Why won't my new USB TV tuner work with 64-bit Windows?

Q I bought a new 64-bit Dell Inspiron 1750 laptop, but have since found that I cannot access certain features because they only work with a 32-bit computer.

People often tell me that manufacturers are unlikely to update their drivers to be 64-bit and a USB TV tuner I bought recently turned out to be 32-bit only.

Have I made a big mistake buying a 64-bit PC, or is there some way to make it 32-bit?
Bryan Thornhill

A 64-bit refers to the processor inside the PC and all relatively new computers use 64-bit chips, so you haven’t made a mistake in buying this particular model.

The problem, however, is that you have also opted for the 64-bit edition of Windows 7 and this is what’s causing your incompatibility issues. Microsoft has advice on 64-bit compatibility this here.

Most 32-bit software will still run on the 64-bit version of Windows 7, but the trouble is that in order to use a peripheral device such as a printer or TV tuner, you must also use a 64-bit driver.

If you are finding these driver incompatibilities too much to cope with, a solution is to install the 32-bit edition of Windows 7.

Dell doesn’t supply Windows install discs with its Inspiron laptops, so you will need to buy a second copy of the operating system in order to do this.

You could contact Dell to see if it can help you out with this in some way, otherwise Windows 7 Home Premium costs about £100 if you shop around.

This includes both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the operating system, so you can always revert back to the 64-bit version at a later date, when hardware manufacturers have sorted out their drivers.