buxie said:
Hello, i was wondering wether any one could help me. I have an Athlon AMD64
processor, my windows xp home edition is only a 32 bit operating system, i
would like to know what xp64 operating system to get which will be compatable
with this processor to run at the 64bit level (i have 4 gigs of ram and the
32 bit only recognises 2.8gigs), i dont like vista and want to stay with xp,
i would also like to know if anyone has any ideas where i can purchase the
operating system,
thanks, wayne
Hi Wayne,
What you need is "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition", current Service Pack
is SP2. I have been running this for a few months now on a similar (my CPU is
AMD64 dual core 6400+ with 8GB RAM) system to yours without any problems. I
guess, as you are on PST, that you are in the USA and can probably buy this
cheaper than in UK. Here an OEM version was recently on sale from most
retailers at just under £100 so I expect you will be able to get it for
around $100. Retail version may be twice that, but does enable you to upgrade
your machine, or move the system to another PC. You cannot do this with an
OEM version due to the activation requirements.
I would further suggest that you either partition your existing harddrive,
if it is large enough, and install the x64 on a separate partition from the
32 bit XP Home, just in case you have any problems, or, if you are currently
using IDE hard drive(s), it would probably be worthwhile installing a second
SATA hard drive ($30 upwards, depending on size) for the 64 bit OS.
This site gives some harddrive options: -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000150014 50001306&bop=And&Order=PRICE
The dual boot option (you would find an editable file "boot.ini" in your XP
Home root directory) will enable you to switch between operating systems and
choose your default system.
As an example of where to buy the OS the folowing US based site: -
http://www.onlinestoresoftware.us/download-microsoft-windows-xp-professional-x64/
is offering 64 bit XP Pro for $49, but my guess would be that this an OEM
version, not retail.
It's worth noting that some security systems, notably ZoneAlarm Security
Suite, will not load or run on a 64 bit system, yet. As an interim precaution
there is a free "Home" virus detector published by Avast (
www.avast.com)
which is what I am running at the moment, although I intend to upgrade to
Avast Professional as Zone Labs are unable, or unwilling, to say when their
64 bit version will be available.
Hope you have success with this project.
Best Regards
Tony Norton (UK South coast)
