32-bit Windows on a 64-bit processor

[TheRook]

Hey! I've tested out the Windows 10 Technical Preview for a few weeks now, and I recently noticed that I was running the 32-bit version. Earlier today, I decided to download Windows 8.1 as I got tired of the technical preview, and wanted to go back to my old OS, which was 64-bit Windows 8.1. During the setup I got an error telling me that my system couldn't run a 64-bit Windows, even though I know for a fact it can.

After a while, I got tired of the issues, and decided to buy Windows 8, in hope that it would fix my issue. During the installation of Windows 8.1 I expected it to download the 64-bit version, or atleast give me an option to choose it, as that's what I usually runs, but it didn't. I've still got the 32 bit version.

I've basically been searching for the last hours, trying to find a solution or answer to this, but I haven't found any that directly answers my question: How can install my OS as a 64-bit, and not 32-bit?

 

[Rishwin]

If your CPU is in fact 64 bit, then there is no problem or special trick. You need to delete your HDD partition during setup, reformat a fresh partition, and install x64. If you're doing an 'OS upgrade' (something you should never do) you can only do x32 to x32.

 

[TheRook]

If your CPU is in fact 64 bit, then there is no problem or special trick. You need to delete your HDD partition during setup, reformat a fresh partition, and install x64. If you're doing an 'OS upgrade' (something you should never do) you can only do x32 to x32.

Thanks for the response. I didn't really get what you said about the 'OS upgrade' part, as I'm not reinstalling my PC from scratch. I'm basically just trying to get the full potential out of my PC, so I guess I'm doing an OS upgrade, lol.

With that out of the way, I did what you told me to do. I deleted the partition during the setup, and basically installed it on a clean partition, but it didn't fix the issue. Also, I noticed that my PC only uses 2.98 out of it's 8 GB RAM. Could this be the issue, and how do I fix it?

Edit: Just realized that the reason for the RAM being stuck at 2.98 is partly due to the 32 bit Windows I've got.

 

[Adult]

What is your processor/comp specs? Just to make sure you indeed are on a x64 processor.

 

[Taiga]

You should consider re-installing Windows with a 64-bit copy since a 32-bit copy only supports up to 4GB of RAM.
If you had 4GB you should have been fine but currently your os isn't using all of your RAM capacity so changing to a 64-bit os should be better.