Win 7 64bit. vs. Win 7 32bit.

[ctlasers]

Hello All.

Great resource here. I have spent the past 2 hours rummaging through some posts trying to answer my own question, but to no avail.

Ok here goes-

I just purchased a brand new Dell Laptop with Win. 7 64bit. However, for alot of the work i do, I use Hardware that is not your "run of the mill" hardware. (Laser Light Show controllers).

I can not install these systems on my new computer due to the fact that there ar eno drivers for 64 bit support.

Is there a way to downgrade O.S.'s you think? This is probably a REALLY dumb question, but can I in essence, take my 64 bit OS and make it 32 bit? I like Win. 7 it seems rock solid stable. However, for what I need to use the computer for, it is useless to me in a 64 bit version.

any ideas??

Thanks in advance for any help.

-Marc

 

[Andrew]

I'd return the laptop to store and ask. Don't think "you" have the option to "downgrade" on a OEM install.

 

[Ripose]

If you have Win 7 Pro or Ultimate you can download the free XP Mode virtual machine from Microsoft which runs in 32 bit. So there is no need to downgrade.

 

[Ian]

You can't change a 64-bit install to a 32-bit one without a clean install unfortunately - which would mean you need the 32-bit install DVD.

Are you 100% sure that there are no x64 drivers available for the laser controllers, as 64-bit is becomming pretty standard now. It may be worth contacting the company to see if they have any new drivers in development.

 

[catilley1092]

I'm still kind of new to this thing (64 bit), but isn't it becoming the standard? Most of the new PC's are 64 bit.

 

[draceena]

It seems that many manufacturers are dragging their feet on the 64 bit issue when it'll be a necessity eventually....gues we gotta demand more 64 bit drivers and drag tem kicking and screaming into the 21st century

 

[Don Morgan]

I agree with draceena--we need new drivers for Win 7 64 bit for many existing
applications. Adobe Flash Player is still not supported in 64bit browsers. I am
also having trouble with logitech webcam and the skype program.

 

[BetaMan]

I have to say, I had three gigs of ram with x86 and it ran fast. I now have five gigs of ram on x64 and I notice no speed difference. So I would tell you to stay x86 if you have it (32-Bit), and to your question, no. I asked the question a few months ago, except I was looking to go from x86 to x64. It's impossible because x64 uses a totally different file system and formatting than x86, so there's no way to do it except wipe and do a clean install. Sorry.