Windows 7: 64 bit vs 32 bit? - Discussion

[neurogirl]

I was just told by a friend that there will be compatibility issues with some programs I use for my work (e.g. stats programs) and with antivirus software...

If I make a backup it will only be the 64 bit? I will never have the option to choose again?

 

[catilley1092]

Welcome to the fourms, neurogirl! True, there will be some compatibility issues with the 64 bit Windows 7. For example, as of this date, we have no Adobe Reader. And unless I've missed something, there's no 64 bit replacement for it. 64 bit has been available since the mid XP era. So it's not like no one's had the time to develop a PDF for 64 bit Windows OS's. But sadly, I must tell you that you can only make a backup of what you have, the 64 bit that you purchased. In the near future, 64 bit will be the norm, and they're will be plenty of programs for it. Should you want the next version of Windows, it will be available at a 64 bit minimum. Being that there's not enough 64 bit programs around now, I doubt a 128 bit will be released until the following cycle, around 2015 or 2016. There's talk of it being a choice with Windows 8, but we're still in a recession and very few people will pay the price tag that a 128 bit will carry. But back to your point, there are antivirus software programs that run perfectly fine with 64 bit. Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) runs perfect with it and it's free. Avast works, too. But with the emergence of MSE, you shouldn't pay a cent for antivirus. It's silent, no noises, lightweight and powerful. No reason not to give it a try, it's free. neurogirl, I hope that my post has answered some of your questions and addressed some of your concerns. I like to see new users get off on the right foot. Should you need any more help, just post, and we'll do the best we can.

 

[vargatron]

Good post. I was thinking about upgrading my CPU and memory but since I now know that I have to upgrade to the 64-bit OS also i've decied against it. Back in my gaming days it would have been nice to have 64-bit but since I mostly play PS3 now it seems kind of pointless to upgarde until the majority of the market switches to it.

 

[catilley1092]

I need to update my above post. There is an Adobe Reader for 64 bit users, but it's a 32 bit program. It runs fine, just as many 32 bit programs do on 64 bit computers. There was a misunderstanding on my part. There is, however, no 64 bit Adobe Reader for Windows. At that time, 64 bit was new to me, and I was confused about some programs. My bad, and I apologize for and confusion that I may have created.

 

[Core]

I need to update my above post. There is an Adobe Reader for 64 bit users, but it's a 32 bit program. It runs fine, just as many 32 bit programs do on 64 bit computers. There was a misunderstanding on my part. There is, however, no 64 bit Adobe Reader for Windows. At that time, 64 bit was new to me, and I was confused about some programs. My bad, and I apologize for and confusion that I may have created.

Too little, too late. What about all those whose lives you destroyed?

 

[mizz_23zungi]

hi...this is from the gamers online.....were begging to change the 64 bit back to 32 bit cuz some of the games i played lost becuz of this new 64bit......plzzz bring back 32 bit or just create another windows7 32 bit for us gamers....

 

[mizz_23zungi]

i cant play anymore becuz of 64bit....
plzzz bring back 32 bit plzzzz...
i lost many money becuz of this

 

[clifford_cooley]

hi...this is from the gamers online.....were begging to change the 64 bit back to 32 bit cuz some of the games i played lost becuz of this new 64bit......plzzz bring back 32 bit or just create another windows7 32 bit for us gamers....

i cant play anymore becuz of 64bit....
plzzz bring back 32 bit plzzzz...
i lost many money becuz of this

Hi mizz_23zungi - Welcome to w7forums

Windows 7 is currently 32-Bit or 64-Bit. You are asking to bring something back that never went away. If you want Windows 7 32-Bit, all you have to do is install the 32-Bit version. Have fun with Windows 7 32-Bit, because I am happy with my 64-Bit version and will never look back.

 

[Nibiru2012]

i cant play anymore becuz of 64bit....
plzzz bring back 32 bit plzzzz...
i lost many money becuz of this

Don't wager money and you won't lose it. Using Windows x64 had nothing to do with your losing money.

