Hi,
I read through all the questions and answers regarding your situation, but I
should interject my own comments, as I have personally done this.
First, some sales words: Moving from 32-bit XP Pro (which is similar to
32-bit home version) to XP Pro x64 is a worthwhile effort. Certainly, things
got a little faster. More importantly, however, is that the system is much
more stable and reliable, even though I never really had any substantial
complaints about 32-bit Pro. There is a slightly bit more hassle with
security, as one might expect. It's important to realize that XP Pro x64
came from a Windows Server 2003 base, not the Windows 2000 base of XP, so
some rather routine things ARE different, which you might not expect;
however, I suspect that is also why it seems somewhat faster and more
reliable.
I still do not have drivers for all the devices I have on my machine,
although I've been using it about six months now. Some notable drivers
missing are the HP-provided driver for HP6980 printer and for an APC UPS. As
for as the printer goes, there is a downloadable version of a driver from HP
that works just to print, but you don't get all the fancy features of printer
monitoring and all that. As far as the UPS goes, I'm just running without a
driver. I also have had a SIIG SCSI card and an IoINIT SCSI card, both of
which had to be laid aside for lack of driver; I had to go to an LSI SCSI
card. Other than that, I've found most all the drivers I needed. Oh,
LogiTech drivers for their keyboards/mouse, etc., don't support Pro X64.
They will run without special drivers correctly, but again, you'll be missing
the ability to "tune" them and that kind of things. Keep in mind that many
of these manufacturers, particularly LogiTech, say on their retails boxes
that their products work/support all versions of XP, but it's just not true
(someone should get them for false advertising -- I learned this after I
bought a new scrollable mouse).
Programs are in the same situation: most run if reinstalled. However, there
are some, AVG antivirus comes to the top of my mind (probably most antivirus
programs would need a x64-compatible version update), that need updated
versions. Generally the "old" ones will just fail to install, but
ocassionally they install but don't work correctly.
One other thing: When you're obtaining other software, keep in mind the
Windows Server 2003 base. For example, SP2, the upcoming service pack for XP
Pro X64, is in "release candidate" stage, but you can't find it in the XP
service packs, nor does it's number equal or is equivalent to, in any way,
SP2 for the other versions of XP. In this case, you will find the SP2 update
on the microsoft download site
"
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...44-96B3-4D11-9293-12970CD62FED&displaylang=en", in the Windows Server 2003 section.
All that being said, I still believe it's a worthwhile upgrade; If I were
running a business computer, though, one would have to look really hard to
justify it because of the upgrade hassles I mentioned.
