I have a new laptop with OEM Vista Ultimate 64 bit and due to driver
issues
with programs like OneNote 2007 I need to have a 32 bit system. I have a
Vista Business 32 bit upgrade disc and I was wondering if it can be
installed
as an upgrade (wouldn't that be a downgrade)?
You cannot do an in place upgrade between the different platforms, either
32bit to 64bit or the reverse. You will need to do a clean install of the
32bit OS. I believe you can use an 32bit upgrade version with the 64bit as
the qualifying OS. The current installation will be wrapped up into the
Windows.old folder which can be deleted after you recover any needed data
files.
You can run the Windows Easy Transfer on the current installation to create
a file to migrate data and settings on some form of removable media, an
external hard drive or a network drive. After Vista 32 bit is installed use
WET to bring that data into the new installation. Programs have to be
reinstalled from original media.
Note: I would not rely solely on WET as the only means of backup. I
recommend you image the current installation to an external hard drive using
Acronis True Image version 10. That way the original installation and data
are preserved. Then use WET.