32Bit Vista to 64 bit Win 7?

[blackbirds]

There still are various apps and things that don't work under x64. To list a few that I've been struggling with this past few weeks,

- MSI Live Update, so no BIOS updating through Windows. You've got to find a floppy drive and disk from somewhere instead. Ick.

- RUU update utility for WinMo phones doesn't work under 7x64. As I recall, neither does the Nokia firmware updater.

- Tridef's game 3D anaglyph'ing software


There might've been other stuff too that I've forgotten about. It's not always a major issue though, since VMWare is happy to run an x86 WinXP instance that can interface semi-directly with USB hardware and update phones and whatever else, and none of these issues are exactly major show-stoppers.

Agent put it well when he made the point that the question is more of "Why should I go 32bit?". 2GB PC6400 assembled by PNY costs £18 over at Play.com. I have 8GB of it in my system because, well, why not? 5GB extra RAM for £36. My mate spent more than that on his haircut the other day. Difference is, I don;t have to lie to say that having an extra 5GB of RAM is great.

[pp05]

lol!

I'm planning to go 32bit initially and install 64bit later when the apps are native 64bit.

Ram is the only argument I keep hearing. How many of us utilize more than 2gb regularly [non-gamers]?

[scaryjim]

Paradox ... seems no longer to be supported by Corel. (Another example ... of a superior product steamrollered out of existence by the Redmond behemoth).

I'd be fascinated to know what you were doing with Paradox databases that made you think they were good. Admittedly I've only really encountered them through having to support bespoke applications where the original developer had long since left the company, but I always found them a complete PITA...

As for any program that worked under XP 32bit - buy Win 7 Professional (or ultimate) and you can get XP Mode for running all your legacy apps (note: not XP Compatibility mode, but (as I understand it) basically a Windows XP VM running in the background that legacy apps run on (a bit like WOW64, I guess...))

[watercooled]

I think 64 bit should be the one you choose for a new system - as mentioned there's no real reason to avoid it except for some (very few now) incompatible applications but since 64 bit OSes have been around for a while there are few that won't work on 64. There are some apps like Sandboxie as mentioned before which don't work and have no 64 bit alternatives but unless you use many specialised applications it's unlikely you'll encounter any problems. Also remember that more and more native 64 bit applications are emerging and the 64 bit version of Vista/7 have additional security features. If there are any programs/drivers that refuse to work on 64 and you have no alternatives you could run them on a 32 bit OS in a VM - I have a printer with no 64 bit drivers which works fine in that way. I wonder if you are allowed to run the 32 bit version of 7 under a VM on the same computer???

[Bill@W]

As Scaryjim suggests above, it is my intention to get win 7 professional to get access to the vm XP mode. I didn't want to wait until Oct 22, so got vista business x64 with a coupon for win 7 pro.
I'll try the vm XP, but I'm still to be convinced that Win 7 is a real advance on XP Pro. I don't need DirectX 10 (I'm not a gamer), and what else does Win 7 have? I like the extra memory 64-bit can access, but that's ALL I want from it. I could see myself binning Win 7 and Vista by Christmas and going back to XP Pro.
I have Vista Home Premium x32 on another system, which hasn't given any problems like the 64-bit system, but it's slower than XP Pro, and does nothing for me that XP doesn't.
As for Paradox, I started using Paradox for DOS, and when MS came up with Access I tried it and found it much clunkier than Paradox for Windows.

[Barrichello]

I would recommend 64bit Win 7 as well. If you do find the odd app that only works in 32bit, then slap a 32bit OS in Sunvirtualbox - is the way i use Cisco VPN client.

[Stringent]

If you REALLY want to play older games, then just virtualize. Get VirtualBox or something and run Windows 98 in it. I am planning to bring back some classic Mechwarrior 2 stuff sometime!