32bit upgrade to 64bit problems

[Jim624]

I have a Dell XPS 410 (2 1/2 years old)which is 64 bit compatible. I installed Win 32 Bit on it, but really want to have a 64 bit system. My Problem is, when I follow the directions on how to do a clean install, it never works........and before when I've reinstalled XP, I can change the boot order.....now it does not give me the option to hit ANY "F" keys during boot-up. So it automatically boots from the HD therefore bypassing the DVD/CD drive, making a clean install kinda hard !!

I have tapped the F-2, F-12, F-8 keys, Esc, and Ctrl+Alt+Enter, and every other combination you can think of....while rebooting and all it' seems to do is lock up the computer and go no where's. There is no Dell logo that appears as before when it was an XP machine, it starts up right into Win 7.

Since all this happened I would love just to put it back as an XP machine.....but since I cannot bootup from cd/dvd drive I have no idea on how to do that.....

Any Help would be deeply appreciated

Jim

[nitroshift]

Have you tried the Delete key?

[Jim624]

Have you tried the Delete key?

YUP....and every other key I could think of !

[03GrandAmGT]

Try the Dell page listed below.

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/document?c=us&l=en&s=gen&docid=36A6D75A79524337AC21BE95E3FB44C5&journalid=80432A873DEE6FD1E040AC0A64E903AC&Query=KzE0ODU2Mg==&SystemID=&ServiceTag=&contenttype=-1&os=-1&component=-1〈=-1&doclang=en&toggle=false#6

jd

[Kelsenellenelvian]

Unplug the tower, take out the cmos bettery and hit the power button a couple times.

Then put the cmos battery back in and plug the tower back in. This should cause a date error in the bios and popup a message asking to go into setup or continue...

You will then be able to change your boot order.

Edited February 28, 2010 by Kelsenellenelvian

[Tripredacus]

This is a hardware related issue, as such, moving.

A Windows install cannot make the hardware act up like this. Such as keyboard not working, POST related issues, or system resets. Once your hardware problem is resolved and you are once again starting out with Windows 7, make a new post in the Win7 forum.

[bonestonne]

If you want to do a clean install, you can do so.

Boot into your current Win 7 system, put in the install CD, and let it work the magic for you. You should be able to select clean install, in which case it will automatically change the boot sector to go to the CD upon a restart, and then it will take you through the install process.

32bit and 64bit aren't exactly upgrades of each other, so as long as you specify clean install, you wont have a windows.old folder to deal with.