Moving from 32bit XP to 64bit XP

[Onceler]

I am going to be upgrading my dad's PC with 4GBs of RAM for a total of 8GBs.
Could I install xp64bit on top of the current installation(I don't think that I can) preserving things like his favorites(in the order that he is used to haveing them,I tried organizing favorites by date and it didn't work, he made me put it back the way that it was),his email,his programs,..etc.
I do know how to backup and will anyway but I was hoping for a smooth transition.a

 

[jdjbuffalo]

32 bit to 64 bit upgrade is not supported in any Windows version. You have to do a new install. If you need 64 bit then get Windows 7. XP 64bit is just asking for trouble and not worth it anymore.

 

[Onceler]

I am not getting w7 for this,I have xp64

 

[Spicedaddy]

What programs is your dad using to warrant the upgrade to 8GB?

And don't bother with XP64, if he really needs more than 4GB, get an OS with better memory management (Win7 X64).

 

[jdjbuffalo]

If you can find 64 bit drivers for everything then you have a chance of getting it to work.

 

[VinylxScratches]

Instead of getting 8GB of ram, you should get him Win7...

 

[gaidensensei]

Yeah, don't do the 32>64 unless you're sure all the mandatory stuff he needs are supported. Some stuff don't have drivers out there (or programs).

 

[theevilsharpie]

You can't upgrade directly from 32-bit to 64-bit, but you can transfer his profile over with the File and Settings Transfer wizard.

Before upgrading, make sure you have 64-bit drivers for the hardware.

 

[Ben90]

Before upgrading, make sure you have 64-bit drivers for the hardware.

Yea xp64 was a PITA to get setup for me as i had to dig around hotfixes for hours to get my onboard soundcard to work. Other quirks as well such as: Oh this program wont run under this OS and fun stuff like that

 

[rudder]

I am not getting w7 for this,I have xp64

No need to buy another OS. Just check for drivers for everything and you will be good to go if they are available.

I ran xp64 for a while and for me it was no different that installing 32-bit xp. Some programs won't run... but there is always virtual PC.

That being said... unless he is doing something like heavy photoprocessing... he is not going to notice much difference between the 3.2gb in XP versus 8gb in XP64.

 

[imagoon]

Just check for drivers for everything and you will be good to go if they are available.

This is the biggest step. Since XP64 rolled out around the same time as vista64 many companies just said "screw it we are not porting the drivers to XP64." You will notice this mostly on things like printers, scanners, sound cards and the like.

We recently ran in to no XP64 drivers available issues for the Dell Precision lines. AutoCAD might force us in to Windows 7 a bit sooner than expected.

 

[theevilsharpie]

This is the biggest step. Since XP64 rolled out around the same time as vista64 many companies just said "screw it we are not porting the drivers to XP64."

Most drivers for Vista/7 64-bit will also work in XP 64-bit. If anything, compatibility improved when Vista 64-bit was released.

 

[imagoon]

Most drivers for Vista/7 64-bit will also work in XP 64-bit. If anything, compatibility improved when Vista 64-bit was released.

Sound does not work.
Sound sub system in Vista is completely different. Creative labs was complaining vocally about that.

Video does not work.
The Video sub system was changed to isolate it from the kernel. Also there is DirectX10 which is not in XP64.

Most scanners will not work.
Most Camera drivers will not work.

Vista released a "whole new way to work with pictures" this included chunks of the core code. So it is hit or miss if it will work.

One really good way to test this is force Vista64 drivers in to XP64 and watch the Blue screens of death fly. We tried this on the Nehalm systems as a lark.

Some of the storage drivers worked...

 

[Gamingphreek]

Most drivers for Vista/7 64-bit will also work in XP 64-bit. If anything, compatibility improved when Vista 64-bit was released.

Absolutely false.

XP -> Vista/7 is almost NEVER compatible as far as drivers are concerned.

Vista <-> 7 in a lot of cases will work; however, I still don't recommend it for chipset drivers and the like.

-Kevin

 

[rudder]

Most drivers for Vista/7 64-bit will also work in XP 64-bit. If anything, compatibility improved when Vista 64-bit was released.

XP64 has more in common with Server 2003. The problem is there were not manufactures of home printers, cameras, etc that had good 2003 drivers for these devices. As others have said XP64 fell by the wayside despite being a fantastic OS.

 

[Modelworks]

XP x64 was never intended to be a home OS. People used it that way then complained that their gaming hardware or home printer was not supported. I never had a single driver issue in all the years I used XP x64 , but then I used it for workstations not home use.

 

[Viper GTS]

Have to agree on this one, XP x64 works great for workstation use. I ran it for over two years on my workstation (Precision 690). When 7 RTM was available I moved to that, & haven't looked back.

I would avoid it for anything that isn't a workstation class machine, Vista x64 or 7 x64 are far superior choices.

Viper GTS

 

[theevilsharpie]

Sound does not work.
Sound sub system in Vista is completely different. Creative labs was complaining vocally about that.

Video does not work.
The Video sub system was changed to isolate it from the kernel. Also there is DirectX10 which is not in XP64.

Video and audio were the only two types of drivers that needed to be XP 64-bit specific. This wasn't a huge issue as Nvidia, ATI, Intel, Creative, and others had up-to-date XP 64-bit drivers.

Absolutely false.

XP -> Vista/7 is almost NEVER compatible as far as drivers are concerned

This is absolutely false. I remember having difficulty finding drivers for my printers prior to Vista's release. Once Vista was released, vendors began releasing 64-bit printer drivers for it, which plugged right in to XP 64-bit. Same with peripherals like game controllers, multimedia keyboards, mice, webcams, etc.

 

[Jaskalas]

Have to agree on this one, XP x64 works great for workstation use. I ran it for over two years on my workstation (Precision 690). When 7 RTM was available I moved to that, & haven't looked back.

I would avoid it for anything that isn't a workstation class machine, Vista x64 or 7 x64 are far superior choices.

Viper GTS

Do yourselves a favor and listen to Viper on this one. Don't use a barely supported version of XP, it's time to move on or stick with XP 32.