premium to premium-Polish to English ?

The facts....Moved here to Warsaw for work but old faithful PC died on
the way.
Bought new HP pc loaded with Premium 32bit but of
course Polish language.
The questions... If I buy a new English language 'UPGRADE'
PREMIUM,will it work as an upgrade to replace the Polish or do I have to
do a clean install and lose all the drivers for Video card/DVD
writer,etc....
Not very PC savvy on the tech side so any help would be
very much appreciated....
Even more now my PC is my lifeline to the outside world and
I won't be here that long to learn Polish :-))))
Also,what is the difference between 32 and 64 bit ?? I have 4Gb
memory and 500 drive with another 500 as external drive.


--
lolok

Hi, lolok.

I can't help with the Polish, but maybe I can answer a couple of your
questions.

> Also,what is the difference between 32 and 64 bit ?? I have 4Gb
> memory and 500 drive with another 500 as external drive.

Almost all new PCs these days have 64-bit hardware, which means the CPU and
motherboard support 64-bit. The 64-bit CPU can address exponentially more
RAM than the 32-bit; Vista x64 supports 128 GB, compared to x86's 4 GB max.
And, since drivers and other overhead use some of the addressable space,
Vista x86 applications can't effectively use more than about 3.1 GB of that.
(As you probably know, the "x86" refers to the 8*86 family of Intel CPUs and
is shorthand for 32-bit; x64 means 64-bit.) For most of us, 4 GB is plenty
of RAM for either x86 or x64 Vista.

Just as a 2-gallon bucket can easily hold 1 gallon of water, a 64-bit CPU
can easily run a 32-bit OS, or run 32-bit applications in a 64-bit OS. But
Vista x86 cannot run 64-bit apps, even when installed on 64-bit hardware.

Many PCs with 64-bit hardware come with 32-bit Vista pre-installed. Because
of hardware and driver differences, we can't simply "upgrade" from a 32-bit
OS to a 64-bit OS - or vice versa. Changing in either direction requires a
clean install.

Most applications today are still 32-bit and will run on any version of
Vista. The exceptions are utilities that deal directly with the hardware;
64--bit drivers were hard to find for a while, but they are widely available
now.

If you were starting from scratch, I would recommend 64-bit. If you must
"start over" to switch from Polish to English, you might be wise to get the
64-bit version of Vista in English. And the sooner, the better, before you
have too much data to back up before doing the clean install.

With two 500 GB hard drives, you should have plenty of room to install a
second version of Vista in a "dual-boot" arrangement. Then you could switch
from 32-bit Polish to 64-bit English just by rebooting. If you need
instructions for how to do that, please post back.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
rc@grandecom.net
Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8064.0206) in Win7 Ultimate x64 7000

"lolok" <guest@unknown-email.com> wrote in message
news:5aa8b760f194e60159590d200334f279@nntp-gateway.com...
>
> The facts....Moved here to Warsaw for work but old faithful PC died on
> the way.
> Bought new HP pc loaded with Premium 32bit but of
> course Polish language.
> The questions... If I buy a new English language 'UPGRADE'
> PREMIUM,will it work as an upgrade to replace the Polish or do I have to
> do a clean install and lose all the drivers for Video card/DVD
> writer,etc....
> Not very PC savvy on the tech side so any help would be
> very much appreciated....
> Even more now my PC is my lifeline to the outside world and
> I won't be here that long to learn Polish :-))))
> Also,what is the difference between 32 and 64 bit ?? I have 4Gb
> memory and 500 drive with another 500 as external drive.
>
>
> --
> lolok

"lolok" <guest@unknown-email.com> wrote in message
news:5aa8b760f194e60159590d200334f279@nntp-gateway.com...
>
> The facts....Moved here to Warsaw for work but old faithful PC died on
> the way.
> Bought new HP pc loaded with Premium 32bit but of
> course Polish language.
> The questions... If I buy a new English language 'UPGRADE'
> PREMIUM,will it work as an upgrade to replace the Polish or do I have to
> do a clean install and lose all the drivers for Video card/DVD
> writer,etc....
> Not very PC savvy on the tech side so any help would be
> very much appreciated....
> Even more now my PC is my lifeline to the outside world and
> I won't be here that long to learn Polish :-))))
> Also,what is the difference between 32 and 64 bit ?? I have 4Gb
> memory and 500 drive with another 500 as external drive.
>
>
> --
> lolok


You can't upgrade from one language to another. If you had Vista Ultimate,
you could download the English language pack and convert that way but you
have Premium so that avenue is closed.

If you stick with Premium, you will have to get an English version and clean
install it.

Re 32 or 64..

32bit is just about compatible with everything, even older stuff. You should
have no problems with either software or hardware as long as it is Vista
compatible. The max RAM is 4gb, but unless you do big stuff like video
editing or you have a need to run 64bit applications and need more than 4gb
RAM, there is not much point in turning over to 64bit as yet.

