Giveaway of the Day Forums

1. 

   Anonymous
   Unregistered

   64-bit Windows 7 Help I like some had 32 bit befor this is on a Laptop got it new % 70 off new Price my fist Laptop it a ASUS K52F, I Take off all the toolbars try to work out the rest to take off only like to run 64-bit software so info >

   http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-windows7-vista-64-bit-software.htm

   http://lifehacker.com/5431284/the-lifehacker-guide-to-64+bit-vs-32+bit-operating-systems
   The Bottom Line, Which Should I Use?

   http://www.losethos.com/
   The LoseThos 64-bit PC Operating System

   http://www.codeproject.com/KB/system/64BitOSAndPortingIssues.aspx

   Registry Redirector: In the case of the registry redirector, 64-bit Windows actually maintains two separate HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software trees. One is used by native 64-bit apps, the other is for 32-bit apps. This allows a 32-bit application to see a system image and resources that make it believe that it's running on a standard 32-bit version of Windows; obviously a 32-bit app wouldn't understand the hardware changes in a 64-bit system.

   http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/000/6b3af6c9.html (64-bit flash)
   To run 32-bit Flash Player on a 64-bit operating system other than Linux, use a 32-bit browser. (Or, you can install the preview release 64-bit Flash Player from Adobe Labs.).

   http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/64bit-computing.aspx (Get in the Fast Lane)

   http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/32-bit-and-64-bit-Windows-frequently-asked-questions

   How can I tell if my computer is running a 32-bit or a 64-bit version of Windows?
   To find out if your computer is running 32-bit or 64-bit Windows, do the following:
   Open System by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking System.
   Under System, you can view the system type.

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit

   64-bit processor timeline

   1961
   IBM delivers the IBM 7030 Stretch supercomputer, which uses 64-bit data words and 32- or 64-bit instruction words.

   64-bit operating system timeline

   1985
   Cray releases UNICOS, the first 64-bit implementation of the Unix operating system.

   http://www.pcworld.com/article/111508/are_you_ready_for_a_64bit_pc.html

   Are You Ready for a 64-Bit PC?

   http://www.java.com/en/download/faq/java_win64bit.xml

   VERIFY BROWSER
   Follow the steps to verify whether you are using a 32-bit or 64-bit browser.

   http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/5709

   Potential Drawbacks to Windows x64 Edition

   Windows XP was available only as a 32-bit operating system for 32-bit processors until 2005, when Microsoft released a 64-bit edition. This version of Windows XP did not see widespread adoption due to a lack of available software and hardware drivers. Vendors were hesitant to invest in a platform that seemed more novel than practical for consumers at the time, which led to compatibility issues with common devices such as sound and graphics cards. Developers interested in using 64-bit operating systems found the migration path to Vista much smoother due to the WOW emulation layer, which allowed older applications to run. However, most did not see performance increases due to a lack of applications with native support for 64-bit processors.

   Given the increasing number of 64-bit processors, Windows 7 x64 Edition is unlikely to suffer the same lack of support. A potential drawback stems from the possibility that some hardware vendors may not release Windows Vista/7 x64 Edition-compatible versions of drivers quickly.

   http://www.ni.com/windows7/

   http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/10339

   When a driver uses a different User-Mode architecture than Kernel-Mode architecture, a software layer converts the 32-bit architecture to 64-bit. This conversion requires processing time and resources. Windows 7 and Windows Vista provide this software layer in a subsystem called Windows-on-Windows (WOW64) included in the operating system. This subsystem allows 32-bit applications to run on the 64-bit environment at the expense of performance.

   The primary purpose of WOW64 is to create a 32-bit environment that provides the interfaces required to allow 32-bit Windows applications to run unmodified on the 64-bit system. Even though this is a relatively light-weight layer within the Windows operating system, it can cause some performance degradation.

   http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/gg566940.aspx

   http://www.zdnet.com/blog/ou/choosing-between-vista-x86-32-bit-or-x64-64-bit/440 (March 7, 2007)

   http://www.tipandtrick.net/2008/how-to-open-and-run-32-bit-command-prompt-in-64-bit-x64-windows/

   Posted 13 years ago #
2. 

   mikiem2
   Moderator

   Not sure what you're saying, if you're asking for help/advice or pointing out your research to help others...

