Windows 7 Pro, 32 vs 64?

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Building a new puter. Which version of Windows do I need? I need to run some programs in XP mode, but both will do that. I don't have any 64 bit programs now.

[upnorth]

Things should start looking better for 64 bit apps soon. there are a few 32 bit that won't run or run properly on 64 bit but most will.

I would go with 64 bit.

[LMITOUT]

Isn't there a limit on the RAM you can run in a machine with the 32-bit OS installed? Something about the OS only recognizing 4GB even if you have 6, 8, etc ? Or was that a Vista thing?

[MN Mike]

Isn't there a limit on the RAM you can run in a machine with the 32-bit OS installed? Something about the OS only recognizing 4GB even if you have 6, 8, etc ? Or was that a Vista thing?

That is correct, when it comes down to it, if you have any amount of memory over 4 GB, the 32 bit system will only see 3.5 GB.

I'd go with the 64 bit also. Does 32 bit Windows 7 have a XP Mode? I thought it was only 64 bit, might be mistaken on that, I have very few system running XP mode since most software is working on 64 bit these days.

Mike

[MN Mike]

Just checked, 7 Home Premium 32 & 64 bit do not have XP mode BUT 7 Professional 32 & 64 bit are good to go.

Either way, I'd still go 64 bit.

Mike

[CAMAN]

Just checked, 7 Home Premium 32 & 64 bit do not have XP mode BUT 7 Professional 32 & 64 bit are good to go.

Either way, I'd still go 64 bit.

Mike

Where did you get that info?

I'm running Win 7 Home Premium 64bit and get this...

[MN Mike]

Thats the compatiblity mode, different from XP Mode that you can download from Microsoft to give you a virtual Windows XP OS on your Windows 7 OS.

Mike

[CAMAN]

Ahhh, I see!

[Nick Kuhn]

Use 64 bit. You will buy 8GB of RAm because it is ridiculously cheap and you won't be able to use it all with the 32 bit. I don't think you will have many compatibility issues.

[masoct3]

You can also dual boot two operating systems, one xp pro and one 7. Hyper-V or Oracle virtualbox could help.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Ordered it over the weekend. Should be here tomorrow. 64 bit Win 7 Pro. Crossing my fingers. Thanks for the responses.

[Jim Almquist]

Just thought I would throw this out there for a second option for running older programs. You can download VMWare Player for free and run your program in a virtual machine. I have used it and VMWare Workstaion. Workstation has more features like taking a snapshot of the current state of your machine. Not sure what it cost but as a student I get it for free.

[bigbad401]

I have been running Windows 7 Pro 64bit since it was introduced. I have had a couple issues with old software not running either because of the XP vs 7 deal or the 64bit deal. The only time I had an issue with 64bit is with an old scanner. Most software will run on either 64 or 32bit OS's. I had some old video editing software that would not run on Windows 7, but most of the time you would want to upgrade to the newest software anyways. With Windows 7 Pro you should not have too much of a problem.

[Shack]

Just thought I would throw this out there for a second option for running older programs. You can download VMWare Player for free and run your program in a virtual machine. I have used it and VMWare Workstaion. Workstation has more features like taking a snapshot of the current state of your machine. Not sure what it cost but as a student I get it for free.

Essentially the same thing and I have run almost all of them, but I have settled in with Oracle's VM (Virtual Machine) Virtual Box. From Mac to Windows 95 (even older systems), Open Source third party and beyond, compatibility is a thing of the past. As long as you catalog the image needed, load it up with the VM and you are running another system within a Windows machine.

[upnorth]

I have used VM(Virtual Machine) to bypass the 32 bit/64 bit dilemma. It does work and it does the job. Problem is VM is not for everyone.