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As per title, I wish to know if I can, after a successful 32bit setup and consequent software installations, update to a 64bit version.

I know how to partition (actually one of the solutions is to set /, /etc, /home, /var/www, and /opt as separate partitions) and I know that a clean install is way better than a dirty one, yet I would like to know if/how it's possible to do that.

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5 Answers

up vote 26 down vote accepted

You will find a clean install a lot less hassle than any other unusual, obscure, unsupported method.

Your suggest of partitioning the config files, home directories, etc is probably the best idea, and it is possible to install the same packages on a clean install as on another install.

On the other hand, what you requested is possible, there is a little guide for Debian based systems but remember "this really is for professional-level sysadmins" and "this procedure is, in every possible respect, a bad idea. If it eats your firstborn, please don't come crying to me"... (so good luck)

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3  
+1 to you. Not for the faint-of-heart... I was going to recommend backing up all config and data files that you care about (maybe even your apt logs), and doing a find-and-replace on your apt sources.list to point to the 64-bit versions. Then I read the tutorial mentioned and was quickly disabused of that notion... – gWaldo Oct 1 '10 at 17:52
What if I have no firstborn, does this mean the procedure is safer for me than others? ..... i kid, the question is: If you just got 32 bit working right, why do you want to go through hell just to save yourself backup/restore of data time + reinstallation time, in the end this method is not faster. Faster = backup, reinstall. Also less problems in the long run. – Dmitriy Likhten Oct 1 '10 at 18:48
Thanks a lot: eventually I backed up all my data, partitioned my disk and reinstalled. Now some hassle to restore DBs, webserver and some service is required, though. – dag729 Oct 3 '10 at 8:54
@dag729: Trust me, its a hassle to backup/restore, but less than the alternative. You only do 32 -> 64 in dire cases. Even the sysadmins here at work won't do that, they backup, wipe, install, much cleaner/safer. – Dmitriy Likhten Oct 13 '10 at 20:13
up vote 7 down vote

This might be a much more reasonable thing to do once the multiarch spec is implemented. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MultiarchSpec -- currently postponed to 11.04, but keep in mind it's been postponed for about 6 releases now. That said, actual progress was made in 10.10, so maybe it'll happen this time.

Until then, don't bother. Backup your data, repartition if you want, and reinstall.

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Can't wait for the MultiArch to be implemented! – dag729 Oct 3 '10 at 8:52
I believe 11.10 does use multiarch now. – WarriorIng64 Dec 21 '11 at 8:12
up vote 1 down vote

No you can not upgrade from 32 bit to 64 bit. It has to be a clean (fresh) install

Before you do make sure that your system is capable of a 64bit operating system, and check the minimum requirement for Ubuntu 64. You can do so Here

The terms 32-bit and 64-bit refer to the way a computer's CPU, handles information. The 64-bit version handles large amounts of RAM much better than a 32-bit system. If you are running a 32-bit version of Ubuntu, you can only perform an upgrade to another 32-bit version of Ubuntu. Similarly, if you are running a 64-bit version of Ubuntu, you can only perform an upgrade to another 64-bit version of Ubuntu.

If you want to move from 32-bit Ubuntu to a 64-bit Ubuntu, you'll need to back up your files, do a clean install of 64-bit Ubuntu.

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up vote 0 down vote

Your OS is still 32bit as you upgraded from a 32bit - see the answer in the comment for further information.

by the way is it possible for the coexistence of 32 bit Win and 64 bit Ubuntu?

Absolutely - it's called a dualboot - you would have the option at login to use either one.

Download and burn the 64 bit iso and boot with it, it will prompt you with various options - you would want to choose the Install alongside option.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/GraphicalInstall

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up vote 0 down vote

You need to do a fresh install with the 64bit version of Ubuntu. It is possible to have 32bit windows and 64bit Ubuntu, as long as they are not sharing the same disk or partition, for obvious reasons. Refer to the documentation for howto on dual-booting.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WindowsDualBoot

It is important that the CPU on the machine you're installing onto supports 64bit instruction set (which most modern CPUs should by now)

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