   At any rate, in case you're asking & in hopes it might be useful...
   The license keys we've gotten for win7 are good for either 32 or 64 bit versions, so it's not an either or proposition where you have to decide when you buy it -- you can run 32 bit today, 64 bit tomorrow. The main difference between win7 64 bit & 32 is 64 bit uses 64 bit memory addressing. If your hardware can run it & you have >4 GB RAM, 64 bit is the obvious choice -- otherwise, unless you're planning to upgrade your RAM run 32. 64 bit Windows may be the future, but we're not there yet -- there are still relatively few 64 bit apps, many run less well than their 32 bit counterparts, hardware drivers can be harder to find, & the overhead of running win7 64 is a bit higher.

   If you go beyond actual use to more technical aspects win7 64 is also harder to learn & manage, but that's something that if you're inclined to get into the more tech stuff you'll have to learn sooner or later anyway -- as you've posted Windows is moving to 64 bit & beyond eventually.

   Posted 13 years ago #
3. 

   Inas
   Member

   Thanks for the information, Mikiem2, it's always nice to learn new technical tips.

   Posted 13 years ago #
4. 

   Anonymous
   Unregistered

   mikiem2 Q:Not sure what you're saying, if you're asking for help/advice
   A:I am giveing Help & allso asking for help if you know good free or not free sofware like to know allso good help on the web for only 64-bit windows 7
   and how do you move user files from C:\ drive to D:\ drive I know how to on XP click folder & move

   Posted 13 years ago #
5. 

   mikiem2
   Moderator

   For moving User folders...

   I didn't find the article I was looking for, but if I remember correctly Microsoft's Mark Russinovich wrote a pretty detailed article on win7 using several links in place of folders in the C:\Users\ folder. For preserving any security benefits, you might want to follow this post & linked PDF, noting the sentence in red in the 2nd paragraph -- it includes a link to directions on running Sysprep in Audit mode as a first step. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/124198-user-profiles-create-move-during-windows-7-installation.html .

   But changing the defaults may lose some of what you've already setup, so here are a couple of pages on moving what you have... they simply talk about moving everything & then creating new links as needed http://justenoughtechnology.com/move-user-profile-to-2nd-drive-in-win-7/ -- http://tuts4tech.net/2009/08/05/windows-7-move-the-users-and-program-files-directories-to-a-different-partition/

   Myself, I don't use anything in the Users folder much, & haven't played with any mods... this is just my guess, what I would do If I was going to try relocating the User files/folders. I think I'd back up 1st, copy any data files somewhere safe, empty everything in my Live Mail folders, make sure I exported e-mail acct data, then empty My Docs, Pictures etc. as possible. Then I'd go through the 1st procedure & once everything was cool copy any content into the new User folders. I've no reason to believe data would be migrated to the new locations, so I'd want safe copies. I'm unsure what would happen to the files/folders left behind, if they could be easily deleted or even found, so having zero contents it's no big deal if there's a folder or two left over I didn't/couldn't get rid of. Often for this sort of thing I'll also do a run-through using a VirtualBox VM. Win7 trials work well , V/Box will work with a win7 64 bit guest OS, adding a 2nd virtual disk as a target to move your User files to is quick/easy, & if something blows up & your win7 VM won't start, it's easy to creat a 2nd VM based on a saved copy of your 1st virtual disk [*.vdi], attach the now failing diak, & look at it to see what happened. That way you could see, know just what to expect, & other than a backup might not have to take any of my proposed precautions at all.

   Just FWIW, I use 2 additional drives + 2 added partitions on the 1st drive to store data [processing media I often bounce it from drive to drive for max throughput], with 4 places where I store media & 1 place for downloaded files, e-mails etc. -- they're all easily accessed from XP, win7, or any of several VMs. I dislike Windows built-in folders because the deeper paths can be a PITA when you're not in the Windows they belong to -- I don't store anything of consequence there, & if they got screwed up I'd just restore a disk image backup. I don't have a single file in My Docs, Pictures, Video, Music etc. :-) I do have a lot of folders OTOH with command line friendly names like tmp1, tmp2, tmp3, pix, vid1, record, etc.

