⟩ Will the Windows 32-bit applications run if I switch to 64-bit variant of Windows 7
Not all the applications run smooth with 64-bit variant of Windows 7. Especially there could be hitch-up's with system-intrusive software, like hardware drivers and anti-virus software. It would require the 64-bit code. For instance Flash that doesn't offer a 64-bit version of its IE plugin. In order, to view the Flash based web pages you need to run the 32-bit version of browser.