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Possible Duplicate:
When installing Windows 7 or Vista, does the language, version, architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) or source (OEM, retail, or MSDN) matter?

I've got Windows 7 Home upgrade and it came with both 32bit and 64bit upgrade/install disks.

Can I install both as a dual boot and for this to be legal on one license, given that I'm only using one at a time?

The reason why I want this is that I have an old Yamaha SW1000XG sound card that has drivers that work fine on 32bit Windows 7 but none for 64bit. I want to run some heavy weight Adobe programs that recommend/require 64bit. So I dual boot into the OS depending on what I want to do on a day.

I believe the answer to my question is no, I can't -- and this answer comes from a fairly authoritative source: A Microsoft Most Valued Professional / Representative: http://social.answers.Microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7install/thread/e5099d54-3d67-48c3-a77e-8a3ca1b2c994

"Please note, you can only have 1 activated license, if you need to use both, you will need have both licensed separately, cannot use the same key. "

But, given that I've had earlier experiences of mixed advice from major companies, I wonder if anyone can confirm this with me by providing other credible sources too.

Alternatively are the terms clear enough on the EULA for me to work this out for myself?

Community
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therobyouknow
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2 Answers2

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I downloaded the license terms for Windows 7 Home Premium from here. Under section 2.a ("One Copy per Computer") it reads:

... you may install one copy of the software on one computer. That computer is the “licensed computer.”

That is straight forward in my mind. You cannot install a 32-bit and 64-bit version on the same system using the same license key.

firedfly
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You should realize that if it's an upgrade then you will not be able to do a fresh install of the PC. You will have to have a valid install of a previous windows and then install on top of that. I actually bought the upgrade and decided to install as a fresh install, it installed, but states that the PC is not activated.

James Mertz
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