Upgrading BIOS from 32bits to 64bits

[JesusLinux]

Hey

Just upgraded the RAM from 1GB to 2 GB.
I wanted more RAM but was able to do this for free thanks to a friend o gave me the RAM.

No problem at all, the BIOS recognized the RAM so does LL.
However i'm still using this version LL 32 bits:

[table][tr][td]Description: Linux Lite 3.2[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Release: 16.04[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Codename: xenial[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Kernel 4.4.0-109-generic #132-Ubuntu SMP Tue Jan 9 19:52:07 UTC 2018 i686 i686 i686 GNU/Linux[/td][/tr][/table]
I would like to upgrade to 64 bits. Is it possible to do it without a fresh install?
Thanks


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[firenice03]

I would like to upgrade to 64 bits. Is it possible to do it without a fresh install?
Thanks

No would need fresh install of LL.. They are same OS but 2 different architectures and 2 separate ISO's
Some info:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/...g-systems/

If you're motherboard supports 64-bit as is without flashing bios or other steps - It may be feasible.
* With 2gb Ram, 32bit may perform slightly better - 32bit can support up to 4gb ram anything over 4gb will not be available to 32bit. Therefore 64bit is necessary.

I would see how much Ram your board can handle (max) if no more than 4gb stay 32bit... If 4gb + and you want to increase and of course $$$ makes sense to then 64bit maybe a viable option.
And with that a wipe out and replace of the OS.
- Keep in mind when LL4.0 comes out the new series requires a fresh install.
- At some point 32bit will no longer be supported but still have options for a few more years...

[murphybeck]

The terms 32-bit and 64-bit refer to the way a computer's processor (also called a CPU), handles information. Processor calls data from Memory i.e. RAM by giving its address to MAR (Memory Address Register). Selector electronics then finds that address in the memory bank and retrieves the data and puts it in MDR (Memory Data Register) This data is recorded in one of the Registers in the Processor for further processing. Thats why size of Data Bus determines the size of Registers in Processor. Now, if my processor has 32 bit register, it can call data of 4 bytes size only, at a time. And if the data size exceeds 32 bits, then it would required two cycles of fetching to have the data in it. This slows down the speed of 32 bit Machine compared to 64 bit, which would complete the operation in ONE fetch cycle only. So, obviosly for the smaller data, it makes no difference if my processors are clocked at the same speed. Again, with 64 bit processor and 64 bit OS, my instructions will be of 64 bit size always... which unnecessarily uses up more memory space.