Installing Windows XP 32-bit over Windows XP 64-bit

[Guest piccolo]

Somehow, I wound buying a Dell Precision workstation with Windows XP 64-bit

installed on it only to discover that a LOT of my software is not 64-bit

compatible and never will be. HP, Nikon, even Adobe don't appear to have

functioning fixes for Windows XP 64-bit. So I am faced with having to buy an

OEM version of Windows XP 32-bit and installing that if I want to use my

existing software library.

 

Never having installed an OS before, the prospect of installing Windows XP

32 scares me and I thought I would ask here for advice.

1. am I going to need special cables, etc. or will the thing load from the

CD?

2. I presume I can get the necessary drivers either off the Cd that came

with the computer or from Dell as the OEM?

3. could I have a problem that Windows XP 32 is an older system than

Windows XP 64 (and the installer decides it won't overwrite)?

4. Assuming that I am not going to want to migrate the XP 32 license from

this machine to another, is there any reason to buy a retail rather than the

OEM version I can get from Dell?

5. If the world changes and more companies offer 64-bit drivers and

software and I want to go back to a 64-bit machine, will I be able to reload

the original Windows XP 64 OS?

 

What else should I be asking and haven't?

--

Regards,

 

Piccolo

[Guest Charlie Russel - MVP]

Re: Installing Windows XP 32-bit over Windows XP 64-bit

 

1.) Will load from CD

2.) Generally, yes, you'll get drivers from Dell.

3.) It will overwrite because you're going to delete the existing partition

and start over. Don't attempt to install without formatting the current OS

partition or simply deleting and recreating it. You'll have a mess if you

do.

4.) None, except that you'll be stuck on this machine with it. Given that

you're paying twice as is, I'd go with a second OEM.

5.) Yes, since you have your original OEM copy. BUT, you can't ever

"upgrade" or "migrate" - it's always a clean install. I'd strongly suggest

you partition your workstation to keep all important data files off on a

separate partition from the OS so that you can easily re-install as

required.

 

6.) Anything else? Yes - if you're buying a Dell Precision, you're very

likely the sort of user who needs and uses a very powerful machine. That

usually also means a lot of RAM. Your absolute maximum with 32-bit is 4 GB,

and you'll not see much more than about 3GB of that. If you need >4GB of

RAM, you really don't have a choice - you need to run 64-bit Windows.

 

7.) Most of that software will run on 64-bit, though one or another will

possibly have a piece of it that doesn't work, such as a print driver. For

software that doesn't work, consider running a 32-bit VM inside your

existing 64-bit XP. For many things, this is a very viable workaround. (no,

it won't solve all hardware specific driver issues, and if your software

needs USB you'll need to use VMWare instead of VirtualPC or Virtual Server,

but for a definite majority of software issues, it works quite well.)

 

--

Charlie.

http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64

http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel

 

 

"piccolo" <piccolo@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:69055869-3A2E-4C43-BECD-ADF264985A5C@microsoft.com...

> Somehow, I wound buying a Dell Precision workstation with Windows XP

> 64-bit

> installed on it only to discover that a LOT of my software is not 64-bit

> compatible and never will be. HP, Nikon, even Adobe don't appear to have

> functioning fixes for Windows XP 64-bit. So I am faced with having to buy

> an

> OEM version of Windows XP 32-bit and installing that if I want to use my

> existing software library.

>

> Never having installed an OS before, the prospect of installing Windows XP

> 32 scares me and I thought I would ask here for advice.

> 1. am I going to need special cables, etc. or will the thing load from

> the

> CD?

> 2. I presume I can get the necessary drivers either off the Cd that came

> with the computer or from Dell as the OEM?

> 3. could I have a problem that Windows XP 32 is an older system than

> Windows XP 64 (and the installer decides it won't overwrite)?

> 4. Assuming that I am not going to want to migrate the XP 32 license from

> this machine to another, is there any reason to buy a retail rather than

> the

> OEM version I can get from Dell?