64bit handles more than 4gb which makes it a better bet for video editing or
anything which requires big RAM and a requirement for more than 4gb. What
you do have to watch is peripheral devices in your possession to to which
you are likely to connect which do not have 64bit drivers

--

Mike Hall - MVP Windows Experience
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/

Well,Thanks for the help...Guess it is going to be a clean install and
then the hassle of finding all the drivers..PC is still in box at the
moment so no files or anything to lose...
Just 2 more questions....Will the upgrade version suffice or will it
conflict with the Premium edition already in there ? Or do need a full
version of Premium ?
Also my Dear better half suggests I should just muddle through and use
my UK laptop and wait until Windows 7 comes through,then update..
Sensible or silly.....Depends how long we have to wait for 7 ?
seems simpler to learn Polish instead...
I do wish Microsoft had more information on this language thing
as I have seen many many posts concerning most of the Worlds languages
needing to be in English.


--
lolok

"lolok" <guest@unknown-email.com> wrote in message
news:60b961ca34012d0e2346817e7e959832@nntp-gateway.com...
>
> Well,Thanks for the help...Guess it is going to be a clean install and
> then the hassle of finding all the drivers..PC is still in box at the
> moment so no files or anything to lose...
> Just 2 more questions....Will the upgrade version suffice or will it
> conflict with the Premium edition already in there ? Or do need a full
> version of Premium ?
> Also my Dear better half suggests I should just muddle through and use
> my UK laptop and wait until Windows 7 comes through,then update..
> Sensible or silly.....Depends how long we have to wait for 7 ?
> seems simpler to learn Polish instead...
> I do wish Microsoft had more information on this language thing
> as I have seen many many posts concerning most of the Worlds languages
> needing to be in English.
>
>
> --
> lolok


One option would be to see if you could get the laptop pre-loaded with Vista
Ultimate and at what extra cost. You could then download the English
language pack and convert it to English.

I would not necessarily entertain the idea of buying a full version Vista
Ultimate to make the above possible.

If the above is not possible, you could well keep using your laptop until
Win 7 arrives. Quite when that will happen is difficult to say. There is a
release candidate on its way at the end of April some time, but do not
expect the full version to follow quickly. Realistically, Win 7 will most
likely appear on the shelves at the very end of this year or maybe very
early next year. If it comes earlier, that will be a bonus for you..

Even when Win 7 appears, you will still have to get a full version because
of the language change.

The language problem exists throughout the world. Very few suppliers are
prepared to go to the trouble of loading a different language other than
native. In fairness though, if you were to ask a staff member at a PC World
in the UK for a language other than English, you would be given a flat no,
and if your ears were good enough, you would hear one staff member say to
another "foreigners should learn the language before they get here".. :-)


--

Mike Hall - MVP Windows Experience
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/

About the interface language:
With computers sold in Canada, users are given a choice of interface
language (either French or English) when you first install any version
(not just Ultimate) of Vista. Upon choosing your language during the
initial installation, you cannot revert back to the other language.
For this reason, I always assumed that no matter what language version
is sold in other countries, the English version was always part of
parcel of it. This seemed logical to me, as all the code is in English
anyways, so might as well leave the English interface and give the user
the choice of selecting that or the country's interface. But since this
does not seem to be the case, does that mean that Microsoft actually
removes the English interface pack when it sells Vista in a non-English
speaking country? What could possibly be the reason for that?
I'm asking myself these questions 'cause I just bought a computer in
Japan (haven't used it yet) and would like to know if users are given a
choice of English or (in this case, Japanese) upon first install?
sangatsu

Mike Hall - MVP;1001221 Wrote:
> "lolok" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
> news:5aa8b760f194e60159590d200334f279@xxxxxx-gateway.com...> > >
> > >
> > > The facts....Moved here to Warsaw for work but old faithful PC died
> > on
> > > the way.
> > > Bought new HP pc loaded with Premium 32bit but of
> > > course Polish language.
> > > The questions... If I buy a new English language 'UPGRADE'
> > > PREMIUM,will it work as an upgrade to replace the Polish or do I have
> > to
> > > do a clean install and lose all the drivers for Video card/DVD
> > > writer,etc....
> > > Not very PC savvy on the tech side so any help would be
> > > very much appreciated....
> > > Even more now my PC is my lifeline to the outside world and
> > > I won't be here that long to learn Polish :-))))
> > > Also,what is the difference between 32 and 64 bit ?? I have 4Gb
> > > memory and 500 drive with another 500 as external drive.
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > lolok > >
> You can't upgrade from one language to another. If you had Vista
> Ultimate,
> you could download the English language pack and convert that way but
> you
> have Premium so that avenue is closed.
>
> If you stick with Premium, you will have to get an English version
> and clean
> install it.
>
> Re 32 or 64..
>
> 32bit is just about compatible with everything, even older stuff. You
> should
> have no problems with either software or hardware as long as it is
> Vista
> compatible. The max RAM is 4gb, but unless you do big stuff like
> video
> editing or you have a need to run 64bit applications and need more
> than 4gb
> RAM, there is not much point in turning over to 64bit as yet.
>
> 64bit handles more than 4gb which makes it a better bet for video
> editing or
> anything which requires big RAM and a requirement for more than 4gb.
> What
> you do have to watch is peripheral devices in your possession to to
> which
> you are likely to connect which do not have 64bit drivers
>
> --
>
> Mike Hall - MVP Windows Experience
> 'Mike's Window' (http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/)


--
sangatsu