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All versions of windows that are 64bit are able to run 32bit
programs. There is no emulation involved in the process, only some
clever memory management whereby the 32bit program thinks there is
only 2GB of ram available to address. The process is called PAE, or
Physical Address Extension. Technically even 32bit versions of
windows were able to address more than 4GB of memory, but Microsoft
nerfed every version of 32bit Windows except for some of the more
expensive 32bit versions of Windows Server. It appears to be an
excuse to force people who want to buy more expensive computers with
more RAM to also have to upgrade to a new version of Windows. The
vast majority of windows programs are still just 32bit. I've seen
some VoIP programs, Adobe Products, Internet Explorer, and a variety
of open-source programs that are natively 64bit, but that is about
it so far. About 1/5th of the programs installed on my Windows 7
Ultimate x64 gaming computer are 64bit... the rest are 32bit.<br>
<br>
You can upgrade Vista from Home to the higher versions. I upgraded
mine from Home Premium to Ultimate. Unfortunately, He's right about
going from 32-bit to 64bit... there is no upgrade path for that.
When I upgraded to 4GB of ram, I had to reinstall Windows Vista
Ultimate x64 from scratch. At least the upgrade to Windows 7
Ultimate x64 was able to be done without a full reinstall. Most of
the complaints about Vista upgrades were when going from XP to
Vista... Vista introduced the need for all drivers to be digitally
signed after going through a program Microsoft put in place for
testing drivers. It took a long time and a lot of money to go
through the driver signature process, so many companies decided that
they weren't going to support older hardware in Vista, forcing
people to stay with XP or to give up on their old hardware. Leaving
hardware people shelled out a lot of money only a couple of years
ago unsupported left a very sour taste in people's mouths on Vista.
Windows 7 requires the same driver signing that Vista does, but by
the time 7 came out people weren't using that 'old' hardware
anymore.<br>
<br>
-- Matt<br>
<br>
On 03/13/2011 12:42 PM, William Schoenenberger wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:4324435A-E9A4-494C-9B2E-9A32A8AA5E81@gmail.com"
type="cite">Ray,
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Basically, 32 bit operating is more or less what XP is. One
characteristic is that there is a limit of 4G for RAM that can
be recognized by the XP.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>64 bit version allows the operating system to see and use RAM
larger than 4G which means a lot for video and speed (there is a
definite speed uptick with 64bit even with 4G of RAM.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Windows 7 unlike its predecessor, Vista, can be upgraded from
Home, to Professional and beyond by adding or upgrading what
you need instead of doing a complete reinstall but, if I recall
correctly, you cannot go from 32bit to 64bit without a new
install. You need Professional and above to work in an Active
Directory environment (usually at an office) or add what is
needed.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>One other factor is to get most impact out of 64bit Windows
7, the applications (Office, etc.) should also be 64bit. It is
not necessary but it makes a difference. 64bit W7 has a 32bit
emulator (I am not sure if the Home 64bit has this, but the
Professional and above does).</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Microsoft will state on their site that all you need is 1G of
RAM for XP, Vista, or W7. I could use a barnyard epitaph here,
but if you want a functioning computer it should have 4g, you
can get by with 2G. But there is a performance difference
between 2 and 4. Anything less than 2G is a waste of computer
and your time.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I have Windows 7 running under VMWare on a MacBook Pro with
4G. I allocate 2G to Windows 7 (Prof, 32Bit). It is ok for those
tasks I need it for, i.e. verifying created web pages using IE.
Before I retired, I ran Windows XP and 7 on an iMac under VMWare
in an active directory shop.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
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<div style="font-size: 12px;">William Schoenenberger</div>
<div style="font-size: 12px;">Des Moines, IA</div>
<div style="font-size: 12px;"><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:wschoenenberger@gmail.com">wschoenenberger@gmail.com</a></div>
<div style="font-size: 12px;">Skype: schoenenwill</div>
</div>
<br>
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