 

[pdrm2000]

Hey please i need help with something. I have just bought a new computer, motherboard (dx58so), Processor (Intel i7 950), 6gb memmory, Video Card (nvidia 8400gs), Power supply (Corsair 750 professional)... I putted together and i installed Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bits. It worked fine but it has an unnsual problem when i try to save something from the computer to a external device, (USB, External disc, etc), it doesnt work well, it is really slow and sometimes it blocks.. When i use only the intern disc it works normal... I called Intel for help, and they told that it could be my power supply, because i had a 550 v before, so i bought the corsair 750 professional.. I Putted together and still has that problem... I updated the BIOS and nothing works... Someone told me that could be windws 7 64 bits... Please somebody help me.. i dont know if it is a problem of the motherboard..

 

[pdrm2000]

Data transfer problem

Hey please i need help with something. I have just bought a new computer, motherboard (dx58so), Processor (Intel i7 950), 6gb memmory, Video Card (nvidia 8400gs), Power supply (Corsair 750 professional)... I putted together and i installed Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bits. It worked fine but it has an unnsual problem when i try to save something from the computer to a external device, (USB, External disc, etc), it doesnt work well, it is really slow and sometimes it blocks.. When i use only the intern disc it works normal... I called Intel for help, and they told that it could be my power supply, because i had a 550 v before, so i bought the corsair 750 professional.. I Putted together and still has that problem... I updated the BIOS and nothing works... Someone told me that could be windws 7 64 bits... Please somebody help me.. i dont know if it is a problem of the motherboard..

 

[Nibiru2012]

Someone told me that could be windws 7 64 bits... Please somebody help me.. i dont know if it is a problem of the motherboard..

I don't think it's an issue with Windows 7. What I do is save to a separate internal hard drive and then if I decide the DL is worth keeping then I'll transfer it to an external hard drive using an eSATA connection. Which is very fast btw.

Just reread your post. So what you're saying is transferring a file from the internal drive to an external drive is giving you issues.

I found that with the Intel Chipset Info driver, I have to go to "Device Manager" view by "Devices by Connection" and then go to the device at the red arrow, see below.

Double-click and choose "Update Driver" tab. Point it to the folder where you have the driver and let it update and do it all the way down the line of items shown. I know this seems time-consuming but for some reason when I have just installed the driver it didn't update all those devices listed. But by doing it this way all devices get updated and really improved my transfers between hard drives whether they were internal or external.

I use the "zip" download from the Intel website, where it states "for developers" because then the drivers are in separate folders.

I point the update to the folder such as above. The following is from the "readme" text file in the Intel drivers file for Windows 7.

************************************************************
* 9F. INSTALLING THE Windows 7* INF FILES AFTER
* OS INSTALLATION
************************************************************
Some Intel(R) chipset platforms already are supported by
Windows 7* so it may not be necessary to use the INF
files provided by this software to update Windows 7*.

The following steps describe the installation process of
the Windows 7* INF files. You may need to repeat these
steps to update all Intel(R) chipset devices not supported
by Windows 7*.

1. Copy the contents of the
<INF Extract Directory>\XXXX\Win7
directory to the root directory A removable media,
such as a USB flash drive (UFD) or floppy disk (A:\).

NOTE:
XXXX is the directory name for the chipset
of interest. Refer to Section 8 for more details.

2. Close all programs currently running on the system.
3. Click on Start.
4. Select Settings.
5. Select the Control Panel.
6. Double-click on the System icon.
7. Click on the Hardware tab.
8. Click on the Device Manager button.
9. Select "Devices by connection" under the View menu.
10. Click on MPS Uniprocessor PC -OR- MPS
Multiprocessor PC.

NOTE:
Only one of the above items will be
displayed for a given system.