   * * *

   As far as advice, software etc. for 64 bit win7, I'm afraid I can't help much... I do a lot of video, & there aren't a lot of video apps or codecs or Direct Show filters that work as well in their 64 bit versions, when & if there's even a 64 bit version available. 99% of the time I might as well be in win7 32, & probably would be if I wasn't running more than 4 GB of RAM.

   Posted 13 years ago #
6. 

   Whiterabbit-uk
   Games Guru

   I'm impresed with my Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit version so far. Only come across one game from my steam collection that won't run on my 64 bit OS (out of almost 1400 games), so can't be bad. (It may be that it's not the 64 bit system that's the problem either) All the freeware games I've tested also work on the 64 bit system and as yet no giveaway that I've installed hasn't not worked. I was impressed when I discovered that my Win 7 cme with a 32 bit version as well as a 64 bit version; though the OEM version I purchased from another source and an upgrade version only had the 64 bit copies included. (both Win 7 Pro). The upgrade copy was actually a digital download with the option to buy a back up copy; which I did.

   I highly recommend anyone still dubious about upgrading from Win XP to go ahead. If you purchase the Pro or Ultimate editions you can download a free version of XP that runs as a virtual OS within Win 7. I've been using Win 7 for about a year now and have never had a BSOD yet, wheras the copy of win XP that I run to test games BSOD's regularily when playing some games. My Vista copies also don't BSOD. I still like Vista, but I have had problems running quite a few applications and games so only use it on th laptop for emailing and Documents and on another machine for testing games.

   Posted 13 years ago #
7. 

   mikiem2
   Moderator

   I highly recommend anyone still dubious about upgrading from Win XP to go ahead.

   I agree but when possible recommend installing the win7 trial as a 2nd OS so you can dual boot. The trial can be extended [Google/Bing], & if it doesn't work out for you you can always get rid of it & go back to the way things were. I run a few apps & some hardware that won't work well in 7, & apps that don't/can't make use of more RAM generally run as fast or faster for me in XP Pro SP3.

   That said, if you go that route & install win7 as a trial 1st, it's best if you install the same version trial as you're planning on buying -- there is a so-called Hack in Place upgrade procedure, but it may/may not work & at the least is extra bother.

   However you go about installing win7, a final note to be aware of -- activation seems a bit hit or miss... I've had no problems entering a upgrade license key & activating win7 HP trials, but others have reported problems with pretty much all types of installs & keys, so it seems a matter of luck whether you'll have to call it in or not.

   If you purchase the Pro or Ultimate editions you can download a free version of XP that runs as a virtual OS within Win 7.

   As far as win7's VPC [Virtual PC] goes, if it's of interest or help...

   Any win7 version can use the VPC -- just certain versions come with the XP Mode license. You can then use your old copy of XP if you're upgrading, perhaps using one of the Paragon apps to virtualize it. Be aware though that win7's VPC uses remote desktop to enable you to get files in/out of the VM [Virtual Machine], so it won't work with lesser versions of Windows as guests, e.g. no XP Home, no Vista/7 Home Premium etc. Another thing FWIW, is VPC doesn't provide the level of performance you might get from the free VirtualBox... I had to pretty much emasculate win7 ult 32 SP1 just to get it running in VPC at all, & then it's very slow responding, whereas full 32 & 64 bit versions un-tweaked run just fine in V/Box.

   The practical differences are: VPC lets you browse your host systems drives, can capture a USB device, has a Undo drive feature, & can put shortcuts for apps installed to the VM on your desktop & start menu. Using .vhd format virtual drives, you can also mount those drives in Windows [for Windows prior to 7 Google/Bing for tools/methods]. V/Box has an unofficial portable version [a "Starter" really], has experimental D3D support, can be assigned more than 1 CPU core, is easier to use with bootable CD/DVD/ISOs, but has poorer USB & audio support, & in V/Box you have to designate folders on your real hard drives/partitions to share between your host Windows & the VM. And of course V/Box doesn't care what verion of Windows you're installing as a guest.

