Guest wli2k2 Posted August 8, 2007 Posted August 8, 2007 I have Vista Business 64 bit. I noticed that there's a program files and a program files x86 directories on the hard disk. I have read that 64 bit software will be installed on the program files and 32 bit software will be installed on program files x86. My question is there really any difference except to group the 32 and 64 bit software together? Can I install a 32 bit software on the program files directory and vice versa? Will there be any probelms. Thanks.
Guest Tony Sperling Posted August 8, 2007 Posted August 8, 2007 Re: program files directories If you manually intervene you'll most certainly have problems - leave it to the system and the Installer(s). It's not like a flower arrangement to have beauty and order in chaos. It's a functional arrangement that should keep the two sub-systems separated because of incompatibilities that will crash your OS. This is also precisely why you must have 64bit drivers for all devices in the system, it cannot function through the WoW sub-system. Tony. . . "wli2k2" <wli2k2@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:8222CC1B-B093-44E4-8940-7C90245BA94B@microsoft.com... > I have Vista Business 64 bit. > > I noticed that there's a program files and a program files x86 directories > on the hard disk. I have read that 64 bit software will be installed on the > program files and 32 bit software will be installed on program files x86. > > My question is there really any difference except to group the 32 and 64 bit > software together? Can I install a 32 bit software on the program files > directory and vice versa? Will there be any probelms. > > Thanks. >
Guest wli2k2 Posted August 8, 2007 Posted August 8, 2007 Re: program files directories What if I install a 32 Bit software on the root of the C drive, for example, C:\abcsoftware? "Tony Sperling" wrote: > If you manually intervene you'll most certainly have problems - leave it to > the system and the Installer(s). It's not like a flower arrangement to have > beauty and order in chaos. It's a functional arrangement that should keep > the two sub-systems separated because of incompatibilities that will crash > your OS. This is also precisely why you must have 64bit drivers for all > devices in the system, it cannot function through the WoW sub-system. > > > Tony. . . > > > "wli2k2" <wli2k2@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message > news:8222CC1B-B093-44E4-8940-7C90245BA94B@microsoft.com... > > I have Vista Business 64 bit. > > > > I noticed that there's a program files and a program files x86 directories > > on the hard disk. I have read that 64 bit software will be installed on > the > > program files and 32 bit software will be installed on program files x86. > > > > My question is there really any difference except to group the 32 and 64 > bit > > software together? Can I install a 32 bit software on the program files > > directory and vice versa? Will there be any probelms. > > > > Thanks. > > > > >
Guest Tony Sperling Posted August 8, 2007 Posted August 8, 2007 Re: program files directories That should be no problem, generally speaking. The system will keep things separate, provided the installer has a properly configured INF file. The problem is if you start moving things around manually that would circumvent the safety measures the OS would otherwise have made. Personally, I installed the Flightsimulator in D:\FS9, and that is working fine, and it should continue like that as long as I don't fiddle with the intricate parts myself. If you were writing your own programs you would need to learn how to compose such a INF file for the Installer you were using, and not just dump them more or less randomly in the filesystem. I am not the absolute authority on this issue, others may have comments, corrections and/or additions. Tony. . . "wli2k2" <wli2k2@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:33C3A11C-217C-4D21-9196-15A651BD017A@microsoft.com... > What if I install a 32 Bit software on the root of the C drive, for example, > C:\abcsoftware? > > "Tony Sperling" wrote: > > > If you manually intervene you'll most certainly have problems - leave it to > > the system and the Installer(s). It's not like a flower arrangement to have > > beauty and order in chaos. It's a functional arrangement that should keep > > the two sub-systems separated because of incompatibilities that will crash > > your OS. This is also precisely why you must have 64bit drivers for all > > devices in the system, it cannot function through the WoW sub-system. > > > > > > Tony. . . > > > > > > "wli2k2" <wli2k2@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message > > news:8222CC1B-B093-44E4-8940-7C90245BA94B@microsoft.com... > > > I have Vista Business 64 bit. > > > > > > I noticed that there's a program files and a program files x86 directories > > > on the hard disk. I have read that 64 bit software will be installed on > > the > > > program files and 32 bit software will be installed on program files x86. > > > > > > My question is there really any difference except to group the 32 and 64 > > bit > > > software together? Can I install a 32 bit software on the program files > > > directory and vice versa? Will there be any probelms. > > > > > > Thanks. > > > > > > > > >
