64 Bit OS Options

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Guest

A firend just purchased a Dell dual 64 bit processor 200 gig system with
Vista. He said he had a problem with several programs. So, he did a format
and installed XP Home. None of the 64 bit portions of his system now have any
drivers and so do not work. XP runs ok but he can't setup networking or
anything that uses a port. I think his options would be to 1. re-install
Vista or 2. Install XP Pro 64 bit version. Does he have any other options at
this time (besides a block of C4)?

Thanks,
Dave
 
Your friend's new Dell computer was designed and optimized
for Windows Vista. I would suggest reinstalling it.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/
 
Carey Frisch said:
Your friend's new Dell computer was designed and optimized
for Windows Vista. I would suggest reinstalling it.
Click to expand...


Although I agree, as the owner clearly does not know what he is doing, and
should just use the recovery CD, but what you say is just marketing crap.
LOL, Designed and Optimized indeed. Have you ever built a PC, or know the
components that constitute one? There will not be one component in that
computer that cannot run just as well with XP.

ss.
 
Dave said:
A firend just purchased a Dell dual 64 bit processor 200 gig system with
Vista. He said he had a problem with several programs. So, he did a format
and installed XP Home. None of the 64 bit portions of his system now have
any
drivers and so do not work. XP runs ok but he can't setup networking or
anything that uses a port. I think his options would be to 1. re-install
Vista or 2. Install XP Pro 64 bit version. Does he have any other options
at
this time (besides a block of C4)?
Click to expand...

There are no '64 bit portions' of his system, apart from the processor. The
reasons why there are devices that are not working is that there are no
drivers installed for them, as they need to be installed manually, as they
are not included on the XP CD. This is likely due to the fact that they are
newer than XP.

Are you sure that the computer came with 64-bit Vista? This would normally
have to specified when ordering from Dell. Installing 64-bit XP will not
make things any easier, and may actually make things harder for you if there
aren't drivers for that OS.

Your best bet is to reinstall Vista using the Dell Recovery CD, which will
have all the drivers already there for you, and try to figure out why your
friend was having issues with his applications. These problems are actually
fewer and easier to deal with than messing around with operating systems.

You could go down the XP Home route if he knows where to source the required
drivers from, but this is more hassle than it is worth, and you would be
losing the few improvements that Vista actually does offer.

ss.
 
Tell your friend to visit the Dell Support Site and install the needed XP
drivers.
 
If it’s a compatibility issue, a lot of the times after installing it will
ask you to select use recommended settings or the program was installed
correctly. (if there is a conflict) in that case you should choose use
recommended settings, another approach would be to right click on the .exe
file where the program was installed and select properties, you should see
the tab "compatibility" from there you can select from previous windows OS
to run the program under.

My guess about the network and port problem is maybe he is using a retail
version of Windows XP, not a CD that comes with the computer. (restore CD)
So it wont include all the drivers for it. But a lot of the times the
drivers can be found online.

Right now I'm using Vista Ultimate on a home built computer. For the past 2
months its been fairly decent, It just reminds me of XP only prettier. I
would suggest sticking with Vista, eventually you'll have to, I think I read
somewhere there phasing out XP and you can only use Vista , but I think that’s
only for Microsoft programs- but the updates will usually address most
issues. Hope this helped some
 
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