Vista - 32 Bit installed... want to update to 64 bit...

Alright so lucky me I just purchased a brand new computer
i7-950 processor
EVGA E760 Classified Mobo
EVGA nvidia 295 OC GFX card
750GB WD HD sata 3gb/s
850 watt psu
and the kicker
6GB Kingston HyperX 1600 ram
Now I bet you can guess what the problem is... Vista 32 bit wont use all my ram.. from what I see its actually only using 2gb of the 6gb (what a waste!)

to install the OS I got a copy of XP from one of my gaming buddies then bought a 32 bit Update disk from my school (ultimate 32 bit). Because its from my school and a certain licensed copy it only came with the 32 bit disk... my question is this, do you think my key would work If I were to get a 64 bit disk? If it were to work could I install it on my current setup (vista ultimate 32 bit service package 2, most disks from what I understand come in sp1...) or would I have to start over from scratch?

The main issue is I am trying to play GTA 4 and it seems like its using all my ram..

Thanks for the help,

-Dan

Hello Dan, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Very nice system.

Yes, you can use your retail 32-bit Vista Ultimate upgrade key with any retail 64-bit Vista Ultimate disc to install it. Unfortunately you will have to do a clean install when going to 64-bit from 32-bit. This tutorial below will show you how to do a clean install from a upgrade Vista to help make it easier to do.

Clean Install From Upgrade Vista

Hope this helps,
Shawn