Dual Boot Vista 64 and 32

[David F]

I would like to dual boot Vista 64 with Vista 32 which I will use as a
backup for compatibility problems with Vista 64 such as running Cisco's VPN.

I've read:
http://apcmag.com/5485/dualbooting_vista_and_xp

Which discusses making a Vista 32 which is installed first dual boot with XP
installed second. I assume a similar procedure would be followed for a dual
boot Vista 32 and 64 install. Am I correct?

Also, are the files (such as MS Word 2007) transferable between Vista 32 and
Vista 64?
TIA

 

[Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]]

Because they are the same version, both Vista 32 and 64 bit are
interchangeable, it doesn't matter which one you install first, just make
sure they are installed on separate drives or partitions. As for
transferring applications between the two, its possiblem but not reliable
especially since both are still architectually different. You will probably
receive that registry setting errors or the application is not installed
correctly.

But if you do install say Microsoft Word on Vista x64, you could try running
it from Vista x86 but browsing to the Program files (x86) /Microsoft Office
folder on the Vista x64 partition and launch the winword executable. Again,
not recommended.

 

[Charlie Russel - MVP]

Dual booting is certainly doable. It's not actually as hard as that link.
Since they're both the same rev, you don't need to do anything special. Just
be sure to install them on separate partitions. Also, let's be completely
clear. You need TWO copies of Vista to do this. You can't use one copy for
both under the licensing MS uses.

On applications? No, they will each need to be separately installed for each
version of Windows. And, depending on the licensing, you again may need two
copies.

 

[philo]

I would like to dual boot Vista 64 with Vista 32 which I will use as a
backup for compatibility problems with Vista 64 such as running Cisco's VPN.

I've read:
http://apcmag.com/5485/dualbooting_vista_and_xp

Which discusses making a Vista 32 which is installed first dual boot with XP
installed second. I assume a similar procedure would be followed for a dual
boot Vista 32 and 64 install. Am I correct?

Also, are the files (such as MS Word 2007) transferable between Vista 32 and
Vista 64?
TIA

Instal each OS on a *seperate* partition.

as far as your data goes...
it does not matter which OS created it...a word document is a word document!

 

[David F]

Thanks for the quick, detailed reply. I only want to be able to use
application documents (e.g. Word 2007 *.doc) on both 32 and 64. I would
install separate applications in both versions. That would work, correct?

 

[philo]

Thanks for the quick, detailed reply. I only want to be able to use
application documents (e.g. Word 2007 *.doc) on both 32 and 64. I would
install separate applications in both versions. That would work, correct?

That would work...but if you are just going to be using Microsoft Word...
you hardly need a 64 bit OS to do that...
I'd reserve Vista_64 for heavy apps that can take advantage of 64bit
extensions

 

[Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]]

That would be a sure way to do it, however, if you are going to install your
existing copy of Microsoft Office 2007 on both installations, you will need
to have a license for both operating systems.

 

[Andrew McLaren]

I would like to dual boot Vista 64 with Vista 32 which I will use as a
backup for compatibility problems with Vista 64 such as running Cisco's
VPN.
Also, are the files (such as MS Word 2007) transferable between Vista 32
and Vista 64?

Hi David,

Not sure about the dual-boot thing, but ... be aware that you wil need to
purchase TWO Vista licences if you want to run both 32-bit and 64 bit Vista.

If you buy Vista in the retail pack, both 32-bit and 64 bit are included.
But to activate them both on the same machine, you will need two activation
keys. Yep, even on the same hardware! If you activate your 32-bit Vista,
then try to activate your 64-bit Vista with the same key (or vice versa),
you will get an error that the activation key is already in use.

Also, I would strongly recommend using a virtual machine tool, such as
Virtual PC or VMWare, instead of dual booting. Virtual PC is a free download
from Microsoft:

Virtual PC 2007
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/virtualpc/default.mspx

I have run a VPN client from within a Virtual PC machine, it worked fine. By
using a VM, you can have your 32-bit and 64-bit versions running
side-by-side, alt-tabbing between them, sharing files etc in real-time;
instead of needing to shut down and reboot, to switch between versions.
Install 64-bit Vista on the physical hardware, then install Virtual PC, then
create a new VM ("virtual machine") in VPC, then install 32-bit Vista into
the VM.

