Vista - Can you run all 32 bit application in a 64 bit system running vista?

**kakkalo** · 01-02-2009

i am kinda newbie to the 64 bit world and i am trying to buy a new laptop which is preloaded with 64bit version of windows vista home premium. but my question is can i run all the apps that i use now on the new machine.
like say i want to use firefox. so can i just go to firefox.com and download and run it. will it run properly? or i need some kind of special version of the software.

so can any of you help me with it before i buy the ladtop. thank you

**lordbob75** · 01-02-2009

That is a very good question. Hopefully my answer is just as good: yes. Everything should run just fine. I use firefox myself on a 64 bit and it works. All your programs should work just fine. Some may not work too well, and some have 64 bit forms, but 98% should work normally.

Thanks be to the computer gods for backwards compatibility!

~Lordbob

**Dzomlija** · 01-02-2009

Quote: Originally Posted by kakkalo

i am kinda newbie to the 64 bit world and i am trying to buy a new laptop which is preloaded with 64bit version of windows vista home premium. but my question is can i run all the apps that i use now on the new machine.
like say i want to use firefox. so can i just go to firefox.com and download and run it. will it run properly? or i need some kind of special version of the software.

so can any of you help me with it before i buy the ladtop. thank you

LordBob75 answered your question nicely. The only thing he neglected to mention is that on x64 systems, you cannot run 16-Bit programs, which includes older 32-Bit applications that still use 16-Bit installers.

Other than that, I concur 100% with LordBob75's answer: Most, if not all, 32-Bit programs should run without issues on Vista x64.

**kakkalo** · 01-02-2009

thank you both of you guys. @Dzomlija is there any way to find out if a software uses 16bit installer. like some of my daily uses program are firefox, ms office, vlc player, photoshop,notepad ++, dreamweaver, avg anti virus (free edition) and of course firefox.

does any of those software fave any competebility issue or is there any thing eles that i should keep in mind.. thank you again

**lordbob75** · 01-02-2009

I use all of those in my 64 bit system, never had a problem.

@dzomlija: that's why it was 98% not 100%.

~Lordbob

**Dzomlija** · 01-02-2009

Quote: Originally Posted by kakkalo

thank you both of you guys. @Dzomlija is there any way to find out if a software uses 16bit installer. like some of my daily uses program are firefox, ms office, vlc player, photoshop,notepad ++, dreamweaver, avg anti virus (free edition) and of course firefox.

does any of those software fave any competebility issue or is there any thing eles that i should keep in mind.. thank you again

Not really, except for the older apps. And I'm talking about those from pre-XP days, up to those of about 2002 - 2003. Other than that, if you're using all recently released applications, they will all probably use the Windows Installer services, which never supported 16-bit anyway.

**johngalt** · 01-02-2009

There is a caveat - any 32bit application that tried to install a driver that is not 64bit OS compatible will not work (such as some obscure VPN clients, etc).

**Everlong18** · 01-02-2009

Quote: Originally Posted by Dzomlija

Quote: Originally Posted by kakkalo

i am kinda newbie to the 64 bit world and i am trying to buy a new laptop which is preloaded with 64bit version of windows vista home premium. but my question is can i run all the apps that i use now on the new machine.
like say i want to use firefox. so can i just go to firefox.com and download and run it. will it run properly? or i need some kind of special version of the software.

so can any of you help me with it before i buy the ladtop. thank you

The only thing he neglected to mention is that on x64 systems, you cannot run 16-Bit programs, which includes older 32-Bit applications that still use 16-Bit installers..

I actually got the original Fallout to install on Vista 64, which uses a 16-bit installer. Had to run it in Windows 95 compatibility mode, but it still installed and the game ran fine no problem.

**Dzomlija** · 01-02-2009

Quote: Originally Posted by Everlong18

Quote: Originally Posted by Dzomlija

Quote: Originally Posted by kakkalo

i am kinda newbie to the 64 bit world and i am trying to buy a new laptop which is preloaded with 64bit version of windows vista home premium. but my question is can i run all the apps that i use now on the new machine.
like say i want to use firefox. so can i just go to firefox.com and download and run it. will it run properly? or i need some kind of special version of the software.

so can any of you help me with it before i buy the ladtop. thank you

The only thing he neglected to mention is that on x64 systems, you cannot run 16-Bit programs, which includes older 32-Bit applications that still use 16-Bit installers..

