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Restoring a 32-Bit Image Onto A 64-Bit Machine

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I'm wanting to restore a 32-bit backup image onto a different hardware 64-bit machine. So far I've had no luck at all. I've tried 2 images from different machines and they always fail in the boot up process after restoration. I've tried inserting a USB stick with the proper chipset drivers during the restore, but it simply doesn't work. Should it?

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Joel, my understanding in this area is that you should be using the Universal Restore bootable media if you are trying to restore an image onto different physical hardware.  Is this what you are using?

You will also probably face Windows Activation issues if you are trying to move an OEM Windows installation from one computer to a different one, as the licensing for OEM software does not permit this and you will need to purchase a new license key, or have a version of Windows which permits moving or installation on multiple systems (i.e. Volume licensing).

64 bit machines are backward compatible with 32 bit OS. Steve is right... You will need to use UR to generalize the drivers. You will also need to make sure the bios SATA mode is the same on both systems. You will also need to make sure the machine is the same bios mode (csm/legacy bios or UEFI) and the controllers match... Raid, AHCI, or SATA. Steve is also correct about licensing if your OS is not a boxed/ standalone license since OEM is tied to the original hardware motherboard.

FYI 32 bit OS is limited to 4Gb usable memory. If your new system has more it will be wasted. You should consider a fresh build instead and use 64 bit if possible.

 

I appreciate both responses. I wound up using 2016 Universal Resore Build Media, inserting the chipset driver, and it booted just fine. I had used 2011 Plus Pack with no luck. And yes, I agree that a 32 bit machine can't use anything more than 4 GB. Actually, I was thinking it couldn't use more than 3 GB, or maybe it's that the OS uses a decent portion of the memory so you never get more than 3 GB effective. And I also agree that it's best to build a new image from scratch on 64-bit hardware, but I neeeded to see if this was at least doable. Thanks.