Other folks may be able to help you with the dual boot scenario, if you
really want to go that way. Personally, I have long since given up on
dual-booting, it is too much hassle and too error-prone. Whereas VMs "just
work". Main proviso is you'll want 2GB of RAM, or more, to support a VM.

Application data files (such as Word 2007 docs) work exactly the same on
32-bit and 64-bit Windows. Even on 64-bit Vista, Word runs as a 32-bit
application (there's no 64-bit version of Office).

Hope it helps,

 

[David F]

Hi Andrew,
I'd like to go the VPC route but I'm a bit worried about hardware not
compatible with 64 bit mode and thanks to the VPC which does not support all
hardware (e.g. USB) unable to access it with 32 bit. Is this a possibility?
I travel a lot and might have a situation where I want to install some
hardware for something....

 

[Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]]

If you want to run Vista x64 in a Virtual Machine, the best recommendation
is VMWare Workstation which supports USB 2.0 devices.
--
Andre
Blog: http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
My Vista Quickstart Guide:
http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!9709.entry

Hi Andrew,
I'd like to go the VPC route but I'm a bit worried about hardware not
compatible with 64 bit mode and thanks to the VPC which does not support
all hardware (e.g. USB) unable to access it with 32 bit. Is this a
possibility? I travel a lot and might have a situation where I want to
install some hardware for something....

 

[Andrew McLaren]

I'd like to go the VPC route but I'm a bit worried about hardware not
compatible with 64 bit mode and thanks to the VPC which does not support
all hardware (e.g. USB) unable to access it with 32 bit. Is this a
possibility? I travel a lot and might have a situation where I want to
install some hardware for something....

If you need USB ports in the VM, then as Andre correctly notes, you would
need to use VMWare.

Virtual PC and VMWare can both run as 32-bit or 64-bit hosts (applications);
ie, you can run 64-bit VMWare, or 64-bit Virtual PC, on 64-bit Windows.
VMWare allows you to have 64-bit guests, but only if you have a 64-bit CPU
in the host machine - you can't run a 64-bit guest on a 32-bit host. Virtual
PC only allows 32-bit guests. In my experience, whether you use VMWare or
Virtual PC, you'd want to have a 32-bit guest running on top of a 64-bit
host, that gives best performance all round.

I use both Virtual PC and VMware Workstation, they are both good products.
VMWare has some useful extra features, but then you need to pay for it.

If the hardware device is a USB Smartcard Reader, you can work around
Virtual PC's lack of USB support by attaching your smartcard to the host
machine, then opening a Remote Desktop session to the guest. In the Remote
Desktop client (mstsc.exe), select the option to share the smartcard in the
Remote Desktop session. Your smartcard is then available inside the guest
when you RDP into it, even though you don't have a USB port (clear as mud?

 

[David F]

Actually, I can set it up so that I'm running 32 bit Vista as a virtual
machine, my question is just that will there be some sort of hardware
support problem if there is not a driver I need for Vista 64, the host and I
need to run it in Vista 32 guest which may not have hardware support because
it is a virtual machine?

Also, isn't there a significant performance hit for running a virtual
machine even with 4 GB RAM in a 64 bit host?

If you want to run Vista x64 in a Virtual Machine, the best recommendation
is VMWare Workstation which supports USB 2.0 devices.

 

[Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]]

If you are running Vista x86 or x64 in a Virtual Machine, its not really for
performance purposes but more for convenience sake. Whether its to use a
particular application or device thats not compatible yet. As for device
driver issues, you just have to do the research first to find out if your
devices and applications are supported.

I have never assigned a Virtual Machine with 4 GBs of RAM simply because I
don't have that much in my systems and I don't usually assign no more than 1
GB to 1.5 GB. I am still confused about what you really want to do. Is there
a specific purpose you need to have access to both platforms?