> 5. If the world changes and more companies offer 64-bit drivers and

> software and I want to go back to a 64-bit machine, will I be able to

> reload

> the original Windows XP 64 OS?

>

> What else should I be asking and haven't?

> --

> Regards,

>

> Piccolo

[Guest piccolo]

Re: Installing Windows XP 32-bit over Windows XP 64-bit

 

Charlie,

 

As you can tell from the other thread, it seems to me that it might almost

be easier to creat a VPM than to completely re-install everything.

 

If I do that, it would leave two niggling problems in the operation of the

64-bit machine that you might be able to fix:

1. Adobe Flash won't run on a 64-bit IE. There is supposed to be a 32-bit IE

that runs on a 64-bit machine but I can't find it. Any ideas?

2. WMP 11 won't run in mini-mode on the 64-bit OS. Is there a fix? Or is

this a question I should take over to the Media Player newsgroup?

 

Again thanks,

--

Regards,

 

Piccolo

 

 

"Charlie Russel - MVP" wrote:

> 1.) Will load from CD

> 2.) Generally, yes, you'll get drivers from Dell.

> 3.) It will overwrite because you're going to delete the existing partition

> and start over. Don't attempt to install without formatting the current OS

> partition or simply deleting and recreating it. You'll have a mess if you

> do.

> 4.) None, except that you'll be stuck on this machine with it. Given that

> you're paying twice as is, I'd go with a second OEM.

> 5.) Yes, since you have your original OEM copy. BUT, you can't ever

> "upgrade" or "migrate" - it's always a clean install. I'd strongly suggest

> you partition your workstation to keep all important data files off on a

> separate partition from the OS so that you can easily re-install as

> required.

>

> 6.) Anything else? Yes - if you're buying a Dell Precision, you're very

> likely the sort of user who needs and uses a very powerful machine. That

> usually also means a lot of RAM. Your absolute maximum with 32-bit is 4 GB,

> and you'll not see much more than about 3GB of that. If you need >4GB of

> RAM, you really don't have a choice - you need to run 64-bit Windows.

>

> 7.) Most of that software will run on 64-bit, though one or another will

> possibly have a piece of it that doesn't work, such as a print driver. For

> software that doesn't work, consider running a 32-bit VM inside your

> existing 64-bit XP. For many things, this is a very viable workaround. (no,

> it won't solve all hardware specific driver issues, and if your software

> needs USB you'll need to use VMWare instead of VirtualPC or Virtual Server,

> but for a definite majority of software issues, it works quite well.)

>

> --

> Charlie.

> http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64

> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel

>

>

> "piccolo" <piccolo@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:69055869-3A2E-4C43-BECD-ADF264985A5C@microsoft.com...

> > Somehow, I wound buying a Dell Precision workstation with Windows XP

> > 64-bit

> > installed on it only to discover that a LOT of my software is not 64-bit

> > compatible and never will be. HP, Nikon, even Adobe don't appear to have

> > functioning fixes for Windows XP 64-bit. So I am faced with having to buy

> > an

> > OEM version of Windows XP 32-bit and installing that if I want to use my

> > existing software library.

> >

> > Never having installed an OS before, the prospect of installing Windows XP

> > 32 scares me and I thought I would ask here for advice.

> > 1. am I going to need special cables, etc. or will the thing load from

> > the

> > CD?

> > 2. I presume I can get the necessary drivers either off the Cd that came

> > with the computer or from Dell as the OEM?

> > 3. could I have a problem that Windows XP 32 is an older system than

> > Windows XP 64 (and the installer decides it won't overwrite)?

> > 4. Assuming that I am not going to want to migrate the XP 32 license from

> > this machine to another, is there any reason to buy a retail rather than

> > the

> > OEM version I can get from Dell?

> > 5. If the world changes and more companies offer 64-bit drivers and

> > software and I want to go back to a 64-bit machine, will I be able to

> > reload

> > the original Windows XP 64 OS?

> >

> > What else should I be asking and haven't?

