.

March 9th, 2018 16:00

I'll do this later tonight. I currently have erased the 32 but and will go back with windows 64 bit. I really would like this fixed...so I'll keep an eye on this thread after I get it back on and will do as instructed....thank you.

March 9th, 2018 16:00

Hey jphughan....I installed one of the wireless drivers and it worked this time :-)

March 9th, 2018 21:00

Are there any replies as to that second entry in dm?....as I said I have the wireless working...for some reason once in awhile it says connected with no internet access it has a yellow exclamation mark in the status bar. If I disconnect it then reconnect its fine.....though not normal to have to do that. What could be the problem with that?

9 Legend

 • 

14K Posts

March 9th, 2018 21:00

As I said, try going to support.dell.com, selecting your model (rather than entering your Service Tag), selecting Drivers & Downloads, choosing Windows 7 64-bit, and then getting the drivers that are available there.  Dell provides full sets of drivers for all of its systems.  Of course in some cases there are multiple drivers that aren't all necessary because the system was offered in multiple configurations -- like multiple WiFi cards being available.  Next time you might want to look through Device Manager BEFORE you wipe your system to see what you have and download the appropriate drivers in advance.  But once you figure it out this time, you may want to keep a set of driver files stashed somewhere for future use.

Alternatively, you could try downloading Dell Command Update.  I don't know if it works on older systems, but if it does, it will automatically scan your system to figure out what drivers are required and then guide you through downloading and installing them.

March 9th, 2018 21:00

Thank you. Maybe I should uninstall the wireless driver I have....then install this one...about the chipset I installed the one dell gave. But since most of the drivers don't work...I'm guessing I probably need that one toom
No Events found!

Top