It looks like it's possible for 2008 SP1: previous question.

But what about current newer 2008 R2 version?

We plan to use single 32bit Express edition package to install on every machine. However, on 64bit Windows 7 it produces this error:

FacetWOW64PlatformCheck
Determines whether SQL Server Setup is supported on this operating system
Failed
Setup is not supported in WOW64. This setup program can only be run on a 32-bit system.

/x86 flag for setup.exe doesn't work.

Copying x64/setup folder to the root of installer files doesn't work.

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up vote 3 down vote accepted

It turned out to be very simple. On that fancy download page,

http://www.microsoft.com/express/Database/,

they have links to SQLEXPR32_x86_ENU.exe and SQLEXPR_x64_ENU.exe, which are for their specific platforms only. However, there is a third file, SQLEXPR_x86_ENU.exe, which can be found here:

www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=8b3695d9-415e-41f0-a079-25ab0412424b

It installs on any system.

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SQLEXPR_x86_ENU.exe is specifically tailored to work on 32 bit systems and as a 32 bit executable on a 64 bit system under WOW64. SQLEXPR32_x86_ENU.exe is a more compact version only for 32 bit OS. – Ganesh R. Oct 6 '10 at 16:38
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