11. Click on PCI bus.
12. Right-click on the line containing the description
PCI standard host CPU bridge
-or-
PCI standard ISA bridge
-or-
PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge
-or-
PCI System Management Bus
-or-
Standard Dual PCI IDE Controller
-or-
Standard Universal PCI to USB Host Controller
(This line will be selected.)
13. Select Properties from the pull-down menu.
14. Click on the Driver tab.
15. Click on the Update Driver button.
16. Windows 7* will launch the Upgrade Device
Driver Wizard. Select Browse my computer for the driver software.
17. Enter "A:\" in the Combo Box
18. Ensure that the Include Subfolders checkbox is checked
19. Select Next
20. The window Will Display the Device that was installed
21. Select Close
22. Reboot the system if prompted to do so.

************************************************************

I hope this will help you.

 

[gtyler]

Windows 7 64-bit thing to know

Just finished building a few machines with Windows 7 64-bit.

The Internet Explorer icon on the taskbar is the 32-bit version.
I recommend finding the 64-bit version and pinning that to the taskbar too.
However, keep the 32-bit version as a backup because the idiots at Adobe have not created a 64-bit Flash plug-in yet - even though they have promised it for two years now.
That means that you'll have to use the 32-bit version to view any site that uses Flash.
Those sites are dwindling because Adobe is falling way behind and companies like Apple have endorsed HTML 5 as an alternative. So web sites that want to work on the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad are dropping Flash in favor of HTML 5.
The 64-bit version of IE is a LOT faster.

Microsoft Office 2010 is the first version of Office that offers a 64-bit option.
I have installed the BETA of this and it works great.

You should really try to run the 64-bit version of Windows 7.
I have metrics that show there are 3 times more 64-bit installations of Windows 7 than the 32-bit version. That was not the case for Vista, so now is the time.

The logic that says "I'll wait for more software to be 64-bit is flawed" because the software manufacturers can use similar logic to say "let's wait for more customers to install a 64-bit operating system before we build a 64-bit version"

Unless you have some old hardware in the machine, you'll like Windows 7 64-bit.

 

[slusherr]

Windows 7 : 64 bit vs 32 bit?

I have been wanting to ask the question for some time now about the difference between a 32bit program and a 64bit program and the answer came to me in this forum. Good stuff here...Thanks

 

[catilley1092]

slusheer, welcome to the forum! This is a great forum, and you will find a lot of help and useful information here. Sometimes opinions vary, but that's what having an open forum is about. Anytime you need help, or just have a question, feel free to post anytime.

 

[Fire cat]

Hey guys!
Seeing as I am probably going to move on to 64bit, does Itunes work on 64bit?

Thanks!
Fire Cat

 

[Nibiru2012]

Yes, iTunes works on 64 bit. I would stay away from it unless that's the only app you use to download and manage your audio files with.

Helium Music Manager and Media Monkey have free versions and are much more powerful and easier to configure versus iTunes. iTunes also puts a lot of bloat on the system.

 

[Fire cat]

Thanks!
Sadly, yes it is my only music manager. That is, because I use it also for apps, movies, music and all Ipod related things.

Fire Cat

 

[acs01]

Thanks for the comparison of 32 vs 64 bit

Very clear and helpful. I wish I had known it a few months back! I bought this machine with 64 bit and wish it were 32, because several of my old programs don't work right and can't be upgraded (either at all, or satisfactorily). They work fine on XP; is there any way to backtrack to 32 from 64 and hope that most of them will work?

(p.s. What's a Trackback??)

 

[Nibiru2012]

Very clear and helpful. I wish I had known it a few months back! I bought this machine with 64 bit and wish it were 32, because several of my old programs don't work right and can't be upgraded (either at all, or satisfactorily). They work fine on XP; is there any way to backtrack to 32 from 64 and hope that most of them will work?

(p.s. What's a Trackback??)

Yes, you can change to a 32 bit version if you want but you'll have to do a clean install. There is no other way to do it.

Did you get the install discs with the computer purchase and did you get both the 32 bit and 64 bit versions?

Is your Product Key sticker attached to the computer so you can enter the key when doing the reinstall?

Nearly all 32 bit apps work in the 64 bit version of Windows 7. Which ones aren't working?

If you have 4GB of RAM or more, the 32 bit version will limit the RAM to about 3.3GB.

Give us some more information, it will help in the suggestions we may post for your situation.