slartabartfast

Is it safe to assume that if you're running 64 bit Windows, that it downloads 64 bit Windows 8? It didn't give me any choice - but that's what I'm assuming.

Yes, the cheap download is pretty much limited to what MS wants you to have. For the flexibility to get what you want, you have to pay more.


http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows8/windows-8-upgrade-32bit-64bit-144649

According to that article if you have a 32 bit OS the upgrade will also be a 32 bit OS. Which makes sense because you will not have any 64 bit programs or drivers on your system.

Conversely if you have a 64 bit OS it will upgrade that to a new 64 bit OS.  How is any of that confounding?

However if you want to upgrade from a 32 bit OS to a 64 bit OS a clean install is the more preferred method. 

  

Well, that's a load of bull. I had Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and I got Windows 8 Pro 64-bit for $40. So please substantiate your seemingly uninformed remark.  

So what you wanted and what MS wanted you to have were the same. Lucky you. Ms wants you to have an upgrade from 32 bit to 32 bit or from 64 bit to 64 bit and enforces that choice via the upgrade advisor.

The problem will occur for someone who has a 32 bit windows XP, Vista or 7 and wants to upgrade to 64 bit Windows 8 Pro. The upgrade advisor  aka 39.99 upgrade download will only give you a 32 bit version, even if you choose to download the iso. If you want to go to 64 bit from something downloaded on a computer running 32 bit windows you are SOL. You would have to buy the retail upgrade box, which includes both 32 bit and 64 bit versions. In that case you would still need to do a custom installation aka "save nothing" even if you went from 32 bit Windows 7 to 8. 

I did provide a link to substantiate my uninformed remark.

The inventive among us may wonder what would happen if they download an iso from a machine running 64 bit Windows and then try to install it as a clean install on another computer running 32 bit windows using the following information:


http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows8/clean-install-windows-8-upgrade-media-144648

If anyone has tried that I would appreciate a pm letting me know how it works.

         Haven't tried Win-8 yet, but just an FYI:  A coupon code of WIN8SYST on Amazon will save $30 bucks on Win8, not sure when it expires though.

slartabartfast

Well, that's a load of bull. I had Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and I got Windows 8 Pro 64-bit for $40. So please substantiate your seemingly uninformed remark.  

So what you wanted and what MS wanted you to have were the same. Lucky you. Ms wants you to have an upgrade from 32 bit to 32 bit or from 64 bit to 64 bit and enforces that choice via the upgrade advisor.

The problem will occur for someone who has a 32 bit windows XP, Vista or 7 and wants to upgrade to 64 bit Windows 8 Pro. The upgrade advisor  aka 39.99 upgrade download will only give you a 32 bit version, even if you choose to download the iso. If you want to go to 64 bit from something downloaded on a computer running 32 bit windows you are SOL. You would have to buy the retail upgrade box, which includes both 32 bit and 64 bit versions. In that case you would still need to do a custom installation aka "save nothing" even if you went from 32 bit Windows 7 to 8. 

I did provide a link to substantiate my uninformed remark.

The inventive among us may wonder what would happen if they download an iso from a machine running 64 bit Windows and then try to install it as a clean install on another computer running 32 bit windows using the following information:


http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows8/clean-install-windows-8-upgrade-media-144648

If anyone has tried that I would appreciate a pm letting me know how it works.

Maybe you should read this How To Clean Install Windows 8 Pro Upgrade

Thanks John,

I did read that. The problem is that using the method described, you are going to be stuck with the version of Windows 8 that is the same family 32 bit or 64 bit as the one installed on the computer already. It is just a way of running the upgrade advisor from the computer without first going to the website and running it from there. 
"This tool provides valuable information about your computer's compatibility with Windows 8, facilitates the purchase of the Windows 8 download, and then downloads the correct version (32-bit or 64-bit) based on information about your computer - all important reasons to run this tool from the PC you're going to clean install Windows 8 on." 


There is no "correct version" in a clean install, since nothing will be retained. You can run the advisor and get that information without downloading or purchasing anything by just canceling the process before ordering so I fail to see any point in doing it his way. You do not need any media to do a clean install from the MS website, unless you want to install it later. The key to a "clean install" of windows 8 is just choose "nothing" under "what to Keep" no matter what the source of the upgrade code, (online upgrade from the website, download to desktop, CD or flash drive). The installation will then format your partition and install clean.


The same thing can be accomplished more easily by choosing keep nothing when installing from the MS website, and in fact it requires linking to that website to order and download the iso. The second link in my prior post describes how to do a clean install from an iso without having the computer you are doing the install on connected to the internet at all. It also suggests a way to obtain multiple upgrade licenses so that they can be installed on other computers at a later time. And it reinforces the warning that you cannot download an iso on a machine that is already running Windows 8.



One question that is still somewhat vague is are all 64 bit (or 32 bit) iso files downloaded identical or does the upgrade advisor tailor the code to the specific computer that is downloading the iso? It would seem that the former would be more practical, and the latter would mean that an iso downloaded from one computer might have incompatibilities or lack necessary files if used to install on another computer. People who have downloaded the iso could solve this if they would post the MD5 hash of the file they have downloaded using one of the utilities like: 
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=11533

are all 64 bit (or 32 bit) iso files downloaded identical or does the upgrade advisor tailor the code to the specific computer

slarta - I'd be shocked if you don't just get a "regular" Windows iso. I can't imagine you'd have any problems buying the upgrade on a 64 bit PC, creating the iso and then doing a clean install on a different machine. It *must* just be a "normal" Windows iso and you get a "normal" license key.
 
I wouldn't be brave enough to install the 64 bit version *over the top of* a 32 bit version - but I'd think a clean install should work.
 
Why don't you just take an image of the 32 bit disk (so you can go back to it if anything screws up)- and try it
 
 
PS - I think by "idiot proofing" the download/burn to iso process - that they actually make it more confusing for people that know what they're doing. Also - it leaves behind > 2GB of files (the source files) after you create your iso.