 

[David F]

Thanks for the great suggestions...is there a FAQ somewhere that addresses
these questions? I once saw a VPC FAQ, but it didn't seem to address my
questions...

One thing I'm thinking about is that I have a PCMCIA EVDO Rev A. AC 595
Verizon Broadband Aircard. I can run this in the 64 bit host environment,
but I would also need it when running the Cicso VPN client which runs only
in 32 bit mode in what would be the guest. Would the PCMCIA Aircard work
with the 32 bit guest or is there a way to make a pass through to the host
as in the USB method you suggested? TIA

 

[David F]

I had forgotten that there are USB Verizon Broadband modems so I could use
that. Still will my PCMCIA solution work?

Thanks for the great suggestions...is there a FAQ somewhere that addresses
these questions? I once saw a VPC FAQ, but it didn't seem to address my
questions...

One thing I'm thinking about is that I have a PCMCIA EVDO Rev A. AC 595
Verizon Broadband Aircard. I can run this in the 64 bit host environment,
but I would also need it when running the Cicso VPN client which runs only
in 32 bit mode in what would be the guest. Would the PCMCIA Aircard work
with the 32 bit guest or is there a way to make a pass through to the host
as in the USB method you suggested? TIA

 

[Andre Da Costa [ActiveWin]]

Check with the manufacturer about compatibility with either Vista x86 or
x64.
--
Andre
Blog: http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
My Vista Quickstart Guide:
http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!9709.entry

I had forgotten that there are USB Verizon Broadband modems so I could use
that. Still will my PCMCIA solution work?

 

[John Barnes]

There seems to be very little driver support for 64-bit USB devices, so
check it out carefully. In addition to what Charlie said, you can share
files between separately installed copies of those programs that need to be
installed on both system (most, but not all)

I had forgotten that there are USB Verizon Broadband modems so I could use
that. Still will my PCMCIA solution work?

 

[David F]

Both the Verizon PCMCIA Broadband card which I own and the various USB
solutions are supported in both the 32 and 64 bit Vista. The question I
have is can I run the PCMCIA from a 32 bit guest while using the Cisco VPN
which will only run on Vista 32 and not Vista 64? TIA Is there some sort
of FAQ that covers these issues?

 

[Andrew McLaren]

Thanks for the great suggestions...is there a FAQ somewhere that addresses
these questions? I once saw a VPC FAQ, but it didn't seem to address my
questions...

There probably is, but I don't know off top of my head. Ben Armstrong's blog
has a wealth of useful information about Virtual PC:

http://blogs.msdn.com/Virtual_PC_Guy/

(Ben is one of the lead program managers for virtualisation at Microsoft).

One thing I'm thinking about is that I have a PCMCIA EVDO Rev A. AC 595
Verizon Broadband Aircard. I can run this in the 64 bit host environment,
but I would also need it when running the Cicso VPN client which runs only
in 32 bit mode in what would be the guest. Would the PCMCIA Aircard work
with the 32 bit guest or is there a way to make a pass through to the host
as in the USB method you suggested? TIA

That would be okay. The underlying physical network connection is provided
by the host OS. Inside the guest, you'll see a virtualised DEC 21140 Network
Card. This communicates using the host's network stack; so, you don't need
to install drivers for the the host card inside the guest.

My main reservation at this point is, you're setting yourself up for a bit
of complexity but not much explicit benfit. If you really need to run 32-bit
apps and drivers, stick with 32-bit Vista. What is your motivation for going
to 64-bit? FWIW, I run 64-bit Vista on my main desktop (and 32-bit on my
laptop); but then, I'm happy to live on the bleeding edge Unless you
are running truly demanding applications which are themselves 64-bit apps,
there isn't much advantage to 64-bit Windows - especially if you have tools
which require 32-bit Windows.

 

[Charlie Russel - MVP]

David - yes, that will work. Let me strongly suggest that you have at least
three partitions on the machine. One for Vista 32, one for Vista 64, and one
for data. Keep all your data files on the data drive. You can even repoint
your Documents, Music and Pictures folders to that drive.

--
Charlie.
http://msmvps.com/xperts64
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel