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jabbawockee

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 13, 2008
42
0
I want to make a Windows partition on my macbook. I may upgrade my hard drive in the future. Will my Windows serial number remain valid if I change my hard drive somewhere down the line?

Also, Windows 7..should i get 32 or 64bit? 2.53 Unibody Macbook Pro, 4gb memory, late 2008.

Thanks!
 

balamw

Moderator emeritus
Aug 16, 2005
19,365
979
New England
I want to make a Windows partition on my macbook. I may upgrade my hard drive in the future. Will my Windows serial number remain valid if I change my hard drive somewhere down the line?

Also, Windows 7..should i get 32 or 64bit? 2.53 Unibody Macbook Pro, 4gb memory, late 2008.
Windows activation will not be affected by just changing one major element of the hardware. I think it requires three major changes to major things (CPU, video card, HDD, Network adapters, ...) for it to ask you to reactivate.

I personally just did this myself with my MacBook, and it was fine.

The choice of 32 or 64 is a personal one that depends largely on the apps you want to run.

If your goal is to run legacy applications or to support hardware you already own, stick with 32 bit. If you want to run demanding applications that are 64 bit native, choose the 64 bit. 64 bit will give you more RAM and will be faster with 64 bit apps, you will pay a small price in performance for 32 bit apps and 64 bit support for hardware is still a bit iffier than 32 bit.

B
 

jabbawockee

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 13, 2008
42
0
Balamw,

Thanks for the advice and info. Threw a 500gb in my Macbook Pro and partitioned Windows 7 32bit. Thank you thank you!
 
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