Jaco - thank you for staying with me on this. I believe the computer is 32 bit since I don't see 64-bit noted anywhere and if memory serves, my wife purchased it before Windows 7 was available (I had advised her to wait, but whatever...). At that point in history, I don't think Vista 64 was available -- just 32. Didn't the Vista 64 come out about the same time both flavors of Win 7 were released?
The processor on this machine is a Intel Core 2 Duo. Can that take 64 bit instructions?