64 bit question

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Does a 64 bit processor require a 64 bit O/S?
I have just bought an AMD 64 bit CPU, motherboard and sATA drive with the
intention of transferring my current IDE drive (32 bit O/S) onto the new
sATAdrive.
When I boot the system with my IDE as the only drive onboard, after the MB
welcome screen etc., I just get a black screen with a blinking cursor and no
error messages (anything missing etc.)
If I try and do a clean installation onto the sATA drive with my XPPro
disk(not OEM) It gets half way through copying files and then throws up a
whole host of files it cannot copy over.
I have read of others who use a dual boot system using 64 and 32 bit O/Ss,
so it must be possible.
Any suggestions gratefully recieved.

TWK


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