   Posted 13 years ago #
8. 

   Anonymous
   Unregistered

   Thanks. VirtualBox works good on Ultimate. Microsoft [Virtual PC] not work at all.

   http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/bugs-and-lack-of-apps-plague-64-bit-users/

   (Did you say ‘millions’ of Registry entries?)

   Posted 13 years ago #
9. 

   Khai
   Member

   "http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/bugs-and-lack-of-apps-plague-64-bit-users/"

   meaningless. you know why? we're in the 32bit to 64bit change over. just like the 16bit to 32bit and the 8bit to the 16bit before that...

   still early days. hell the 16/32 change over is still going on in some industries!

   Posted 13 years ago #
10. 

    Anonymous
    Unregistered

    Khai can you Read 16/32 is %100 ok no ‘millions’ of Registry entries? not on 16/32 bit
    Take the link & Read
    http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/bugs-and-lack-of-apps-plague-64-bit-users/

    To be sure, many 32-bit applications that were not written specifically to run on Vista-64 will in fact run on that OS. Microsoft maintains a listing of applications and hardware that are “compatible” with Vista, including 64-bit Vista. This listing consists primarily of 32-bit programs that Vista-64 runs in a 32-bit window.

    Did you say ‘millions’ of Registry entries?

    Another glitch Heiker continues to confront is a real doozy: with no explanation in sight, his 64-bit Vista PC has accumulated some 23 million Registry entries. No, that’s not a typo — 23 million.

    “I brought this to Microsoft’s attention and there’s no solution to it,” he said. “Apparently, a Registry entry is made each time a 32-bit application tries to update the Vista-64 Registry … duplicating Registry entries a huge number of times.”

    Yes I know it vista just saying that it best to run 64-bit if you can get it & it geting better all the time 64-bit came out in XP

    Posted 13 years ago #
11. 

    Khai
    Member

    yes I did read the article.
    I'll put it another way. this is still early days for the technology.

    Posted 13 years ago #
12. 

    mikiem2
    Moderator

    If it helps at all, I've monitored/tracked hundreds of app installs in win7... with the vast majority there's little or no difference installing &/or running compared to XP. Win7 64 bit does have Wow6432Node sections, & a 32 bit app for example will put its key(s) in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node rather than HKLM\SOFTWARE, but not both places, so there's no increase in number of entries added. However win7 [32 &/or 64 bit] does have more tracking & compatibility functions, & especially with less compatible apps, that can add to the totals -- in my experience it doesn't happen always but it does happen, usually with another 30-100 entries added. In a small handful of cases when win7 doesn't like the app at all, 10s or even 100s of thousands of new, temporary registry entries may result, but I've never found a trace of those keys/values after a re-boot. Win7 can also try to virtualize registry entries & some file locations for greater compatibility [& security?], & that can lead to extra registry entries -- normally in a win7 VM I'll install & 1st run an app as admin, then run normally & check the UserName\ AppData\ Local\ VirtualStore folder for new additions, & if I find any I'll run the app as admin if I add it to my regular win7 install.

    Again if it helps at all, here's how I test to make sure just what's going to happen when I install & run most any app...
    I test most software installs in win7's XP Mode VM, running InstallWatch Pro to monitor installation & 1st run -- that's where it's quickest to get a decent idea of impact, what files/processes the app uses [with Process Explorer], & what the app does or doesn't do. Then as warranted or needed I can do the same thing in a win7 32 bit V/Box VM, where if there's a big difference compared to the XP Mode install, I know to look for compatibility problems. InstallWatch Pro records new & changed files as well as registry entries, but it won't work with win7 64 bit -- there all I can do is monitor the registry with RegShot2. Depending on the app & how much I want it etc. I can then try it out in a win7 64 V/Box VM, or using TimeFreeze, in my regular win7 64 install, monitoring with RegShot2 either way.

