I have an old copy of AutoCAD that I would like to run again. It works fine on the 32 bit version of windows. But - we are all moving to 64 bit versions of windows - and beyond. So, I am thinking I could backup my AutoCAD from 32 bits and restore it to a 64 bit version of windows. Has anyone actually done this?
Thanks in advance
Dunno if this helps, but:
Although I haven’t tried Autocad in particular, Windows in general still runs 32-bit applications just fine. I think even MS Office installs the 32-bit version by default, even on 64-bit Windows.
As for “beyond”, don’t worry, that won’t happen for a while (32-bit systems can address up to 4GB of RAM; 64-bit can address up to 17 BILLION gigabytes).
That said, from a technical perspective, you have to make sure you can transfer all its required settings over (registry, config files, etc.) and that it doesn’t depend on any super old support libraries (drivers, graphics stuff, etc.). And also, I suppose, that your license allows it.
If you want to test it out, you can spin up a 64-bit Windows 10 instance in the cloud for free or minimal cost:
I haven’t not done it, but for my money, it’s not going to work: restoring to another machine seldom works, and in this case you have the added problem of the copy protection, which is also not going to work.
If you just mean “can I copy the files from backup, and make it work later”, then it depends on your backup system. Some backup systems are smart enough to get really confused and broken when you try to restore to a different machine: some are dumb enough to just let you get files out and put them somewhere.
You might not need to back it up in the first place. Autocad licenses are based on an online account with Autocad-- You might be able to log in to there and just re-download it.
I have had good luck with Belarc advisor to get license keys of all installed software when moving to a new PC. You can do a fresh install of the software using the Keys.
I took a quick look on google to see if 32 bit versions of AutoCAD had any issues running under 64 bit windows. One thing I found is that while 32 bit versions won’t usually install on 64 bit windows, there is an ini file tweak that you can use. With this ini file change, AutoCAD should install and function properly on Windows 10 64 bit.
I’m kinda surprised that you have a 32 bit version of Windows 10. It’s not very common.
It depends on your definition of “back up.” If you mean, install the old 32bit version of AutoCAD on a 64 bit version of Windows then copy your saved files over, then yes. This will probably work.
If you mean, somehow copy the existing installation to a new computer without going through the install procedure, then no. It’s not going to work. Doing this would be very difficult even if the destination machine was 32 bit.
Quick question: does AutoCAD have individual licenses for 32-bit and 64-bit versions? Most software I use doesn’t. So you could just use the same license for the 64-bit version.
Of course, if the OP’s version of AutoCAD is so old that there isn’t a 64-bit variant of the same version, then that might not be possible. Though I do know that many software companies allow you to use older licenses, or at least give you a discount.
Finally, I suspect that knowing the exact version of AutoCAD that the OP wants to run might be germane to the topic of whether it has compatibility problems on Windows 10 64-bit.
Thanks for the information guys. There is only one thing to do, and that is to try it. Either it works or it doesn’t. Thanks again.
AutoCad has always been one of the most tightly controlled software. I don’t know when or if they stopped, but certain versions required a hardware dongle, first parallel, then USB.
Next, make sure you have a perpetual license, the last time it was offered was in 2016, after that it was subscription only.
Then, make sure it’s a valid license, as it will phone home on installation and at intervals after that.
If it’s required for your work, talk to IT and it’s their responsibility to ensure you have the proper tools for your job.
That said, ever since AutoCad 1.0, which I had way back then, there has always been a way get around the restrictions.
Thinking about it, running 32bit AutoCad with ~3.5GB, the max 32bit Windows can address will be pretty slow unless you’re not working with current files from other later versions of AutoCad. Memories of cup of coffee Photoshop filters come back. Even something simple as rotating a multi-megabyte image meant you could start the process, get up, brew a cup of coffee, sit down and start drinking it, and maybe the rotation would be done. Rinse and repeat for everything you did with the image.
I don’t know how much security there is on a professional version of AutoCad, but there was almost none when I installed a copy under the educational license. They seem to be going more for a business model of big penalties if you happen to get caught violating the terms of your license.