We'd recommend saving for a new computer, as you won't be able to upgrade your current machine to Windows 11 later on.

In case you have a 32-bit processor and are upgrading to Windows 10, you can still install the 32-bit edition.

This gives you the best performance and prevents you from going through another upgrade later. If it is, you should install the 64-bit version of Windows when you upgrade. Windows 10 through Windows 7 are available in both flavors. If you have a 32-bit CPU, you can't install Windows 11 at all. Windows 11 is only available as a 64-bit version.

Conversely, while it's possible to install 32-bit Windows on a 64-bit processor, you must run 64-bit Windows to take full advantage of a 64-bit CPU's benefits. If you have a 32-bit processor, your only option is to install 32-bit Windows. 32-bit processors are still present in some old computers, but have been almost entirely overtaken by 64-bit CPUs today. 64-bit machines can process much more information at once, making them more powerful.

Like Windows, processors are either 32-bit or 64-bit. Whether you can install a copy of 32-bit or 64-bit Windows depends on the processor inside your computer. We've discussed the differences between 32-bit and 64-bit Windows elsewhere, which we'll summarize briefly here. 32-Bit and 64-Bit: What's the Difference? Let's discuss the differences between 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, and which one you should choose next time you install Windows.

Windows professional 7