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Can I "upgrade" my old 32-bit IBM ThinkPad to 64-bit by installing a new hard disk? I am running Ubuntu 14.04 but want to upgrade to a newer Ubuntu system. Can Anyone help this novice with that?

Mogens Eliasen
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  • If by “upgrade” you mean “install a new OS”, then yes. The simplest way to do this would be to back up your important files, get the version of Ubuntu that you would like, then wipe the system and install fresh. –  Jan 23 '21 at 14:51
  • I've done it many times without issue. I just used an upgrade via re-install which allows you to use the same release, or different release. You use "something else" or "manual partitioning", select your existing partitions and don't format. It'll note your installed packages, erase system directories, install, add back your additional packages (if available in Ubuntu repositories for new release) then ask to reboot. It doesn't touch user files (unless format was used), is great for desktops (server apps often store conf files in system directories unlike desktop apps) – guiverc Jan 23 '21 at 21:31
  • The prior comment lists what I'd do with the little detail you provided. I'd also consider what you're moving from, what you're moving to, plus hardware.. It's been awhile since trusty (14.04) reached EOL, and a lighter DEsktop choice may make sense... what I describe works in that case too, but a little more needs to be taken into account (details you've not provided). – guiverc Jan 23 '21 at 21:33
  • The processor in question i 32-bit. Some answers say that then my plan is impossible. But from the answers, especially from guiverc, indicate that this may be taking the logic too far. So, because I am quite indifferent to WHICH Ubuntu system I should be moving to. I do no know, however, how to do an "upgrade via re-install" - can anyone be more specific about this? I am NOT a tech... – Mogens Eliasen Jan 24 '21 at 18:55

2 Answers2

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You can determine if your computer's CPU is 32 or 64 bits by running

sudo lshw -class processor | grep width

If the answer is "width: 32 bits" neither replacing the hard drive or installing another operating system will transform your computer into a 64 bit machine.

Organic Marble
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If the processor is 32 bit, you can't do what you're trying to do, otherwise it's absolutely possible. Since you have a pretty old version of Ubuntu I assume the hardware also old. So even if the processor is 64 bit, your system might get slower with new versions of the OS. You'll have to find a slimmed down version of Ubuntu derivatives which supports older hardware. You can still find 32 bit versions of Ubuntu flavours but slowly the support will be limited to 64.

Hope this helps!

Jijo Joseph
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