Change SQL database 32bit to 64bit

You are correct that SQL Server 2014 was the last version to include a 32-bit (x86) edition of the database engine. From SQL Server 2016 onward, Microsoft discontinued 32-bit builds entirely for the database engine itself, offering only 64-bit versions. The only 32-bit components that remain available in later releases are client tools such as SQL Server Management Studio and ODBC drivers, not the actual server engine.

If your Veritas Backup Exec installer is designed to install or connect to a 32-bit SQL Server instance, you will need to use SQL Server 2014 Express . SQL Server 2014 Express 32-bit can still run on a 64-bit operating system through Windows’ WOW64 subsystem, so you are not restricted to an older OS.

If the program itself cannot create a new database, you can manually attach or restore an existing database using SQL Server Management Studio 2014 Express. Alternatively, if you were hoping to upgrade to a newer SQL Server release, that will only be possible if your version of Backup Exec supports connecting to a 64-bit SQL instance.

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hth

Marcin

First a general disclaimer: I have no knowledge of Veritas Backup Exec, but I discuss this from a general standpoint.

I'm afraid that Marcin's answer is a little misleading. There is no different for the client to connect to 32-bit or 64-bit SQL Server. They look the same.

Thus, if you want to upgrade to a newer version of SQL Server, you can do that. However, in-place upgrades of 32-bit SQL Server to 64-bit is not supported. So you would need to install a new instance and copy the database to that instance, and then re-configure Veritas to connect to the new instance.

But since Veritas installs SQL Server for you, the instance name may be hard-coded, so a reconfiguration may not be possible. In that case, you could take a backup of the database and uninstall SQL Server, and then install a newer 64-bit version with the same instance name, and then restore the database on that instance.

In either of these cases, there is a small risk that Veritas stores some data or configuration in the master or msdb databases. You would have to copy that data manually, which goes on the advanced side. There could also be dependencies on tools etc. Thus, you could end up with a non-functional installation of Veritas.

I assume that this is something than runs on a physical machine, and not a virtual machine. This makes it more difficult to repair, if things stop working. I would absolutely recommend that you first install Veritas + SQL Server on a machine you can afford to loose, and let it run for a while. Then try the upgrade on that machine to verify that Veritas survives.

The best might be to upgrade to a newer version of Veritas, but I understand from your comment that you are not too keen on that for cost reasons.

What sort of environment is this? Home? Small office?

I think a better approach would be to upgrade your Veritas Backup to newer version, that uses a supported version of Sqlserver. You may be able to hack solution, but could you trust it.

if you don’t upgrade Veritas Backup, I’d stick with sql 2014 (I assume Veritas Backup is the only user).