Hi, Mike.

I guess I can't dual boot, can I?

Dual-boot between 32-bit and 64-bit Windows? And/or between Win7 and Win8?
Sure, so long as you have enough free disk space to create multiple
partitions. And you are willing to go to the trouble to properly install
Windows more than once.

I was hoping to avoid the "pain" of reinstalling everything.

But simply dual-booting won't "avoid the 'pain'". You will still be running
32-bit Win7 in one partition, while running 64-bit Win8 in the other - but
only ONE AT A TIME. Neither Windows will know the other exists, except that
something is using up disk space in the other partition. Neither
installation will be able to use the other installation's Registry. So you
won't be able to run your 32-bit apps in 64-bit Win8, or vice versa. You'll
have to reboot into the other OS each time to run those apps. (There are a
few apps that can run without being installed; you can run them from either
OS: just browse to the .exe file and click, as we've always done.)

You'll need to re-install each app in Win8 so that each install process can
write the proper entries into the Win8 Registry. Simply having the files
on-disk is not enough for Windows (any version) to run Word or most other
apps. Your 32-bit apps should run fine in 64-bit Win8 AFTER you've booted
into Win8 and re-installed them there. For many apps, you can put the
executable and support files into a partition that can be read by either
OS, then boot into the other OS and install the app again into the same
partition. (I've done this for years and can enter data into Quicken using
Win8 in the morning, then reboot and read it using Win7 in the afternoon.)

Sorry, Mike, you can't completely avoid the pain. But WET (Windows Easy
Transfer) can reduce the pain considerably.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010)
Windows Live Mail 2012 (Build 16.4.3505.0912) in Win8 (RTM Ent Eval)


"Mike Skuczas" wrote in message
...

On 10/24/2012 8:22 AM, Mike Skuczas wrote:
Can I upgrade from Windows 7 32 bit to Windows 8 64 bit and not have to
reinstall all my programs?
Thanks for the replies. I was hoping to avoid the "pain" of reinstalling
everything. I guess I can't dual boot, can I?