Vista Update 32 & 64 = limits?

FatRakoon · 24 Aug 2007 at 22:55

Should be a simple one.

I picked up the Upgrade the other day.

Its got 32 and 64 bit in it.

Now, if I up to 32 bit and decide to go 64 later on, can I?

If I opt for 64Bit but then go back... Can I?

Can anyone actualyl point me to the actual limits I have with it?

I ask this cos I been playing with 64Bit for 2 days and Im a bit 50-50.

Its very very very fast, but I have a number of apps that dont go nicely when they do ( some do ) in Vista 32.

What annoys me to the hilt is that the docs say I got 30 days to activate... This in my eyes says 30 day to decide if I like it or not, but I got 3 days.

3 days is a seriously poor length of time to test out all the apps and bits on an O/S.

So, can I kind of chop and change once they are activated or not?

If I can, can I go from 32 to 64 and then from 64 to 32 without needing a clean install??

Oh I dont know...

This is with Ultimate by the way.

Many thanks in advance to anyone who knows what the hell I am talking about??

HangTime · 24 Aug 2007 at 23:07

Either way, I'd recommend getting a new keyboard that doesn't duplicate the Enter key!

dbmzk1 · 24 Aug 2007 at 23:44

Just stick with 64-bit

stoofa · 25 Aug 2007 at 05:52

I'm a little bit confused by the "3 days" you've had to test the OS.
Vista can be used for 30 days without the need to activate it.
30 days should be long enough for you to decide if you're going to be happy with it or not.

With Vista you can use either the 32bit or 64bit version to install/use but not both as you're only licensed for one installation on any one PC at a time.
So you could install 64bit, use it for 29 days and then decide the 32bit would be a better option, wipe the machine and then proceed to use the 32bit version for 29 days.
After that there wouldn't actually be anything to stop you wiping the machine again and having another 30 days with the 64bit OS.

Basically the limits you've got with your OS are the same as everyone else.
You are licensed for an installation on a single PC at any one time.
As you've purchased a Retail version you can move the OS from one machine to another as and when you upgrade your machine.
Your old OS has now become part of your Vista license.
So if you've upgraded from WinXP to Vista Ultimate, that WinXP license cannot be used anywhere - it now makes up part of your upgraded license.

PhillyDee · 25 Aug 2007 at 07:58

And you have to do a clean install. Cant just upgrade/downgrade.

Burnsy2023 · 25 Aug 2007 at 11:10

Just activate if you need more time?

Unfortuently you can't swap between 32 and 64 without a reinstall but you can chop and change whenever you want.

Burnsy

bowza · 26 Aug 2007 at 16:43

could he set up a duel boot , vista 32 / Vista 64

Bowza

Burnsy2023 · 26 Aug 2007 at 17:47

bowza said:
could he set up a duel boot , vista 32 / Vista 64

Bowza

After he bought another licence of course

Burnsy

FatRakoon · 26 Aug 2007 at 19:01

HangTime said:
Either way, I'd recommend getting a new keyboard that doesn't duplicate the Enter key!

Oh, ha ha

ha

ha

ha

ha!

dbmzk1 said:
Just stick with 64-bit

Id like to of course.

With XP I find that XP64 is smoother and more stable, plus, games like Need For Speed etc, dont crash half as much as they do on XP32.
Im kind of thinking that maybe it a similar thing with Vista too, but I have also seen a couple of my apps not work in 64 where Im sure that they ran fine in Vista 32.

Again, maybe someone can verify this one, but Vista64 just went on peachy onto the Conroe / DS3 system, where Vista32 failed to find drivers... Never bothered to check what drivers as Im a bit iffy on bothering with Vista on that PC.

burnsy2023 said:
Just activate if you need more time?

Unfortuently you can't swap between 32 and 64 without a reinstall but you can chop and change whenever you want.

Burnsy

The chop & change is a good thing... The activation is not.

Im not convinced that I want to use Vista on this machine, so once I activate it... Thats it. I found that XP64 is many times better than XP32 so, im sort of thinking that Vista is the same, but of course its probably me hoping.

I got 3 packages of Vista, Business and Ultimate 32 and an upgrade that is both 32 and 64...

The ultimate32 I am going to be throwing onto my AMD upstairs, and therefore I am wanting to give vista another try on the DS3... But I want to try both 32 and 64 bits.

I also dont want to find that for my main PC, that Im not 100% happy with Vista at all, so activating it would annoy me if Im not going to be sticking with it.

stoofa said:
I'm a little bit confused by the "3 days" you've had to test the OS.
Vista can be used for 30 days without the need to activate it.
30 days should be long enough for you to decide if you're going to be happy with it or not.