> > --

> > Regards,

> >

> > Piccolo

>

[Guest Stefan Pendl]

Re: Installing Windows XP 32-bit over Windows XP 64-bit

 

On Wed, 9 Jul 2008 00:56:03 -0700, piccolo

<piccolo@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>Charlie,

>

>As you can tell from the other thread, it seems to me that it might almost

>be easier to creat a VPM than to completely re-install everything.

>

>If I do that, it would leave two niggling problems in the operation of the

>64-bit machine that you might be able to fix:

>1. Adobe Flash won't run on a 64-bit IE. There is supposed to be a 32-bit IE

>that runs on a 64-bit machine but I can't find it. Any ideas?

>2. WMP 11 won't run in mini-mode on the 64-bit OS. Is there a fix? Or is

>this a question I should take over to the Media Player newsgroup?

>

 

1) there are not many browser plug-ins published for 64-bit IE

if you did not change anything from the default installation, 32-bit

IE is the standard browser.

If you migrated the Windows settings from a previous version of

windows, your short cuts are pointing to the 64-bit version, which you

must correct.

 

32-bit IE is located under C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer

 

64-bit IE is located under C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer

 

2) I have not tested it, but there should be no difference

have you checked the mini-mode status bar in the context menu of the

task bar ?

 

---

Stefan Pendl

 

Windows XP Pro SP 3

Celeron M 1.3 GHz

752 MB DDR RAM

[Guest piccolo]

Re: Installing Windows XP 32-bit over Windows XP 64-bit

 

I found both versions and have changed my shortcuts to point at the 32-bit

version.

 

As to WMP 11, the taskbar does not show the mini-mode toolbar at all. I

think I asked this question before and someone said that WMP is not really

supported in 64-bit. Thanks anyway.

--

Regards,

 

Piccolo

 

 

"Stefan Pendl" wrote:

> On Wed, 9 Jul 2008 00:56:03 -0700, piccolo

> <piccolo@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>

> >Charlie,

> >

> >As you can tell from the other thread, it seems to me that it might almost

> >be easier to creat a VPM than to completely re-install everything.

> >

> >If I do that, it would leave two niggling problems in the operation of the

> >64-bit machine that you might be able to fix:

> >1. Adobe Flash won't run on a 64-bit IE. There is supposed to be a 32-bit IE

> >that runs on a 64-bit machine but I can't find it. Any ideas?

> >2. WMP 11 won't run in mini-mode on the 64-bit OS. Is there a fix? Or is

> >this a question I should take over to the Media Player newsgroup?

> >

>

> 1) there are not many browser plug-ins published for 64-bit IE

> if you did not change anything from the default installation, 32-bit

> IE is the standard browser.

> If you migrated the Windows settings from a previous version of

> windows, your short cuts are pointing to the 64-bit version, which you

> must correct.

>

> 32-bit IE is located under C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer

>

> 64-bit IE is located under C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer

>

> 2) I have not tested it, but there should be no difference

> have you checked the mini-mode status bar in the context menu of the

> task bar ?

>

> ---

> Stefan Pendl

>

> Windows XP Pro SP 3

> Celeron M 1.3 GHz

> 752 MB DDR RAM

>

[Guest Charlie Russel - MVP]

Re: Installing Windows XP 32-bit over Windows XP 64-bit

 

IE is 32bit by default. Both are there. If you migrated, you may have to

change some shortcuts.

 

WMP - in XP 64, no taskbar player. There is one in Vista 64, but it never

got back ported to XP x64.

 

--

Charlie.

http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64

http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel

 

"piccolo" <piccolo@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:C733C85B-C196-4EEF-9633-679EC3411DB0@microsoft.com...

> Charlie,

>

> As you can tell from the other thread, it seems to me that it might almost

> be easier to creat a VPM than to completely re-install everything.

>

> If I do that, it would leave two niggling problems in the operation of the

> 64-bit machine that you might be able to fix:

> 1. Adobe Flash won't run on a 64-bit IE. There is supposed to be a 32-bit

> IE

> that runs on a 64-bit machine but I can't find it. Any ideas?

