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AnswerGoing from 32bit to 64bit anything I should know?

  • Tuesday, November 03, 2009 8:06 PMMikeHawthorne Users MedalsUsers MedalsUsers MedalsUsers MedalsUsers Medals
     
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    Hi

    My new computer is coming on Friday.
    I will be using 64 bit Windows 7 Home Premium for the first time.
    I have been running 32 bit Windows 7 on my present computer.

    I run about everything Adobe makes, Photoshop CS2, Indesign CS2, Illustrator CS3, Premiere Elements 3, Acrobat 9 etc.
    I also play games, Aion, The Witcher, Tomb Raider and stuff like that.

    Is there anything I should know before I start installing all this stuff on my new computer?
    Or will I see any difference at all in the way everything works.

    Thanks for the help

    Mike
     

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  • Tuesday, November 03, 2009 9:09 PMRob.Ford Users MedalsUsers MedalsUsers MedalsUsers MedalsUsers Medals
     
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    Hi Mike, you should check for pure 64-bit versions of your applications but quite a lot don't supply them, but they will sometimes install 64-bit components on a 64-bit OS. Office 2007 is one example of this. Several games do the same, too.

    You'll get a "Program Files" and "Program Files (x86)" folder, for x64 and x86 programs.

    You'll need to get the 64-bit drivers for all of your devices, too. I can't get one for my webcam which worked under W7 x86 so I need to replace it...

    Other than that (and the fact that Microsoft let you use more than 3GB of RAM) everything should look pretty much the same :)



     
  • Tuesday, November 03, 2009 10:38 PMMikeHawthorne Users MedalsUsers MedalsUsers MedalsUsers MedalsUsers Medals
     
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    Hi

    Thanks for the information.
    I'm most concerned about all my Adobe stuff.

    None of it is very old and I obviously don't want to have to replace the software at Adobe prices. LOL!

    I don't have a clue whether there are drivers for my printer and scanner but everything else should be fine since the computer is coming with the OS already installed and tested from FNW.

    One other question just in case...

    Can you have both Windows 7 64 bit and Windows XP 32 bit installed in a dual boot setup on the same computer.
    I'm running both W7 and XP at 32 on my present computer and I have an unused copy of XP Pro.

    Mike
     
  • Wednesday, November 04, 2009 1:30 AMRob.Ford Users MedalsUsers MedalsUsers MedalsUsers MedalsUsers Medals
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    Hi Mike, you can still run the 32-bit versions if there are no x64 ones, they will still work ok, you just might miss out on the absolute best performance. And yes, you can dual boot XP x86 and W7 64-bit.
     
  • Wednesday, November 04, 2009 8:21 AMVivian XingMSFT, ModeratorUsers MedalsUsers MedalsUsers MedalsUsers MedalsUsers Medals
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    For more information, please refer to http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/32-bit-and-64-bit-Windows-frequently-asked-questions

    Vivian Xing - MSFT
     
  • Wednesday, November 04, 2009 3:41 PMMikeHawthorne Users MedalsUsers MedalsUsers MedalsUsers MedalsUsers Medals
     
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    Thanks for the info Rob and Vivian.
    I looked through all the stuff and I think I have a handle on this now.

    Can't wait to get my new computer set up and running.


    Mike