Guest Theo Posted August 8, 2007 Posted August 8, 2007 Re: program files directories Why don't you just leave the installation to the installer? Most installers also set directory paths and registry entries. If you put the program someplace else, it may not run correctly. wli2k2 wrote: > What if I install a 32 Bit software on the root of the C drive, for example, > C:\abcsoftware? > > "Tony Sperling" wrote: > >> If you manually intervene you'll most certainly have problems - leave it to >> the system and the Installer(s). It's not like a flower arrangement to have >> beauty and order in chaos. It's a functional arrangement that should keep >> the two sub-systems separated because of incompatibilities that will crash >> your OS. This is also precisely why you must have 64bit drivers for all >> devices in the system, it cannot function through the WoW sub-system. >> >> >> Tony. . . >> >> >> "wli2k2" <wli2k2@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message >> news:8222CC1B-B093-44E4-8940-7C90245BA94B@microsoft.com... >>> I have Vista Business 64 bit. >>> >>> I noticed that there's a program files and a program files x86 directories >>> on the hard disk. I have read that 64 bit software will be installed on >> the >>> program files and 32 bit software will be installed on program files x86. >>> >>> My question is there really any difference except to group the 32 and 64 >> bit >>> software together? Can I install a 32 bit software on the program files >>> directory and vice versa? Will there be any probelms. >>> >>> Thanks. >>> >> >>
Guest Charlie Russel - MVP Posted August 9, 2007 Posted August 9, 2007 Re: program files directories Not a good idea. And the problem is that 32-bit and 64-bit programs have a different view of the file system and registry. Plus, should the program in question come out with a 64bit version, you'd end up with a mixture of 32-bit and 64bit stuff in the same directory. Definitely not a good thing. -- Charlie. http://msmvps.com/xperts64 http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel "wli2k2" <wli2k2@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:8222CC1B-B093-44E4-8940-7C90245BA94B@microsoft.com... >I have Vista Business 64 bit. > > I noticed that there's a program files and a program files x86 directories > on the hard disk. I have read that 64 bit software will be installed on > the > program files and 32 bit software will be installed on program files x86. > > My question is there really any difference except to group the 32 and 64 > bit > software together? Can I install a 32 bit software on the program files > directory and vice versa? Will there be any probelms. > > Thanks. >
Guest wli2k2 Posted August 9, 2007 Posted August 9, 2007 Re: program files directories Thanks for all the help/suggestions! "Charlie Russel - MVP" wrote: > Not a good idea. And the problem is that 32-bit and 64-bit programs have a > different view of the file system and registry. Plus, should the program in > question come out with a 64bit version, you'd end up with a mixture of > 32-bit and 64bit stuff in the same directory. Definitely not a good thing. > > -- > Charlie. > http://msmvps.com/xperts64 > http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel > > > "wli2k2" <wli2k2@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message > news:8222CC1B-B093-44E4-8940-7C90245BA94B@microsoft.com... > >I have Vista Business 64 bit. > > > > I noticed that there's a program files and a program files x86 directories > > on the hard disk. I have read that 64 bit software will be installed on > > the > > program files and 32 bit software will be installed on program files x86. > > > > My question is there really any difference except to group the 32 and 64 > > bit > > software together? Can I install a 32 bit software on the program files > > directory and vice versa? Will there be any probelms. > > > > Thanks. > > > >
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