Installation

R

radron13

I have Ultimate 32 bit that can't be upgraded to 64 bit because it is OEM.
Can I leave it installed on one partition and then install Vista Business 64
bit on another partition, running both versions on the same PC? I already
have the 64 bit Business which is why I'm asking. Thanks in advance.
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

I have Ultimate 32 bit that can't be upgraded to 64 bit because it is OEM.


No, it can't be upgraded to 64-bit because there is no upgrade path to
64-bit at all--Retail or OEM. You always have to clean install.

Can I leave it installed on one partition and then install Vista Business 64
bit on another partition, running both versions on the same PC? I already
have the 64 bit Business which is why I'm asking. Thanks in advance.


You *can*, but I'm not so sure it's a good idea.

1. Are you sure that all the needed hardware drivers for 64-bit Vista
exist. If not, you won't be able to run it, or at least not be able to
use all your hardware (printers, scanners, etc.).

2. There is very little performance benefit to running 64-bit Windows
unless you also run 64-bit apps. At the moment, there are very few
64-bit apps available.

3. Although most 32-bit software works in 64-bit Vista, there may be
some (particularly some utilities) that doesn't. You should check to
make sure that whatever software you need is compatible.
 
M

Mark

What are the specs on your computer? If you look in "System" you can find
your processor info there.
 
R

radron13

This is what I was able to find out about my processer. Can you tell if its
32 or 64 bit?

Intel(R)Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz 3.00GHz
 
S

Synapse Syndrome

ahmad12 said:
Intel Itanium-based computers can only run 64-bit versions of Windows.
*Intel Itanium-based computers cannot run a 32-bit Windows operating
system*. Currently, 64-bit versions of Windows only run on Itanium-based
computers and AMD64-based computers.

Sorry mate, but you are wrong about this. Nobody mentioned Intel Itanium,
and you cannot run Vista, or any Windows desktop operating system with one.
Intel Itanium is only for servers, and you can only run particular versions
of Windows Server 2003, Linux, FreeBSD, and some other OSs on it. It does
not use x86 / x86-64 instructions, and is a completely class of processor
(IA-64)

AMD uses a refreshingly clear and straightforward naming scheme that
usually includes "64" in the names of 64-bit AMD processors. Intel in
contrast uses a bizarre naming scheme that features confusingly similar
names for radically different processors. For example, as of this
writing the Intel "Core Duo" processor is a 32-bit processor while the
Intel "Core 2 Duo" processor is a 64-bit processor.

Later Pentium 4 and Core 2 processors are both 32-bit and 64-bit, as well as
all AMD processors made over the last four or five years.

I think you need to read this page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86-64

If you can't tell from the name of the processor reported by the
System applet whether or not it is a 64-bit processor, use google to
search for your processor and you will know if it is a 64 bit.

If your processor does not support x86-64, you really should not be running
any version of Vista on it, either 32-bit or 64-bit. It will just be too
old and slow.

If you are running a 64-bit processor but installed 32-bit
Windows you might be able to install 64-bit Windows on that computer to
enable you to use your processor as a 64-bit processor.

Not might be able to. He will be able to.

ss.
 
S

Synapse Syndrome

Synapse Syndrome said:
It does not use x86 / x86-64 instructions, and is a completely class of
processor (IA-64)

I meant to say 'completely different class of processor', which uses
completely different operating system versions.
If your processor does not support x86-64, you really should not be
running any version of Vista on it, either 32-bit or 64-bit. It will just
be too old and slow.

I forgot about the original Core processors, which you mentioned are not
x86-64 capable. They should be able to run Vista okay, but they were only
used in laptops and the early Intel powered Apple Macintoshes.

ss.
 

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