    Examples: with today's GOTD, monitoring in the XP Mode VM I found that installation/running was no big deal -- I could easily find & delete the added keys using Regedit in less time than it took to re-boot, so I just fired up RegShot2 to be safe, & tested Wondershare Photo Recovery in my regular win7 64 install. OTOH Mamutu was a bit more involved, so I tested in XP Mode & win7 32 VMs before starting TimeFreeze & testing in my regular win7 64. If installation had been more involved &/or required a re-boot I would have used the win7 64 VM.

    I keep 3 copies of the virtual disks my VMs use, e.g. in a backup folder I have win7_32.vd_ , win7_32.vdi, & in the V/Box hard disk folder win7_32.vdi... When I update the VM [e.g. update Tuesday], I'll delete win7_32.vd_, rename win7_32.vdi (in the backup folder) to win7_32.vd_, & copy the just updated win7_32.vdi into the backup folder. Then after a test, I'll copy that backup, win7_32.vdi over the one I just modified, putting it back the way it was. The reason for the older, .vd_ copy is in case I find something in the update didn't work, &/or in case there's an error copying the .vdi files -- I've had errors happen maybe 1% of the time, where the .vdi virtual disk was damaged. The XP Mode VM works exactly the same way, except there are 3 files to backup or copy.

    Note that if or once you start monitoring this stuff [before & after snapshots with RegShot2 in win7 64 don't take long at all] you'll start to see the same sort of entries over & over for things like caches -- those caches behave like most caches, deleting entries to make room when/as needed, so not a cause for worry.

    Posted 13 years ago #
13. 

    Anonymous
    Unregistered

    http://www.windows7news.com/2011/07/16/windows-9/ (Windows 9)
    x64 only
    Back before even Windows 7 was launched Microsoft announced that its successor, Windows 8, would be the very last version of Windows to support the old 32-bit architecture.

    http://www.start64.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3886:forget-128-bit-windows-8-64-bit-windows-7-yet-to-get-all-the-love&catid=79:64bit-windows-8&Itemid=178

    Forget 128-bit Windows 8, 64-bit Windows 7 Yet to Get All the Love

    http://news.softpedia.com/news/Forget-128-bit-Windows-8-64-bit-Windows-7-Yet-to-Get-All-the-Love-124570.shtml

    “The Windows 7 numbers are spectacular for an operating system that hasn't yet released for global availability. Even better, about 1/3rd of Windows 7 Microsoft Security Essentials machines are 64-bit, which is even more resistant to malware than 32-bit due to PatchGuard,” Faulhaber noted.

    http://www.pcworld.com/article/229241/windows_8_and_the_arm_revolution_the_pros_and_cons.html

    Windows 8 and the ARM Revolution: The Pros and Cons

    Not 64-bit: All ARM chips are currently 32-bit and ARM has yet to release a 64-bit design. In theory this limits ARM computers to just 4GB of RAM, but in up-coming ARM chips this limitation will be bypassed by including a 40-bit memory controller that allows ARM computers to access up to a terabyte of memory
    --enough for the next 5 to 10 years, at least

    http://www.extremetech.com/computing/90546-firefox-8-x64-has-64-bit-browsing-finally-come-of-age

    It’s crazy: almost every modern computer now has a 64-bit processor under the hood, but only Firefox on Linux and Safari on Mac are 64-bit applications; 64-bit Chrome and Opera simply don’t exist, and the 64-bit version of Internet Explorer 9 has a broken JavaScript engine.

    http://www.pcworld.com/article/229031/why_you_should_keep_data_folders_in_your_root_directory.html#tk.mod_rel

    Why You Should Keep Data Folders in Your Root Directory.
    so I make a folder on D drive and shortcut to Date folders on C and it allway open on D now.

    http://www.windows8news.com/2011/07/25/microsoft-abandon-pc-windows-8-moves-to-the-tablet-format/

    Will Microsoft Abandon the PC as Windows 8 moves to the tablet format?

    Posted 13 years ago #

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