Downgrade Rights? Windows 10 64 bit to Windows 7 32 bit? 1

[kjv1611]

So we have a special need at work: new laptop to replace failing laptop running Windows 7 32 bit (runs older 16 bit flaky software, connected to sensitive hardware).

If I purchase a new Dell with Windows 64 bit Pro installed, can I just install Windows 7 32 bit, like I would going going from Windows 10 64 bit Pro to Windows 7 64 bit Pro?

Thanks for any information.

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[goombawaho]

Maybe this will help, but talk to the guy when you are ordering to be sure.
Link

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[xwb]

Do you have the old Dell re-installation disks? Up to W7, all Dell machines came with reinstallation disks that you could use on any Dell machine. No key required.

 

[kjv1611]

Thanks for the link and info. Now, another interesting twist. A contractor advised about Windows 7 32 bit, but now the manufacturer rep for the equipment we're connecting to has advised that it's best to use Windows XP. He said they were able initially to use Windows 7 32 bit, but after some change in Windows 7, they were no longer able to use Win7. So, he suggested get a new machine, and load a virtual machine of XP. Of course, the issue there is getting legally usable copies of Windows XP to load to the VM.

I did call Dell yesterday about ordering a new laptop. When I spoke with the rep, he said they no longer had anything 32 bit at all and basically said you couldn't downgrade to 32 bit. However, I got to thinking, this guy was in sales, and his job is to sell 64-bit computers. He may not know. So I figured I'd continue poking around, asking online. I tried searching for other references on Dell's site and Microsoft's site, but no luck so far. They mention downgrading from Windows 10 to 8.1 and 7 but don't mention 64 bits vs 32 bit.

But for our current solution, we're going to try using an old XP laptop (actually same model as the Windows 7 laptop that's failing) that was waiting to go offsite for recycling. Go figure. So if I can get that running, then this will be another topic for another day.

Guess I need to be scouring eBay for Windows XP Pro Retail licenses that seem legal to the best I can tell. I have a feeling we may run into this increasingly over the next few/several years.

I'm sure I do have other Dell Windows install disks, but I just don't remember if you can go back from 64 bit to 32 bit, and honestly, not once have I run into someone needing or wanting to do so.

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[goombawaho]

You've got to do something about the root cause of need old operating systems!! You can't continue to run XP/Windows 7 forever being held hostage by some software or hardware vendor. I would try to replace them so you're not held hostage.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[edfair]

comment:
"
Guess I need to be scouring eBay for Windows XP Pro Retail licenses that seem legal to the best I can tell."

No, just a Dell install disk, probably SP3 would be best. They install with a built in key and never upchuck when the WGA update installs.

Goom's comment:
"You can't continue to run XP/Windows 7 forever being held hostage by some software or hardware vendor."

Well maybe not forever but you will probably be OK for the next couple of years. It depends on how well you stock up on spares or track the marketplace.

I assume you are using something close to a latitude 630 for your 7.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[kjv1611]

I agree in usual circumstances. However, we can't force some external (non-computer) from complying. That's where my idea of trying to track down XP licenses to setup virtual machines comes in. I remember some folks running into that sort of thing with old manufacturing equipment. They had to keep hunting and finding old computers and such to run on older OSes, back with Windows XP was king. Now I'm at a place where it's a similar situation, but at least XP is the old thing now. I'd rather have to support a few XP machines than say Windows NT or older.

Anyway, it seems I've managed so far to get one of the old XP laptops up and running again. Thankfully I held onto the hard drives separately instead of wiping in case we needed the data. At that point in time, I had no idea I might be resurrecting one of the old laptops. Guess I should have considered that and kept them, but my hope was to get rid of them.

I'm also awaiting any ideas from the manufacturer's software engineer to let us know of a good place to pick up legal Windows XP Pro 32 bit (Retail) licenses to use in virtual machines. Because if we stick with the same lab equipment, and the manufacturers do not see the need to upgrade the software for the hardware, then we'll definitely eventually need some virtual machines.

