Vista - Is it possbile to turn vista 64bit back into 32bit

hey i bought a computer and it came with vista 64 bit awhile back and its super laggy ome people say 32 bit runs better and i was wondering if im able to turn my 64bit into 32bit or back to xp without rebuying

Hello Soldier,

Yes, you can turn the 64bit OS into the 32bit one. What you need is the Vista installation DVD, if you dont have one you can always borrow one from your friend and during installation use your activation key to activate the new OS. The activation key which you got with the computer is good for both, the 64bit and 32bit Vista.
Now few words about downgrading to XP, I think it is possible as long as you can find needed XP drivers for your computer. Before you do anything look around for drivers, it apply for the Vista 32bit version as well.
Hope it helps. Cheers...

I'm already fed up with 64 bit Vista that came with my new Sony desktop and wonder, like you, if I can turn it back to 32 bit even though I've loaded all my data and most programs from my old computer.

I must have been dumb not to notice that I'd run 64 bit when there was a choice. Sony should have added a 'health warning'!

Hi Preshawpete,

In addition to my previous post I personally can tell, there's nothing wrong with Vista x64 and I do prefer it. Frankly, it's faster, stable and more secure than the 32bit version. Most 32bit applications run on it without any problem. The 64bit OS is more future proof and sooner or later most softwares will have the 64bit versions.

I think, the problem is that most PCs come with the bloatware preinstalled by the computer manufacturers which slow down and couse problems even after uninstalling them, because of leftovers.

how much bloatware come installed on the computer when you bought it? download this CCleaner - Home and run it and clean up you computer to see if that helps it. vista 64 bit is very fast now thanks to better software and hardware support, that was not the case a year or so ago. read this review Performance Shootout--Microsoft Vista 32-bit versus Vista 64-bit - OS, Software & Networking by ExtremeTech it explains it pretty well in my opinion. if it were me i would stay with 64 bit, you might consider wiping the drive clean and doing a fresh install without the bloatware to see the improvement. just my .02

what problems are you having with 64 bit? i recently went from 32 bit to 64 bit and any problems i've found are very minor.

i highly doubt your computer is "laggy" because it's 64 bit.

you can go back to 32 bit, but you'll have to completely reinstall windows and you'll have to reinstall your programs again.

That's the most probable reason your x64 installations feel laggy.

+1

The only way to revert to x32 would be a complete re-installation of both the OS and all your applications.

Thank you for your helpful comments. One 'grouse' is trivial - Canon don't provide a 64 bit driver for my Pixma 4200 printer! The second is much more important and as yet unsolved. Although I can 'see' the new 64 bit computer from all the other computers in the home network, it's not possible to enter any folders other than those labelled 'public'. I've configured all the firewalls and 'Network Magic' says its a 32 bit - 64 bit conflict for which they don't yet have a fix. Any suggestions?

For non-public folders you have to 'share' the folders. Right click on the folder and select properties. Then go to the the sharing tab and select share. You then must give permission to who you wish to share to.

You will need to do a clean install for 32-bit Vista.
As far as laggy, hw requirements differ for Vista 32-bit home vs. premium/business/ultimate. You will also have different requirements for x64. What are your pc specs?