> 2. WMP 11 won't run in mini-mode on the 64-bit OS. Is there a fix? Or is

> this a question I should take over to the Media Player newsgroup?

>

> Again thanks,

> --

> Regards,

>

> Piccolo

>

>

> "Charlie Russel - MVP" wrote:

>

>> 1.) Will load from CD

>> 2.) Generally, yes, you'll get drivers from Dell.

>> 3.) It will overwrite because you're going to delete the existing

>> partition

>> and start over. Don't attempt to install without formatting the current

>> OS

>> partition or simply deleting and recreating it. You'll have a mess if you

>> do.

>> 4.) None, except that you'll be stuck on this machine with it. Given that

>> you're paying twice as is, I'd go with a second OEM.

>> 5.) Yes, since you have your original OEM copy. BUT, you can't ever

>> "upgrade" or "migrate" - it's always a clean install. I'd strongly

>> suggest

>> you partition your workstation to keep all important data files off on a

>> separate partition from the OS so that you can easily re-install as

>> required.

>>

>> 6.) Anything else? Yes - if you're buying a Dell Precision, you're very

>> likely the sort of user who needs and uses a very powerful machine. That

>> usually also means a lot of RAM. Your absolute maximum with 32-bit is 4

>> GB,

>> and you'll not see much more than about 3GB of that. If you need >4GB of

>> RAM, you really don't have a choice - you need to run 64-bit Windows.

>>

>> 7.) Most of that software will run on 64-bit, though one or another will

>> possibly have a piece of it that doesn't work, such as a print driver.

>> For

>> software that doesn't work, consider running a 32-bit VM inside your

>> existing 64-bit XP. For many things, this is a very viable workaround.

>> (no,

>> it won't solve all hardware specific driver issues, and if your software

>> needs USB you'll need to use VMWare instead of VirtualPC or Virtual

>> Server,

>> but for a definite majority of software issues, it works quite well.)

>>

>> --

>> Charlie.

>> http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64

>> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel

>>

>>

>> "piccolo" <piccolo@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

>> news:69055869-3A2E-4C43-BECD-ADF264985A5C@microsoft.com...

>> > Somehow, I wound buying a Dell Precision workstation with Windows XP

>> > 64-bit

>> > installed on it only to discover that a LOT of my software is not

>> > 64-bit

>> > compatible and never will be. HP, Nikon, even Adobe don't appear to

>> > have

>> > functioning fixes for Windows XP 64-bit. So I am faced with having to

>> > buy

>> > an

>> > OEM version of Windows XP 32-bit and installing that if I want to use

>> > my

>> > existing software library.

>> >

>> > Never having installed an OS before, the prospect of installing Windows

>> > XP

>> > 32 scares me and I thought I would ask here for advice.

>> > 1. am I going to need special cables, etc. or will the thing load from

>> > the

>> > CD?

>> > 2. I presume I can get the necessary drivers either off the Cd that

>> > came

>> > with the computer or from Dell as the OEM?

>> > 3. could I have a problem that Windows XP 32 is an older system than

>> > Windows XP 64 (and the installer decides it won't overwrite)?

>> > 4. Assuming that I am not going to want to migrate the XP 32 license

>> > from

>> > this machine to another, is there any reason to buy a retail rather

>> > than

>> > the

>> > OEM version I can get from Dell?

>> > 5. If the world changes and more companies offer 64-bit drivers and

>> > software and I want to go back to a 64-bit machine, will I be able to

>> > reload

>> > the original Windows XP 64 OS?

>> >

>> > What else should I be asking and haven't?

>> > --

>> > Regards,

>> >

>> > Piccolo

>>

[Guest Colin Barnhorst]

Re: Installing Windows XP 32-bit over Windows XP 64-bit

 

"piccolo" <piccolo@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:69055869-3A2E-4C43-BECD-ADF264985A5C@microsoft.com...

> 4. Assuming that I am not going to want to migrate the XP 32 license from

> this machine to another, is there any reason to buy a retail rather than

> the

> OEM version I can get from Dell?

