A little memory background
Vista has been out for quite some time now, and has passed several notable milestones. The most important milestone, Service Pack 1, has been a resounding success. In February 2007 I recommended users shy away from 64bit versions of Vista. The reasons were many, but my primary concerns were kernel security features and program compatibility.
I've said in past issues that memory is the single biggest improvement you can make to a computer, and often the cheapest. As memory gets cheaper more people are approaching the limits of 32bit operating systems. The architecture behind a 32bit OS will only address 4GB of memory. That seems like a lot, but computers must also reserve memory space for hardware. Basically, if you have 4GB of RAM, a 512MB video card, and are running a 32bit OS windows will only be able to use less than 3.5GB of your RAM. 512MB of the addressable space is reserved for the video card and a little more for the other hardware attached to your computer. This is by far the biggest drawback of the 32bit OS. As hardware becomes more complex and applications require more memory this will become a bigger problem.
64bit operating systems can address 16GB of memory space. This allows the operating system to access all of the RAM you have installed, and still have addressable space for hardware. A user running a 64bit OS with 4GB of RAM and a 512MB video card will still be able to access the full 4GB of RAM.
Over the past 6 months discussion on the internet about 64bit Vista has been growing at a fever pitch. Users using 64bit Vista instead of 32bit Vista has been growing at a surprising rate, especially when compared to 64bit XP adoption rates. User experiences have been high, and problems almost nonexistent.
Dave goes 64bit!
After the September 1st newsletter was released I created a disk image using True Image so I could restore my system if I experienced problems. I then set about downloading the 64bit drivers for my computer from HP. HP had up to date drivers for all my hardware, so this was a breeze. With drivers downloaded and backups created I took a big step...
Using the method in the Perform a Clean Vista Installation with No Activation article I inserted my Vista 64bit disk, closed my eyes, held my breath, and hit the button.
Piece of cake! Installation went without a hitch. No driver issues. No installation issues. No hiccups. I immediately noticed Windows recognized the entire 4GB of memory installed on the laptop. When running 32bit Vista the OS only recognized about 3.25GB.
I downloaded the most up to date versions of my programs to ensure 64bit support. Every program I've installed (and that is quite a few) has worked flawlessly except for one, Unlocker. The author has promised an update to support 64bit soon. It's a great program and I can't wait for the update. ESET, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Office, old games, Nero, my maintenance programs, True Image, DVDFab, etc. They all worked without a single hitch!
The only real differences the user will notice is the addition of a SysWOW64 folder in c:\windows (storing 64bit system files) and the addition of Program Files (x86) in c:\ (where 32bit programs are installed). Everything else is how you would expect it. No changes, just more memory, and slightly faster performance.
I also chose to leave UAC (User Account Control) enabled. I'm pleasantly surprised. Alerts are very rare once the initial installation of programs is finished. Not obtrusive at all. I'm going to leave it activated! Reliability has been as expected. All in all a painless and worthwhile upgrade, that I would recommend!
