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Post Info TOPIC: Vista 32 bit or 64 bit?


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Vista 32 bit or 64 bit?
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I have a 64 bit Dell System but it came with Vista 32 bit. I don't really understand why and never really thought about it until recently when my son said he wanted to upgrade his computer to Vista.
His hard drive which had Winxp on it, kind of died recently and since it was still under warranty, he ordered a replacement. Now he'd like to install Vista instead of putting XP on the new drive but he's not sure which version he should buy.
His computer is a custom built, 64 bit system.
I tried looking up the difference between the two systems and it sounds as if there's not as many drivers or updates for the 64 bit system so I wonder if he should use 32 bit.
Also, do you have to buy software that says either 32 bit or 64 bit on the box or is it all one software and you just tell your computer which operating system you want to install?
One more question. Can you do a clean install from a Vista upgrade version or would you have to install Xp, then do an upgrade?
Thanks for any help or advice you can give me.
Sheryl

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Hey Sheryl,

I run 64-bit Vista as well as 64-bit Debian (Linux) and I have some basic knowledge that will help here.

32-bit processors process data in bits. Imagine that with a 32-bit processor (also called x86 for their architecture) processes things that go through it on a highway with 32 lanes. A 64-bit processor can process things coming down a highway with 64 lanes. So, theoretically, it can process information twice as much information as a 32-bit processor. Realize that I did NOT say twice as fast. There is some speed-up, but that is not the idea. The real gem here is that a 64-bit processor can do MORE things at once.............

Secondly, 64-bit processors (and associated hardware) can use more memory.... 4GB (gigabytes) as opposed to 2GB. More areas to store and address information. This is good since memory is much faster than your hard drive.

Thirdly, 64-bit systems are considerably more secure than their 32-bit counterparts. Due to their architecture, denial of service attacks as well as other well known attacks are things of the past.

The downside........ you have to have programs and hardware that can use 64-bit technology. Now a days it is much easier. Your standard hardware will work, as long as your motherboard, processor, and operating system (Vista) are 64-bit. 64-bit Vista will run 32-bit software just fine. There are some programs that do not run on 64-bit (or are not made in 64-bit) like Firefox and Flashplayer. No problems though, as 32 bit software will work.

Here is more information. If it were up to me, I'd go 64-bit. It is the wave of the future, and soon, I believe everything will be 64-bit .

Vista 32 vs. 64-bit

-- Edited by barney at 00:19, 2008-12-29

-- Edited by barney at 00:23, 2008-12-29

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Thanks for explaining all that and for the link to a better understanding of the two systems.
Hopefully I can get my son to read the article because I think it will help him decide which way he should go.
I'm sure he's going to want to go with 64bit. He just bought himself 4GBs of ram so it sounds as if he'll have enough ram. I think he'll need to check all his hardware and software though and be sure they'll run on a 64 bit system.
Sheryl

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My son bought Vista for a 64 bit system and is trying to install it on a new hard drive.
It's seems to be stuck.
It went through the collecting information and got to a screen that said the computer would reboot several times and it was finishing up the installation but that was a couple hours ago and nothing has changed.
What would happen if he takes the CD out and tries to start over?
It seems like the computer is frozen at this moment.

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Hi Sheryl,

If you've waited a long enough time (say an hour or so) and nothing has happed, I would reboot and start fresh. Does your son's computer have 64-bit hardware? Let us know what happens next. 

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Sorry I'm just getting back to you. My son's been working a lot of hours so I don't see much of him.
He did finally get Vista install after starting over and then asked me to install all his software.
I started running into problems because some of his software doesn't seem compatible with a 64 bit system, or perhaps it's Vista itself.
I told him he needed to go to all the sites for his software and see if there's updated drivers.
I don't think he's done it yet since he probably doesn't know exactly what to do and is hoping mom will do all the leg work for him, lol.
I probably will but I've been kind of busy trying to move my msn site to a new server.
At least his operating system is working.
He's got a laptop too that he uses the most.
And then of course he's got his linux computer but I have no idea what that one is for.
He's got more computers then I know what to do with.
Sheryl

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