Tag Archives: This is a 32-bit AutoCAD® Electrical® 2010. It cannot be installed on 64-bit Windows

Install 32bit AutoCAD Electrical 2010 on Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10

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NOTE: This blog post specifically solves issues related to these error messages on installation…

  • “This operating system is not supported by AutoCAD® Electrical® 2010”
  • “You cannot install this product on the current operating system”
  • “You are attempting to use a 32-bit installer on a 64-bit operating system”
  • “This is a 32-bit AutoCAD® Electrical® 2010. It cannot be installed on 64-bit Windows”

…Also, hung “Merging content…” message while installing…

NOTE: These steps do not bypass normal Autodesk licensing/authorization, you should expect to use your own serial numbers in the normal way.

Installing 32bit AutoCAD Electrical 2010 on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 64bit can be very easily defined in these short steps.

  1. First of all, you need V9.20 of the Longbow Converter (or newer) – obtain the latest version of the Longbow Converter here
  2. If you have CDs (if not skip to step 3 below) you must copy ALL CDs to your hard drive using the following instructions…
    1. Using Windows Explorer, copy Disk 1 of your AutoCAD Electrical 2010 CD to your hard drive, to a folder path c:\Autodesk\AutoCADE2010
    2. If you have more CD’s, copy them all directly over the top of Disk 1, overwrite all files in your previously copied c:\Autodesk\AutoCADE2010 folder
  3. If you have a single self extracting exe downloaded from Autodesk
    1. Run the exe, it will ask to unzip to a folder inside of c:\Autodesk, make a note of the folder name created for later use (we’ll refer to it from here as c:\Autodesk\AutoCADE2010), now click OK.
    2. Wait until all of the files have extracted, when they do, the AutoCAD Electrical 2010 setup will automatically launch – simply close it and move to the next step.
  4. Next start the Longbow Converter tool (V9.20 or newer)
    1. select the 1st tab named “AutoCAD 32bit Installer Converter“
    2. Pick the c:\Autodesk\AutoCADE2010 folder (where you copied the CDs to)
    3. then click the “Convert…“ button
  5. Once the conversion process is complete
    1. click Install/Run Setup to start setup.
    2. Install as normal, EXCEPT – you must install to “c:\AcadE2010” (<<< the exact text, anything else will fail!) instead of c:\Program Files (x86)\AutoCAD Electrical.
    3. NOTE: Be sure to download any updates that the setup offers you.
  6. Windows 8 users: Once the installation process is complete, go back to the Converter, select the 3rd tab, pick the newly installed C:\Program Files (x86)\Autodesk\Acade 2010 folder, then click Fix Old Program
  7. Now you can happily run your AutoCAD 2010 32bit on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.

Troubleshooting:

  1. If your installed AutoCAD is hanging on startup then read this post first AutoCAD Freezes on startup (AutoCAD visible but the menus don’t appear)
  2. if your AutoCAD hangs on startup (stuck at the “Checking License…” message, try installing the 32bit version of AutoCAD 2010 on 64bit Windows – we’ve actually found the 32bit AutoCAD 2010 running on 64bit Windows is much more stable and actually faster than the 64bit version of AutoCAD 2010.
  3. If your AutoCAD crashes while interacting with the Ribbon click here
  4. If you are unable to activate your product, or the activation process crashes:
    1. Try uninstalling the July 2014 Microsoft security update
    2. Try downgrading your Internet Explorer (IE) from version 11 to version 10 by following the instructions detailed here
  5. If you have crashing problems using the File->Open or File->Save dialogs inside of AutoCAD please read this blog entry on the File->Open or File->Save Crash in AutoCAD
  6. If your Windows hangs on startup after installing please refer to this help blog
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