Agreed, I should get 30 days, however, its telling me I got 3 days to activate it not 30 at all?????

This was ONLY when I messed with VistaUltimate64 upgrade and I gave it a fresh clean install to an empty HD, and I put my usual XP64 HD further back ( So it would put Vista onto SATA0 and it would see the installed XP64 OS and allow the upgrade... You know what I mean dont you?

Anyway, no, I got 3 days only.

I toyed for 2 days, and went back to XP, but I found ( I found this before though too ) that Vista had messed up my partition table ( I posted a question about this a few days ago ) and I have since had to re-copy everythign back over to another PC, and fully format and reinstall everything all over again.

Burnsy2023 · 26 Aug 2007 at 19:05

FatRakoon said:
The chop & change is a good thing... The activation is not.

Im not convinced that I want to use Vista on this machine, so once I activate it... Thats it. I found that XP64 is many times better than XP32 so, im sort of thinking that Vista is the same, but of course its probably me hoping.

Upgrades are fully transferable between machines with qualifying products. If you decide you don't want it on that machine, take it off and move it

Burnsy

FatRakoon · 26 Aug 2007 at 20:09

burnsy2023 said:
Upgrades are fully transferable between machines with qualifying products. If you decide you don't want it on that machine, take it off and move it

Burnsy

OH, right. Cool.

Well, thats great then.

The DS3 has both XP32 and XP64 full retail licences although the XP32 is not currently installed and had not been on it fully for fair while now.

The AMD upstairs is a Retail Home edition ( Why did I ever bother with retail? ) and that will be having the full retail of ultimate 32 within the next day or two.

So, what I can now do, is the following :-

. install a clean Vista32 to the DS3, actiavte it and play to my hearts content.

. Some time down the road, lets say a month, Im still not happy, I chuck it to the Vista 64 version... Same serial... The upgrade only provides me with the one licence but 2 disks ( Obvious enough ) and I wont have an issue? - If I do, then MS will activate it sure.

. I decide after some more time that neither 32 or 64 bit vista is giving me what I require and so, I put it on a different machine altogether, and go back to XP64 on the machine that for the last couple of months, was running Vista.

. Lets say then, that during thuis time, I found that the machine that had been running Vista32, was running it fairly nicely, I could in theory ( Although I dont see why, but bear with me anyway )... I could just take the full retail of ultimate 32 off the AMD, and use the upgrade of Ultimate to chuck on the 64Bit version... Thus freeing up the retail version ( Which I know will transfer due to it being the retail ).

. Then a few more mumfs down the line, I decide to put the retail V32 back onto the AMD and the v64 Upgrade back onto the Intel...

... I can do that cant I?

So, basically the Upgrade is giving me full transfer ability much the same as the Retail version does... Or will... Providing the OS Im "Supposedly" upgrading from does too!

I mean, my 2 main PCs are retail, the Intel XP32 and XP64 and the AMD, XP32 and Win2000 are retail, so any mix of...

... Stuff it, Im waffling now arent I?

What you are basically saying, is that I can activate and if Im not happy, I can remove and use it on another PC?

stoofa · 27 Aug 2007 at 03:39

It all depends fully on the type of license being used.
If it's a Retail license you can move it from one machine to another as much as you like.
If it's an OEM license it is tied to the motherboard of the machine it was first installed on, not activated on.
Just because you haven't activated the product doesn't mean that the license isn't tied to that machine.
You can have a read of the difference between OEM and Retail licenses here:

http://www.cifi.com/computing/vistaoemretail1.html

FatRakoon · 27 Aug 2007 at 04:34

Well, I have full retail licences for my main PCs of XP. The AMD has another of Win2K and the Conroe has XP64 ( Running that now )

The AMD is currently using the RETAIL of Vista32 ( As of a couple of hours ago ) and that I know, I can move to / from any Pc I like, providing of course I only have it on one PC at a time blah-de-blah, as we all know must be the case for legality.

The upgrade is a pack that has both the 32 and *** 64 bit DVDs in it.

If the upgrade is going to upgrade a retail licence, then I see no reason why I cannot move it to any other PC in future, and given Burnsys knowledge of the licencing laws etc, he says that as its an upgrade, then surely I could move it regardless anyway????

Im thinking that since I am able to downgrade ( I did read the full EULA for the first time during the install, and in the last bit, item 10, it does state quite clearly that I can always go back whenever I want to ) so, this will also apply for any OEM licence that I use it to upgrade to also???