> Regards,

>

> Piccolo

 

 

4. Yes, there is a reason not to buy an OEM pack. The purchaser of

software under an OEM (System Builder) License is not granted the right to

use the software. He is granted only the right to install the software on a

system for sale to a customer. Please read the OEM (System Builder) License

at:

http://www.microsoft.com/oem/sblicense/default.mspx

It is much shorter than the EULA so a peek.

 

The OEM (System Builder) License is not an end user license.

 

Resellers of OEM packs display a disclaimer reminding end users about this.

NewEgg puts the following disclaimer on the Specifications tab of the

product information/order page:

 

"Use of this OEM System Builder Channel software is subject to the terms of

the Microsoft OEM System Builder License. This software is intended for

pre-installation on a new personal computer for resale. This OEM System

Builder Channel software requires the assembler to provide end user support

for the Windows software and cannot be transferred to another computer once

it is installed. To acquire Windows software with support provided by

Microsoft please see our full package "Retail" product offerings."

 

Look at this example on NewEgg and you will see a slightly abbreviated

version right on the catalog page.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2060350368+1179212225&name=Business

[Guest piccolo]

Re: Installing Windows XP 32-bit over Windows XP 64-bit

 

Charlie,

 

Just to let you know that I got the virtual machine up and running with Win

XP 32-bit OS without a hitch. So thanks again for your help and patience.

--

Regards,

 

Piccolo

 

 

"Charlie Russel - MVP" wrote:

> IE is 32bit by default. Both are there. If you migrated, you may have to

> change some shortcuts.

>

> WMP - in XP 64, no taskbar player. There is one in Vista 64, but it never

> got back ported to XP x64.

>

> --

> Charlie.

> http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64

> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel

>

> "piccolo" <piccolo@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:C733C85B-C196-4EEF-9633-679EC3411DB0@microsoft.com...

> > Charlie,

> >

> > As you can tell from the other thread, it seems to me that it might almost

> > be easier to creat a VPM than to completely re-install everything.

> >

> > If I do that, it would leave two niggling problems in the operation of the

> > 64-bit machine that you might be able to fix:

> > 1. Adobe Flash won't run on a 64-bit IE. There is supposed to be a 32-bit

> > IE

> > that runs on a 64-bit machine but I can't find it. Any ideas?

> > 2. WMP 11 won't run in mini-mode on the 64-bit OS. Is there a fix? Or is

> > this a question I should take over to the Media Player newsgroup?

> >

> > Again thanks,

> > --

> > Regards,

> >

> > Piccolo

> >

> >

> > "Charlie Russel - MVP" wrote:

> >

> >> 1.) Will load from CD

> >> 2.) Generally, yes, you'll get drivers from Dell.

> >> 3.) It will overwrite because you're going to delete the existing

> >> partition

> >> and start over. Don't attempt to install without formatting the current

> >> OS

> >> partition or simply deleting and recreating it. You'll have a mess if you

> >> do.

> >> 4.) None, except that you'll be stuck on this machine with it. Given that

> >> you're paying twice as is, I'd go with a second OEM.

> >> 5.) Yes, since you have your original OEM copy. BUT, you can't ever

> >> "upgrade" or "migrate" - it's always a clean install. I'd strongly

> >> suggest

> >> you partition your workstation to keep all important data files off on a

> >> separate partition from the OS so that you can easily re-install as

> >> required.

> >>

> >> 6.) Anything else? Yes - if you're buying a Dell Precision, you're very

> >> likely the sort of user who needs and uses a very powerful machine. That

> >> usually also means a lot of RAM. Your absolute maximum with 32-bit is 4

> >> GB,

> >> and you'll not see much more than about 3GB of that. If you need >4GB of

> >> RAM, you really don't have a choice - you need to run 64-bit Windows.

> >>

> >> 7.) Most of that software will run on 64-bit, though one or another will

> >> possibly have a piece of it that doesn't work, such as a print driver.

> >> For

> >> software that doesn't work, consider running a 32-bit VM inside your

> >> existing 64-bit XP. For many things, this is a very viable workaround.

