Does xp home support 64 bit?

[Nithin]

I just got a new dell inspiron and did a format/reinstall of windows. I see that it's in 32 bit mode. Does xp home support 64 bit and did they give me the wrong install cd?

or do i need xp pro to be able to run 64 bit?

Thanks,
Nithin.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

XP Home does not come in 64 bit. Xp Pro does come in both 32 and 64 bit flavors. Since you were unaware of this, I seriously doubt you are using any software that will benefit from 64 bit.

For all home users, I reccomend staying with 32 bit for now (at least the next 12 months).

 

[mechBgon]

The only 64-bit version of Windows XP is Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. Your 64-bit CPU can run 32-bit operating systems, however, so 32-bit XP Home will work.

 

[bsobel]

Originally posted by: Nithin
I just got a new dell inspiron and did a format/reinstall of windows. I see that it's in 32 bit mode. Does xp home support 64 bit and did they give me the wrong install cd?

or do i need xp pro to be able to run 64 bit?

Thanks,
Nithin.

Home is 32bit only. If you want to run a Microsoft 64bit OS your only real choice is Vista 64, XP64 is orphaned and I wouldnt recommend it to anyone (sans for testing scenarios)

 

[Noema]

I must also add that, in many situations, 64-bit is not only unnecessary; it's undesirable due to driver support (currently) not being as strong as in 32-bit. I have several pieces of music recording hardware that won't work with 64-bit because there are no drivers (thank you Line 6 :|)

64-bit does have a lot of pluses, and it's the future, no doubt. The maximum amount of RAM available for the OS increases dramatically, as well as the maximum amount of memory that a process can be assigned.

However, unless you desperately need to use 4GB of RAM or more, I strongly suggest you stick with 32-bit.

 

[Nithin]

ya i think i'll stick with 32 bit for now

 

[bsobel]

However, unless you desperately need to use 4GB of RAM or more, I strongly suggest you stick with 32-bit.

I suggest that if you have drivers (e.g. a new machine) and have 2 gig already, go 64bit. This way when you do add memory you wont have to do an OS reinstall just to do so...