Most people say it's not possible however, it may be possible but, it is probably not going to be easy, may not be legal, could slow down your computer and may even cause programs or the computer itself to crash. If you still want to try then here are some arduous avenues that you could take to accomplish your goal.
32-bit vs. 64-bit
The difference between 32-bit and 64-bit is that 64-bit processors can handle more data at once than a 32-bit processor. However, do note that compatibility settings may be necessary.
Possibility 1 - Recompile the driver
In theory, if you can dissemble the driver to see how it works and then re-write the driver to be functional in a 64-bit environment. However, this solution may not be legal or easy to do. This would also be harder the more complex the driver is.
Possibility 2 - Emulation
I am no expert on the internal workings of 32-bit and 64-bit drivers however, If you can emulate an entire 32-bit computer on a 64-bit computer then it should be possible.
In theory, you would need to either find or build a wrapper for the 32-bit driver. This driver would be a 64-bit driver and would act as a miniature emulator for the 32-bit driver to exist in.
However, the bigger question in this case is how fast does the driver needs to operate. The reason why this is important is because if you did manage to convert the data, it may take longer for the driver to operate and if a driver requires a certain amount of speed to operate, it could cause programs and possibly your computer to crash if your computer isn't designed to deal with slow drivers.
The plus side to this method is that you would be able to avoid legal issues that may come from decompiling the driver.
Installing Unsigned Drivers:
In order to install your driver unsigned, you will have to enter into a special mode to Disable driver signature enforcement or through a different method. Here is a link to a tutorial on how to do that:
https://www.supportrix.com/kb/how-to-install-unsigned-drivers-in-windows-10/
Please be cautious when installing unsigned drivers
End Note
At the end of the day, it all comes down to how much time are you willing to spend to make a driver to function and if it is worth the risk. And so far, I have been unable to find any such drivers online.
There's no easy way to do this. You can force Windows to use the 32-bit driver, and it may actually work, but if it doesn't, then you basically have to write your own driver. It's simpler to just sell the webcam to someone who has a 32-bit OS and go buy yourself a more recent webcam that supports Windows 7 x64. – Lèse majesté – 2012-04-22T09:39:25.173
2
You can force Windows to use the 32-bit driver
is not possible. – Tamara Wijsman – 2012-04-22T09:41:29.647It definitely is possible. There are even driver installers that do this unintentionally. – Lèse majesté – 2012-04-22T10:00:50.047
@Moab: Not sure what kind of support you need. MS isn't going to post instructions on how since it's not recommended, but anyone who understands how device manager installs drivers or has looked into a .inf file should be able to understand how you could force Windows to install invalid drivers. If you have both the 16-bit and 32-bit versions of a particular device driver on your computer, open up their .inf files and compare them. It doesn't take much imagination to figure out how one could get x64 Windows to use the 32-bit driver's cab and cat files. – Lèse majesté – 2012-04-22T15:17:34.923
Mind you, I'm not saying the drivers will actually work. The only anecdotal account I've come across are of unsuccessful attempts. E.g. a guy who successfully copied his 32-bit maudio drivers over to 64-bit Windows only to have his computer BSOD when the system attempted to play audio. But that's at least proof that you can force Windows to use inappropriate drivers.
– Lèse majesté – 2012-04-22T15:19:58.947@Moab: They are still quite common (in fact, I'm pretty sure all Windows drivers have to come with .inf files regardless of how they're distributed). The .inf is just the install file telling Windows the product/hardware/vendor/compatibility IDs, which catalog and cab files to use, and what files to copy, etc. And I never said anything about converting drivers. Re-read the statement that Tom quoted. In fact, re-read my original comment where I suggested he simply buy a newer webcam and stated my opinion that this approach was a dead-end. – Lèse majesté – 2012-04-22T15:32:25.280
@Moab: Christ... Re-read the comment. He asked about converting 32-bit drivers to 64-bit drivers. I explained this was a dead end and explained that the best thing to do is to buy a new webcam. How is this comment false or off-topic? And if you download a driver package that is a self-extracting archive, then you may not see the .inf, but it's still there. Go to
C:\Windows\inf
and you will see an .inf file for every device driver you have installed. – Lèse majesté – 2012-04-22T15:57:05.173@Moab: actually, most (if not all) drivers still have an .inf file in my experience, although it is usually hidden inside a packaged installer. You need the .inf file if you want to install a driver as part of an unattended Windows installation, for example; so far, I've never been unable to do so. – Harry Johnston – 2012-04-23T05:27:33.947
@Moab: in the particular case of Dell drivers, usually they unpack to C:\dell\drivers\Rnnnnnn; if you search this folder for an .inf file, you'll almost certainly find one. (Once extraction is complete, you can just cancel the actual installation. You don't even need to be on a machine with the hardware in question.) – Harry Johnston – 2012-04-23T05:33:33.270
(Of course, I agree entirely that there's zero chance of a 32-bit driver working on a 64-bit system.) – Harry Johnston – 2012-04-23T05:35:28.463