> >> (no,

> >> it won't solve all hardware specific driver issues, and if your software

> >> needs USB you'll need to use VMWare instead of VirtualPC or Virtual

> >> Server,

> >> but for a definite majority of software issues, it works quite well.)

> >>

> >> --

> >> Charlie.

> >> http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64

> >> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel

> >>

> >>

> >> "piccolo" <piccolo@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> >> news:69055869-3A2E-4C43-BECD-ADF264985A5C@microsoft.com...

> >> > Somehow, I wound buying a Dell Precision workstation with Windows XP

> >> > 64-bit

> >> > installed on it only to discover that a LOT of my software is not

> >> > 64-bit

> >> > compatible and never will be. HP, Nikon, even Adobe don't appear to

> >> > have

> >> > functioning fixes for Windows XP 64-bit. So I am faced with having to

> >> > buy

> >> > an

> >> > OEM version of Windows XP 32-bit and installing that if I want to use

> >> > my

> >> > existing software library.

> >> >

> >> > Never having installed an OS before, the prospect of installing Windows

> >> > XP

> >> > 32 scares me and I thought I would ask here for advice.

> >> > 1. am I going to need special cables, etc. or will the thing load from

> >> > the

> >> > CD?

> >> > 2. I presume I can get the necessary drivers either off the Cd that

> >> > came

> >> > with the computer or from Dell as the OEM?

> >> > 3. could I have a problem that Windows XP 32 is an older system than

> >> > Windows XP 64 (and the installer decides it won't overwrite)?

> >> > 4. Assuming that I am not going to want to migrate the XP 32 license

> >> > from

> >> > this machine to another, is there any reason to buy a retail rather

> >> > than

> >> > the

> >> > OEM version I can get from Dell?

> >> > 5. If the world changes and more companies offer 64-bit drivers and

> >> > software and I want to go back to a 64-bit machine, will I be able to

> >> > reload

> >> > the original Windows XP 64 OS?

> >> >

> >> > What else should I be asking and haven't?

> >> > --

> >> > Regards,

> >> >

> >> > Piccolo

> >>

>

[Guest Charlie Russel - MVP]

Re: Installing Windows XP 32-bit over Windows XP 64-bit

 

Excellent.

 

--

Charlie.

http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64

http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel

 

 

"piccolo" <piccolo@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:CD1A1293-E406-42CA-8DD1-B94ECD131C43@microsoft.com...

> Charlie,

>

> Just to let you know that I got the virtual machine up and running with

> Win

> XP 32-bit OS without a hitch. So thanks again for your help and patience.

> --

> Regards,

>

> Piccolo

>

>

> "Charlie Russel - MVP" wrote:

>

>> IE is 32bit by default. Both are there. If you migrated, you may have to

>> change some shortcuts.

>>

>> WMP - in XP 64, no taskbar player. There is one in Vista 64, but it never

>> got back ported to XP x64.

>>

>> --

>> Charlie.

>> http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64

>> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel

>>

>> "piccolo" <piccolo@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

>> news:C733C85B-C196-4EEF-9633-679EC3411DB0@microsoft.com...

>> > Charlie,

>> >

>> > As you can tell from the other thread, it seems to me that it might

>> > almost

>> > be easier to creat a VPM than to completely re-install everything.

>> >

>> > If I do that, it would leave two niggling problems in the operation of

>> > the

>> > 64-bit machine that you might be able to fix:

>> > 1. Adobe Flash won't run on a 64-bit IE. There is supposed to be a

>> > 32-bit

>> > IE

>> > that runs on a 64-bit machine but I can't find it. Any ideas?

>> > 2. WMP 11 won't run in mini-mode on the 64-bit OS. Is there a fix? Or

>> > is

>> > this a question I should take over to the Media Player newsgroup?

>> >

>> > Again thanks,

>> > --

>> > Regards,

>> >

>> > Piccolo

>> >

>> >

>> > "Charlie Russel - MVP" wrote:

>> >

>> >> 1.) Will load from CD

>> >> 2.) Generally, yes, you'll get drivers from Dell.

