Question about 32bit and 64bit Win7

[tlee]

Hello,

I am confusion about 32bit and 64bit OS.

Could anyone inform me about their different?

If using 64bit OS (Win7), does it similar to Mac OS X that auto switch to
support 32bit and 64bit device driver?

I mean can I install 32bit device driver into 64bit Win7 ?

Thanks

tlee

 

[DL]

64bit Win7 requires that your hardware has 64 bit drivers
You can use 64 or 32 bit programs, eg MS Office is currently only 32bit
Generally a 32bit driver wont work.
Win7, depending on version, I believe, has a winxp compatibility mode for
older software

 

[Tim Slattery]

I am confusion about 32bit and 64bit OS.

Could anyone inform me about their different?

The 32-bit /64-bit description refers to the hardware's word length.
Having a longer word means, among other things, that there is more
address space. So a 64-bit machine can use more RAM than a 32-bit one.
Not just twice as much, but many, many times as much.

If using 64bit OS (Win7), does it similar to Mac OS X that auto switch to
support 32bit and 64bit device driver?

Not sure just what OSX does. A 64-bit machine can run either 32-bit or
64-bit software. (A 32-bit machine can run only 32-bit software, of
course). There are *many* 64-bit computers running 32-bit Windows. The
64-bit Windows systems will run 32-bit programs just fine. They will
not run any 16-bit software that you may still have around.

I mean can I install 32bit device driver into 64bit Win7 ?

No. You have to have 64-bit drivers for the 64-bit OS.

 

[tlee]

Hello all,

Thank you very much for yours kindly messages.

tlee