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March 18th, 2017 10:00
Windows 10 32-bit Profession on OptiPlex 5050?
Hi all,
I am trying to evaluate a new Dell OptiPlex 5050 for our needs. Because of some custom hardware that the PC controls the OS needs to be a 32-bit operating system, but Dell only ships 64-bit operating systems. I got around this with the 5040 by using an image from a 7020 then installing necessary 32-bit 5040 drivers.
I tried the same on the 5050, only the BIOS refuses to boot the image - I have legacy ROMs turned on, but it doesn't recognize it as a bootable device. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get a 32-bit operating system (Windows 7 is preferred, Windows 10 is fine) to run on an OptiPlex 5050?
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ejn63
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March 18th, 2017 10:00
Windows 7 will only work if your 5050 has a Skylake (6th generation) CPU -- if it has a 7th generation CPU, ONLY Windows 10 is supported. Microsoft and Intel (and by extension, Dell) are not supporting anything older than Windows 10 on the Kaby Lake 7th generation CPUs; even if you somehow get WIndows 7 to install, bear in mind MIcrosoft is disabling Windows updates for pre-Windows 10 on these CPUs very shortly.
Windows 10 32-bit should work just fine, subject to it being limited to 4G total memory no matter how much is installed. You will likely need to do a ground-up install of Windows 10 32-bit on the system to get it to work, however -- due to the fundmental change of chipset and CPU vs. the older systems.
littaum
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March 20th, 2017 11:00
I did a ground-up install of Windows 10 Pro 32-bit using the "create an install media" and am happy to report that it worked - it even had device drivers for all integrated components (USB, network, etc). So, to anyone else out there who is in a unique situation like I am, a fresh installation of Windows 10 32-bit does the trick. Thanks!