>> >> 3.) It will overwrite because you're going to delete the existing

>> >> partition

>> >> and start over. Don't attempt to install without formatting the

>> >> current

>> >> OS

>> >> partition or simply deleting and recreating it. You'll have a mess if

>> >> you

>> >> do.

>> >> 4.) None, except that you'll be stuck on this machine with it. Given

>> >> that

>> >> you're paying twice as is, I'd go with a second OEM.

>> >> 5.) Yes, since you have your original OEM copy. BUT, you can't ever

>> >> "upgrade" or "migrate" - it's always a clean install. I'd strongly

>> >> suggest

>> >> you partition your workstation to keep all important data files off on

>> >> a

>> >> separate partition from the OS so that you can easily re-install as

>> >> required.

>> >>

>> >> 6.) Anything else? Yes - if you're buying a Dell Precision, you're

>> >> very

>> >> likely the sort of user who needs and uses a very powerful machine.

>> >> That

>> >> usually also means a lot of RAM. Your absolute maximum with 32-bit is

>> >> 4

>> >> GB,

>> >> and you'll not see much more than about 3GB of that. If you need >4GB

>> >> of

>> >> RAM, you really don't have a choice - you need to run 64-bit Windows.

>> >>

>> >> 7.) Most of that software will run on 64-bit, though one or another

>> >> will

>> >> possibly have a piece of it that doesn't work, such as a print driver.

>> >> For

>> >> software that doesn't work, consider running a 32-bit VM inside your

>> >> existing 64-bit XP. For many things, this is a very viable workaround.

>> >> (no,

>> >> it won't solve all hardware specific driver issues, and if your

>> >> software

>> >> needs USB you'll need to use VMWare instead of VirtualPC or Virtual

>> >> Server,

>> >> but for a definite majority of software issues, it works quite well.)

>> >>

>> >> --

>> >> Charlie.

>> >> http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64

>> >> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel

>> >>

>> >>

>> >> "piccolo" <piccolo@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

>> >> news:69055869-3A2E-4C43-BECD-ADF264985A5C@microsoft.com...

>> >> > Somehow, I wound buying a Dell Precision workstation with Windows XP

>> >> > 64-bit

>> >> > installed on it only to discover that a LOT of my software is not

>> >> > 64-bit

>> >> > compatible and never will be. HP, Nikon, even Adobe don't appear to

>> >> > have

>> >> > functioning fixes for Windows XP 64-bit. So I am faced with having

>> >> > to

>> >> > buy

>> >> > an

>> >> > OEM version of Windows XP 32-bit and installing that if I want to

>> >> > use

>> >> > my

>> >> > existing software library.

>> >> >

>> >> > Never having installed an OS before, the prospect of installing

>> >> > Windows

>> >> > XP

>> >> > 32 scares me and I thought I would ask here for advice.

>> >> > 1. am I going to need special cables, etc. or will the thing load

>> >> > from

>> >> > the

>> >> > CD?

>> >> > 2. I presume I can get the necessary drivers either off the Cd that

>> >> > came

>> >> > with the computer or from Dell as the OEM?

>> >> > 3. could I have a problem that Windows XP 32 is an older system

>> >> > than

>> >> > Windows XP 64 (and the installer decides it won't overwrite)?

>> >> > 4. Assuming that I am not going to want to migrate the XP 32

>> >> > license

>> >> > from

>> >> > this machine to another, is there any reason to buy a retail rather

>> >> > than

>> >> > the

>> >> > OEM version I can get from Dell?

>> >> > 5. If the world changes and more companies offer 64-bit drivers and

>> >> > software and I want to go back to a 64-bit machine, will I be able

>> >> > to

>> >> > reload

>> >> > the original Windows XP 64 OS?

>> >> >

>> >> > What else should I be asking and haven't?

>> >> > --

>> >> > Regards,

>> >> >

>> >> > Piccolo

>> >>

>>