I actually got the original Fallout to install on Vista 64, which uses a 16-bit installer. Had to run it in Windows 95 compatibility mode, but it still installed and the game ran fine no problem.

I doubt that installer is 16-bit - Vista x64 just does not support 16 bit apps, no matter what compatibility options you choose.

**Everlong18** · 01-03-2009

Quote: Originally Posted by Dzomlija

Quote: Originally Posted by Everlong18

Quote: Originally Posted by Dzomlija

The only thing he neglected to mention is that on x64 systems, you cannot run 16-Bit programs, which includes older 32-Bit applications that still use 16-Bit installers..

I actually got the original Fallout to install on Vista 64, which uses a 16-bit installer. Had to run it in Windows 95 compatibility mode, but it still installed and the game ran fine no problem.

I doubt that installer is 16-bit - Vista x64 just does not support 16 bit apps, no matter what compatibility options you choose.

Well the forum I read, which helped me to get it working, are saying it is a 16 bit installer and it can only be run in Win 95 mode.

01-02-2009	#1 (permalink)
kakkalo Vista Home Premium 64bit 6 posts	Can you run all 32 bit application in a 64 bit system running vista? i am kinda newbie to the 64 bit world and i am trying to buy a new laptop which is preloaded with 64bit version of windows vista home premium. but my question is can i run all the apps that i use now on the new machine. like say i want to use firefox. so can i just go to firefox.com and download and run it. will it run properly? or i need some kind of special version of the software. so can any of you help me with it before i buy the ladtop. thank you
My System Specs

01-02-2009	#2 (permalink)
lordbob75 Windows 7 x64 build 7100 & Ubuntu 9.04 1,672 posts	Re: Can you run all 32 bit application in a 64 bit system running vista? That is a very good question. Hopefully my answer is just as good: yes. Everything should run just fine. I use firefox myself on a 64 bit and it works. All your programs should work just fine. Some may not work too well, and some have 64 bit forms, but 98% should work normally. Thanks be to the computer gods for backwards compatibility! ~Lordbob
My System Specs

01-02-2009	#3 (permalink)
Dzomlija Windows Vista x64 Ultimate 2,217 posts	Re: Can you run all 32 bit application in a 64 bit system running vista? Quote: Originally Posted by kakkalo i am kinda newbie to the 64 bit world and i am trying to buy a new laptop which is preloaded with 64bit version of windows vista home premium. but my question is can i run all the apps that i use now on the new machine. like say i want to use firefox. so can i just go to firefox.com and download and run it. will it run properly? or i need some kind of special version of the software. so can any of you help me with it before i buy the ladtop. thank you LordBob75 answered your question nicely. The only thing he neglected to mention is that on x64 systems, you cannot run 16-Bit programs, which includes older 32-Bit applications that still use 16-Bit installers. Other than that, I concur 100% with LordBob75's answer: Most, if not all, 32-Bit programs should run without issues on Vista x64.
My System Specs

01-02-2009	#4 (permalink)
kakkalo Vista Home Premium 64bit 6 posts	Re: Can you run all 32 bit application in a 64 bit system running vista? thank you both of you guys. @Dzomlija is there any way to find out if a software uses 16bit installer. like some of my daily uses program are firefox, ms office, vlc player, photoshop,notepad ++, dreamweaver, avg anti virus (free edition) and of course firefox. does any of those software fave any competebility issue or is there any thing eles that i should keep in mind.. thank you again
My System Specs

01-02-2009	#5 (permalink)
lordbob75 Windows 7 x64 build 7100 & Ubuntu 9.04 1,672 posts	Re: Can you run all 32 bit application in a 64 bit system running vista? I use all of those in my 64 bit system, never had a problem. @dzomlija: that's why it was 98% not 100%. ~Lordbob
My System Specs