Thus, unless Im very much mistaken, even by MS's own wording in their own EULA, it does not matter at all whether I go from a RETAIL or an OEM of XP, XP64, or 2000, I can, at anytime, go back to that OS.

I also remember reading some time ago, that when you upgrade from XP to VISTA, you will lose your XP license??? - this clearly does not apply to me or to this version of the upgrade anyway... Perhaps its OEM XP to Vista Basic maybe?

Anyway, I am happy to accept that I can throw 32 or 64 on and go between them as I see fit, and even go back to XP32 or XP64 if I feel that Vista is not for this Machine, whether I have activated it or not. I am then also able to install the Vista onto any other machine that I see fit instead.

Thanks all.

Burnsy2023 · 27 Aug 2007 at 12:22

Right, just to clear something up. The upgrade can be moved to any machine that has an OEM or retail license of XP or 2000. If you wish to move it you can, and the qualifying product license stays exactly as it was previously.

. Lets say then, that during thuis time, I found that the machine that had been running Vista32, was running it fairly nicely, I could in theory ( Although I dont see why, but bear with me anyway )... I could just take the full retail of ultimate 32 off the AMD, and use the upgrade of Ultimate to chuck on the 64Bit version... Thus freeing up the retail version ( Which I know will transfer due to it being the retail ).

If you take the retail edition off, what are you going to upgrade from? You always need a qualifying product to be licensed to the machine before upgrading. If you move the retail license and it doesn't have any other license attached then you can't run Vista or XP on it.

I also remember reading some time ago, that when you upgrade from XP to VISTA, you will lose your XP license??? - this clearly does not apply to me or to this version of the upgrade anyway... Perhaps its OEM XP to Vista Basic maybe?

You don't lose the XP license, the upgrade is just an extension to that license to allow you to use the latest version. Like I said before, you can transfer the upgrade which means that you no longer have the right to use the latest version on a machine that doesn't have the upgrade attached.

Im thinking that since I am able to downgrade ( I did read the full EULA for the first time during the install, and in the last bit, item 10, it does state quite clearly that I can always go back whenever I want to ) so, this will also apply for any OEM licence that I use it to upgrade to also???

Thus, unless Im very much mistaken, even by MS's own wording in their own EULA, it does not matter at all whether I go from a RETAIL or an OEM of XP, XP64, or 2000, I can, at anytime, go back to that OS.

Downgrade rights are usually used in different circumstances. It's usually for people with just a Vista OEM or Retail license who wish to use XP. Downgrade rights allow them to use a previous version of Windows on a Vista license. They're generally not used for people who have used an upgrade licence as they explictly have those rights anyway from the original XP license (although the XP license will also grant them downgrade rights for 2000 as well).

Hope that helps

Burnsy

FatRakoon · 27 Aug 2007 at 12:54

burnsy2023 said:
Right, just to clear something up. The upgrade can be moved to any machine that has an OEM or retail license of XP or 2000. If you wish to move it you can, and the qualifying product license stays exactly as it was previously.

Yes.

burnsy2023 said:
If you take the retail edition off, what are you going to upgrade from? You always need a qualifying product to be licensed to the machine before upgrading. If you move the retail license and it doesn't have any other license attached then you can't run Vista or XP on it.

No, I dont mean that I will take it off... I know it needs to stay on while Im installing, but I will remove it once Vista is on.... The original licence I accept will need to stay with the machine even if its not specifically being used.

All my PCs have full XP or 2K licences and they are staying with their respective systems... Some of the PCs havge more than the one, and the AMD upstairs actually has 2K, XP, and as of yesterday, Vista Ultimate 32.

burnsy2023 said:
You don't lose the XP license, the upgrade is just an extension to that license to allow you to use the latest version. Like I said before, you can transfer the upgrade which means that you no longer have the right to use the latest version on a machine that doesn't have the upgrade attached.

I see that yes.

burnsy2023 said:
Downgrade rights are usually used in different circumstances. It's usually for people with just a Vista OEM or Retail license who wish to use XP. Downgrade rights allow them to use a previous version of Windows on a Vista license. They're generally not used for people who have used an upgrade licence as they explictly have those rights anyway from the original XP license (although the XP license will also grant them downgrade rights for 2000 as well).

Ok, right. Downgrade rights allow the use of XP on the Vista licence.

Now, this isnt quite for me, as I already have the full licences for XP.
In my case, its simply removing the VISTA UPGRADE and going back to its original OS before the upgrade rather than needing downgrade rights.

burnsy2023 said:
Hope that helps

As always Mr B.
As always.