Vista dilemma

J

josef

New Member
I am getting a new PC. The 64 bit OEM version of Home Premium is only $10 more, and I will have the hardware to run it.
However, there are many that warn against the 64 bit version, and the last thing I would want is to find out that some hardware does not work, or that there are problems with our home network. I am also worried about not being able to run 16 bit programs and bits and pieces without proper signatures. Apparently the 64 bit version rejects these.

The best alternative would be to buy the 64 bit version, but install and run it as 32 bit untill such time when I progressively replace hardware, the other PC's etc.

Is this possible? I have heard that it can be run as 32 bits, but is this across the system, or is it on application by application basis.
 

My Computer

System One

Hi Josef,

Welcome to Vista Forums. :party:

16 bit programs are not supported at all in Vista. You can run 32 bit and 64 bit programs at the same time in the 64 bit version of Vista, but you must have 64 bit driver versions for all of your devices. 32 bit drivers will not work in the 64 bit Vista.

For more information on the 64 bit Vista, you might give this a read. It's pretty interesting.

http://www.vistax64.com/vista-news/99613-64-bit-more-than-just-ram.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Thanks for the link, Shawn. I've read the article and the comments.

Since I am not a PC enthusiast, I think I will go for the 32 oem version. I will have the 64 bit infrastructure, so if 64 bit computing gets up to speed before I replace the new PC, I will upgrade the OS.

The thing I was expecting - being able to switch from 32 to 64 and back apparently only comes with retail versions of Vista, not with oem.

Joe
 

My Computer

System One

Joe,

You can switch back and forth with the 32 bit and 64 bit OEM and Retail Vista. They both use the 32 bit product key number. It's just that you can only have one of them installed at one time.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
I'd like to add: While the product key is valid for both, you cannot "Upgrade" from 32 to 64 bit Vista. You must do a clean install.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Proudly Built by Me!
    CPU
    Intel Q6600
    Motherboard
    DFI UT LP P35 T2R
    Memory
    8GB OCZ Reaper DDR2 800 C44GK 4-4-4-12 2T
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire Radeon 4870x2
    Sound Card
    AuzenTech Prelude 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 Acer P243 24" and 1 Samsung T260 26" Monitor/HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    Both are running at 19x12
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 1TB 7200.11 (Vista x64)
    Seagate 500GB 7200.11 (Win 7 x64)
    PSU
    OCZ GameXtream 900w
    Other Info
    FSB at 400 (1600) Mhz, CPU Multi @ 8 for 3.2Ghz
That would be OK, Scotteq. It is very unlikely that within the lifetime of my new PC (~5 years) 64bits will be essential for doing Photoshop, but if it was, I would have it. Being retired, doing a clean install is not a big pain. So I will buy the 64 bit version.

Joe
 

My Computer

System One

If you don't know if you need 64 bit, you can probably get away with 32 bit. No matter what version you buy, you can install 64 bit later on. Even if you only get a 32 bit install disk, you can order a 64 bit disk directly from Microsoft for $10.00. I had 32 bit only DVD and got the 64 bit disk from Microsoft.

I went 64 bit so I could use 8Gb of RAM.

Paul
 

My Computer

System One

I highly recommend 64-bit Vista. My homebuilt system is faster and more stable than my Dell XP ever was. I hope i haven't just jinxed myself.:o

All of the programs i used on Xp work great my Vista 64 surprisingly even including my old $5 Scrabble game.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 x2 5200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe
    Memory
    4.00 GB Kingston ValueRam
    Graphics Card(s)
    HIS Radeon HD 4650 1GB 128-bit
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster A-SE 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Asus 24" & Dell "19" (dual)
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900 & 1024 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Seagate Barracuda 320 gb

    Seagate FreeAgent 1tb external drive

    Seagate FreeAgent 500gb external drive
    PSU
    Rosewill 750w psu
    Case
    XCLIO Windtunnel case
    Cooling
    ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Saitek blue lit keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech LX7 Cordless Optical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    over 2mbps T2
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