01-02-2009	#6 (permalink)
Dzomlija Windows Vista x64 Ultimate 2,217 posts	Re: Can you run all 32 bit application in a 64 bit system running vista? Quote: Originally Posted by kakkalo thank you both of you guys. @Dzomlija is there any way to find out if a software uses 16bit installer. like some of my daily uses program are firefox, ms office, vlc player, photoshop,notepad ++, dreamweaver, avg anti virus (free edition) and of course firefox. does any of those software fave any competebility issue or is there any thing eles that i should keep in mind.. thank you again Not really, except for the older apps. And I'm talking about those from pre-XP days, up to those of about 2002 - 2003. Other than that, if you're using all recently released applications, they will all probably use the Windows Installer services, which never supported 16-bit anyway.
My System Specs

01-02-2009	#7 (permalink)
johngalt Vista Ultimate x64 MAK, OpenSolaris 5, Gentoo 2008.1.... 3,848 posts	Re: Can you run all 32 bit application in a 64 bit system running vista? There is a caveat - any 32bit application that tried to install a driver that is not 64bit OS compatible will not work (such as some obscure VPN clients, etc).
My System Specs

01-02-2009	#8 (permalink)
Everlong18 Windows 7 x64 1,287 posts	Re: Can you run all 32 bit application in a 64 bit system running vista? Quote: Originally Posted by Dzomlija Quote: Originally Posted by kakkalo i am kinda newbie to the 64 bit world and i am trying to buy a new laptop which is preloaded with 64bit version of windows vista home premium. but my question is can i run all the apps that i use now on the new machine. like say i want to use firefox. so can i just go to firefox.com and download and run it. will it run properly? or i need some kind of special version of the software. so can any of you help me with it before i buy the ladtop. thank you The only thing he neglected to mention is that on x64 systems, you cannot run 16-Bit programs, which includes older 32-Bit applications that still use 16-Bit installers.. I actually got the original Fallout to install on Vista 64, which uses a 16-bit installer. Had to run it in Windows 95 compatibility mode, but it still installed and the game ran fine no problem.
My System Specs

01-02-2009	#9 (permalink)
Dzomlija Windows Vista x64 Ultimate 2,217 posts	Re: Can you run all 32 bit application in a 64 bit system running vista? Quote: Originally Posted by Everlong18 Quote: Originally Posted by Dzomlija Quote: Originally Posted by kakkalo i am kinda newbie to the 64 bit world and i am trying to buy a new laptop which is preloaded with 64bit version of windows vista home premium. but my question is can i run all the apps that i use now on the new machine. like say i want to use firefox. so can i just go to firefox.com and download and run it. will it run properly? or i need some kind of special version of the software. so can any of you help me with it before i buy the ladtop. thank you The only thing he neglected to mention is that on x64 systems, you cannot run 16-Bit programs, which includes older 32-Bit applications that still use 16-Bit installers.. I actually got the original Fallout to install on Vista 64, which uses a 16-bit installer. Had to run it in Windows 95 compatibility mode, but it still installed and the game ran fine no problem. I doubt that installer is 16-bit - Vista x64 just does not support 16 bit apps, no matter what compatibility options you choose.
My System Specs

01-03-2009	#10 (permalink)
Everlong18 Windows 7 x64 1,287 posts	Re: Can you run all 32 bit application in a 64 bit system running vista? Quote: Originally Posted by Dzomlija Quote: Originally Posted by Everlong18 Quote: Originally Posted by Dzomlija The only thing he neglected to mention is that on x64 systems, you cannot run 16-Bit programs, which includes older 32-Bit applications that still use 16-Bit installers.. I actually got the original Fallout to install on Vista 64, which uses a 16-bit installer. Had to run it in Windows 95 compatibility mode, but it still installed and the game ran fine no problem. I doubt that installer is 16-bit - Vista x64 just does not support 16 bit apps, no matter what compatibility options you choose. Well the forum I read, which helped me to get it working, are saying it is a 16 bit installer and it can only be run in Win 95 mode.
My System Specs

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