64 Bit OS with 32 bit Software?? Disaster??

I have spent way too much money on software in the last six months.
ALL of my software is 32 bit. Problem is that some of the laptops I want to see go on sale at BB have Vista 64bit. I just am concerned about disasterous consequences.

Anyone here tried the 64Bit Vista Ultimate or Business with your 32 bit MS and other applications??

Thoughts?

 

Yeah, tried almost all I had running before in vista 32-bit and haven't faced any compatibility issues as of yet. Its not long when all software will be 64-bit compatible, hence the move by manufacturers for providing OEM 64-bit OS. It is the future.

You can of course either dual boot 64-bit and 32-bit OSs, or downgrade to 32-bit with that OEM key, with a 32-bit vista disc and a shot-call to the MS Customer Service.

 

Thanks. That is encouraging to hear.

 

Yeap. With the exception of an older malware program and an Intel test program, Vista 64bit has run everything I have thrown at it.

 

64bit Vista is very capable of running 32bit programs through a 32bit sub-system (emulating layer). I suggest you search google if all the programs your going to use arent compatible with 64bit

Only thing that didnt work for me on 64bit is VPN clients (cisco). Only a selected few are compatible on 64bit

 

As others have said most all your 32 bit software should work. The one problem you might have is with 16 bit installers that were used in older programs. These don't work in Vista x64. Those are the only things I can see causing problems. All my programs work fine.

 

I like the word "disaster" as it implies that despite 64-bit Windows being available for three years, that ABSOLUTELY NOTHING would work on it.

I'm depressed that ignorance of 64-bit Windows is still this strong.

 

I want to second the opinions given above. Personally, I have been using Vista ultimate 64-bit for almost a year now and I'm overall very happy with it. The only two things that I wanted to use and that still seem to be incompatible with 64-bit OS are:
1. Spyware doctor: not really a big problem, I simply switched to other, free alternatives that actually seem to work even better.
2. The VPN client my university uses to provide access to our library from home. For that, I use a virtual 32-bit Windows XP installation, that I run with VirtualPC (which btw comes free with Windows Vista, as you are probably aware ). Very easy to set up and convenient to use...

 

It's rare that a program can bring down Vista Ultimate x64. Some older programs can wreak havoc though. If the software doesn't mention Vista compatible then avoid it, fair warning.

 

Hopefully I will be ok.
The programs I use the Most are MS 2007 Office Suite of apps, MS Digital Image software (2006 version), Avanquest 8, Acronis Disk Director, Snag It version 9, and a couple of others, all of which have come out in the last two years I think.

 

^ 64-bit Windows Vista uses an emulation layer called Windows on Windows 64 (WOW64) in order to run 32-bit software. Before you migrate to a 64-bit OS, you should check the compatibility of all your x86 programs online. Good luck.

 

I will try looking on MS website to see if they have a compatibility list.

 

You an pretty much google something like "programname 64-bit vista".

 

I bet you'll be fine. Unless you use a specific VPN client as flipfire said, or use mechanical engineering applications, you probably will not have a problem.

 

To clarify, on the x64 architecture, it's not "emulation". The processor natively executes X86 instructions. All Windows x64 does, is tell the processor to run a particular task in X86 mode. It's not emulated in the traditional "convert this to that with some penalty" way. It simply hands off the process, at native speed.

 

Well... yes and no. I'd say it's a bit more than a simple handoff, but much less than a traditional emulator.

Microsoft does refer to WOW64 as an "x86 emulator": http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa384249(VS.85).aspx

...But perhaps Wikipedia's description is better:

So as I understand it, the processor is switched to x86 mode and executes x86 cpu instructions natively... but Windows API calls are remapped by the WOW64 translation layer, and some file and registry access may be remapped too.

In any case, the main cause of application incompatibility with 64-bit Vista, as I understand it, is not WOW64 itself, but the fact that the old 16-bit Windows API is no longer supported under 64-bit Windows, while it is supported under 32-bit Windows through a similar translation layer. BUT... really, most 32-bit apps should work just fine in 64-bit Vista... especially anything that's still maintained at all.

 

Also the support for 64bit for programs and games have been increasing.

And not just with new software, even older ones are getting patched.

 

Only thing I've encountered so far is the device driver for some obscure box that converts embroidery formats. The thing barely works in Vista32 and they can't be bothered to compile the driver for x64. I keep one old machine around for that, everything else that is capable is already running x64.

 

32bit stuff is 99% ok. If you have some older 16bit stuff you may have a problem

But that is the same situation, some older stuff is 16bit and yet it ran fine on 32bit windows and nobody was ever the wiser.

 

Does that mean that SolidWorks 2007 going to have troubles?
What about Alias and Autodesk products from 2007 and some from 2006?

I need to know if they are compatible with 64 bit Vista Home Premium, and if they will work in compability mode or w/e.?

Cos some guy on forums said that you just put checkmark next to "Capability mode" and then all the programs works but what about mech. engineering and 3d modeling programs?

 

I'm pretty sure Maya works on 64bit. I forget if I had it installed on a 32bit or 64bit system.

If you search the forums, you'll probably find what programs are not compatible.

 

Hey did you try this website - http://www.64xsoft.com - they have lot's of native 64-bit software.

 

Great info. This is the first time I have seen this. Thanks

 

If you're not using 4 GB or more RAM and don't need to run some specific 64-bit software, then I'd suggest you to use Vista 32-Bit for now. By using Vista 64-bit without a specific need, you're not doing yourself any favor. Of course all the people that love their Vista 64-bit atm will tell you no problem, but there is still a chance that they will encounter problems where you normally won't with Vista 32-bit.

Here is a very good article that will help you understand a little more:
http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/5709

I'm depressed that ^fanboys^ are stronger than ever!

Benchmarks dated February 2008:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=1354

Benchmarks dated April 2008:
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2280808,00.asp

 

Everything is not that bad guys, it's hard, but you know possible to find some programs to run. Of course choice will be not that big, but still works faster and that's fine

 

I appreciate all the help, articles, and more. The only reason I am even thinking about it, is that quite often any lappy's I want from Best Buy seem to come with the 64 bit. Don't know why.

 

If the deal you want from Best Buy comes only in 64-bit, go for it, you can always switch back to 32-bit later, the Windows key that came with the machine is valid for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Some manufacturers can send you a copy of the other version by request. You can also borrow a 32-bit DVD from a friend to reinstall Windows and use your own key to reactivate it.

 

We use Cisco Clean Access Agent for all connectivity in our office. It sounds as if this may not be 64 bit compatible.

I am thinking of going Vista on my new laptop... maybe 64 bit. I am wondering if that is too much change at once?