Vista 64bit Query (users opinions required)

jaffacaique

jaffacaique

jaffacaique

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Hi, sorry for asking what might be yet another similar question to others on this forum...

I have the 64 bit version of Vista and was thinking about trying it out on a seperate drive. But before I do all this I was just wondering what other users views were after switching over from 32bit Vista.

I have complied a list of all my software, drivers and games that I regularly use and have searched the internet checking to see if they are capable of running on a 64bit operating system; but only about 70% of them actually state that they will support it. I have tried in depth searches for the rest but as yet no information seems to be there.

The questions I would like to ask to those who have installed the 64bit Vista is..

+ Have you installed so called '32bit only' software and did it actually work ok?

+ Does 64bit Vista automatically run the software in 32bit compatibility mode or is this something you must configure youself?

+ If the 32bit only software did run was it noticeably slower?

Whilst I realise everyone will have different software installed, I was just wondering what 64bit users general feedback would be.
 
Running 32-bit apps on Vista x64 is seamless, the only problems you will run into are apps that install their own device drivers (haven't come across one yet) or ones that offer explorer context menu integration (winrar etc.) - they will work fine, but they will not integrate with explorer to offer right click "extract here" functionality etc.

Far from being slower, I've found everything snappier overall, although there should theoretically be a minute slowdown from the "thunking" (converting 32bit calls into 64bit ones) process.

To be honest, drivers for older devices (and printers in particular) will be the trickiest part, although the last year or so have really seen hardware manufacturers doing a good job of addressing this.
 
I moved to Vista x64 just a few days ago, so I can offer my short-term opinion.

I'm not sure of any 32-bit only applications, but everything I've installed so far works OK. That includes WinRAR, Winamp, Windows Live Essentials (Messenger, Mail etc), Office 2007, TuneUp Utilities, and Steam. It automatically detects whether the application is 32-bit or 64-bit, so there's no user input required. Can't say I've noticed any performance difference (faster or slower) over Vista 32-bit though.

I have had one or two small issues so far though. Winamp file associations don't quite work properly for me, and it's taken a bit of fiddling around to get Vista to know which files it should open with which program, and get the icons correct too. Similarly, I have a set of Logitech Z-1o speakers with an LCD screen which wasn't working properly with Winamp. After much fiddling around, I found a Readme file in the Program Files folder of the Logitech software stating that on 64-bit systems, a specific plugin often doesn't get installed properly. After copying the files over myself, it works OK now.

Obviously it's not fair to blame Vista for that entirely, but little niggles like that just show that 64-bit isn't quite as well supported and catered for as the 32-bit version. It remains to be seen whether this is an isolated incident, or whether I'll have more issues like this later down the line.
 
The only other thing to be aware of, some 32bit apps from a few years ago still used a 16bit installshield meaning they cannot be installed on x64 os's - there are workarounds though (google if your friend).

And by extension, any old 16bit programs/games need to be run in an emulated system (DosBOX, Virtual PC running a 32bit os etc.)
 
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