What we do with XP machines here where we still have to use them is basically keep them off the Internet/network. They are blocked in more ways than one. Which reminds me, I probably need to run the XP Ransomware patch that came out a while back on this one before putting it into production. It was pulled out just before the patch.

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[rclarke250]

You could always look into running the software from DOSBox, It works on windows 10 64 bit. And the guy from Dell, is an idiot. 64 bit cpu has nothing to do with 32 bit sw, which will run on a 64 bit cpu. For that matter I boot Dos on 64 bit computers all the time. I use DOSBox to run old games on my gaming rig, have to limit the cpu while running the game, or trying to control things is a mess. And when I say old, 10 to 20+ years old. Turned based strategy and flight sims. Now with a name like DOSBox, you are probably saying, but it's a windows program, not a dos program, well, it can be done, a little tricky and you need win3.1 media. Go here for the specifics.

 

[xwb]

I'm with rclarke250 on this - you can run any 32 bit OS on a 64 bit CPU.

If you wish to use a VM on W10, all the VM providers I know of only run on 64-bit that is VMWare, Virtual Box and HyperV. Hyper-V comes with Windows so all you have to do is enable it.

If your XP machine isn't connected to the internet, you don't need to worry about ransomware patches.

Do you need specific hardware like serial ports or special cards with special device drivers?

 

[strongm]

>However, we can't force some external (non-computer) from complying

They may find some difficulty in finding new customers, though ...

 

[goombawaho]

They may find some difficulty in finding new customers, though ...

Yes, they are effectively a dead company which could shut down at any time because it's unlikely they will attract any new customers when they're requirements are XP or Windows 7. I mean, IT people would say "what the heck" and move on to another company unless this is just something super special/super critical.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[edfair]

Just had a tire store customer blow $30K on an alignment machine update to 7 because their 98SE based machine blew a hard drive. I think I saw a twinge in the eyes when I told them I had a cloned drive in stock from the last time I had worked on the system. I replaced the drive, the system came up, and now they are trying to market the package.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[kjv1611]

DOSBox sounds maybe interesting. I think I've looked at it before just to look. I might check into that eventually.

Specific hardware? Yes, it needs a Serial port. For now, the other old laptop does, so we're good. I'm told it can communicate over a Serial to USB adapter, so apparently, that won't be a very big issue if we ever go virtual.

Finding new customers: True to an extent. The catches to this one are:
1. It's likely older hardware and software that the manufacturer would rather us replace with a newer model
2. That hardware is not exactly cheap, and if it still does the job, we wouldn't likely replace it.
3. The market: I think it's likely a somewhat niche market to begin with: and therefore not as much on the supply side, since not as much on demand side.

#3 I'm not certain about, but it's what I've observed so far.

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[kjv1611]

[ROFL] @ tire store. I can only imagine what that felt like

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[xwb]

New laptops and possibly desktops no longer have serial ports. You either need a USB to serial converter or a PCMCIA (if it has a PCMCIA port) card for the serial port. Some of the older software packages (eg PIC microcontroller experimental boards) do not work with USB to serial. Might be worth checking whether your package works with USB to serial converters.

 

[kjv1611]

As for the Serial connection, I was told it will work over adapter, but it's preferable to go serial to serial.

For time, the whole thing has been solved by pulling an old XP laptop back from going bye-bye, but long-term, maybe we'll eventually have to go virtualized XP and Serial to USB. Will see. Depends how long the old laptops last, I guess.

Thanks for all the suggestions

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[xwb]

If you're running W7, you can always use XPMode.

Note that you cannot try all the different VM providers together. They need to be enabled and disabled individually otherwise you will get a BSOD.

Hyper-v, which comes with W10 64-bit (you cannot run hyper-v on 32 bits) seems to work quite well. It also has the annoying habit (might be OK if you want it running all the time) of starting VMs that were running when the machine was shut down.

VMWare no longer supports a 32-bit player/workstation - they are all 64 bits now - but check licensing agreements. There is some restriction for commercial use. It has the annoying habit of picking up any USB devices you plug in, esp when you want the OS to pick up the device.

Virtual box looks similar to hyper V and doesn't have the restrictions of VMWare.