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I recently got a new PC which has a 64-bit Windows 7 installed. The current PC that I am using has a 32-bit Windows 7 installed.

I would like to know if there is a software that can copy all my installed programs and files in the hard disk with the 32-bit Windows 7 PC and transfer it to the newer PC's hard disk which has a 64 bit version of Windows 7. This is essentially like "cloning" a hard disk but I would like to use a 64-bit OS in the target drive, instead of also copying the 32-bit OS of the source drive.

I would like to do this so I can avoid reinstalling and reconfiguring my installed programs and files again on the new PC. If possible, I would like the new PC to work as it was in my previous PC, with the installed programs, configuration and files intact except that the OS is now 64-bit and the hard disk has a larger capacity. I have heard of programs that can clone a hard disk, but my concern is that the 32-bit Windows 7 OS will also be cloned to the new 64-bit PC.

If it is not possible to transfer my installed programs and settings like the way I described, are there software that can make it easier to migrate my installed programs, their configurations and my files from a 32-bit Windows 7 PC to a 64-bit Windows 7 PC?

Details:
I have a SATA to USB connector/adapter to copy files in the current hard disk to the newer one.
The two PCs are connected through LAN, so I can also transfer files through LAN.
Both PCs only have one hard disk.

galacticninja
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1 Answers1

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No, this is not possible. You can't move the registry from the one computer to another, so your applications would not work correctly.

Instead, install your applications on your new 64-bit system, and use the Windows Easy Transfer to move your data and application settings to your new machine. Easy Transfer is based on USMT, which is a powerfull migration tool big companies use to migrate people to new computers.

galacticninja
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Brian
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    Will USMT work when changing bit level? Some programs install to different folders in 64bit. – Moab Jan 03 '11 at 15:59
  • @Moab: Good question. The Easy Transfer FAQ only mentions that it can't migrate files from 64-bit to 32-bit. I'd expect that the filesystem layout differences (Program Files (x86), SysWOW64, etc.) are going to cause lots of problems. – afrazier Jan 03 '11 at 21:23
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    It works fine going from 32 to 64, just not the other way around. – Brian Jan 03 '11 at 21:39
  • You can't go from 64 bit to 32 because you cannot efficiently simulate the 64 bit environment in a 32 bit environment. The overhead to do this is just utterly massive and impractical. – Nelson Jan 04 '16 at 09:09