Software

[Robby_J]

Hey folks. I read an article which blew my mind talking about Virtual Memory, PAE, and the 4GB barrier on 32bit OSes. The link is worth a read as it gets techy. But the short hand is that 32bit OSes both Windows and Tiger suffer from a memory addressing limit where the system can only handle 4GB of Memory in total. Meaning all memory: RAM, Graphics and Virtual Memory. So if you have a 4GB of RAM system, you can only access around 3.3GB of RAM as the rest is eaten up by Virtual Memory. Now throw in a 1GB discreet graphics card and only 2.2GB of RAM is system accessible. How many people with 32bit systems have upgraded their machines which included 2GB RAM and a graphics card to 4GB of RAM believing they are actually getting a benefit? The article goes on to explain how Vista originally only showed 'useable RAM' in System Properties up to 3GB of RAM (even if 4 is present). But at the request of hardware manufactuers, Microsoft changed things after SP1 to show 'installed RAM'. The implications are rough, I hope someone can rebut but only after reading the following article:

Road to Mac OS X Snow Leopard: 64-bits, Santa Rosa, and more 

Message Edited by Robby_J on 08-13-2009 03:38 AM

[Robby_J]

If you don't want to read the whole article mentioned above, skip to the section "The great PC RAM swindle"

[Credible_Chris]

Oh, I shoud've known this "expose" would come from an Apple website.

Usually I've always naively assumed that if the computer is selling with 4GB of RAM built-in that it was running 64-bit OS, how ignorant of me to believe that OEMs wouldn't scam me at their first opportunity.  Its important to CHECK!!

I strongly agree that 32-bit OS should be dead, the world is moving on.

[mtrump]

"I strongly agree that 32-bit OS should be dead, the world is moving on."

Most definitely - hopefully, before 2038!

[CJBear1997]

Let's not forget the app's and programs, the os's now are available in 64bit versions, but the rest of the software industry needs to follow that lead. We all harp on the os's, but how many programs still have to be loaded in 32bit, or even worse(shudders) 16 bit modes.

A balanced diet is a chocolate chip cookie in each hand.

CJ.

[chris08188888]

Since this topic has not been posted on in quite a while, I would like to point out one simple fact about the Windows 7 64 bit OS.

I have finally upgraded my home computer to the Windows 7 64 bit, and I must say that I am quite surprised and pleased at the changes that they have made since Vista 64.

Many many people who have upgraded with past operating systems will all tell you the same thing : research the software you want to run before purchasing to ensure that you can get 64 bit software because of compatability issues.

Well, congradulations Microsoft for finally coming close to perfecting 32 bit emulation.

Most 32 bit software will work on Windows 7 64 bit computers!

So, if you're thinking about it, don't let software stop you. 64 bit programs will indeed run better than the 32 bit programs on this OS because 64 bit programs run faster in the first place, but you will see no difference with a 32 bit program regardless of which version of Windows 7 you choose.

So far, I have found no programs that will not run on Vista Ultimate x64.

[Krypto]

16-bit programs will not run on 64-bit operating systems. Fortunately though, there aren't a lot of 16-bit programs anymore, or many have finally upgraded or people have developed fixes. The problem occurs when you have no choice but to run legacy software.

[chris08188888]

That is a very good point about 16 bit programs, and honestly that is not something that I had even thought of.

Luckily, I have tested Microsofts Virtual Machine on my 7 x64 machine, and successfully installed DOS as well as multiple versions of Windows ... so I can say for sure that if you are using 16 bit programs, there is absolutly a legal solution for you if you still have your old windows disks ... or if it's specifically DOS based (which I would assume most 16 bit programs are) you could pull out your old DOS disks.

For those that are not aware, DOS based programs and games cannot be run on any edition of Windows 7 or Vista, so this shouldn't be new to anyone that was previously using Vista or 7 prior to thinking about the 64 bit upgrade.

[Krypto]

Actually, many 16-bit programs were made to work with Windows XP and not just DOS.  For example, I had a Canon scanner that simply wouldn't work with 64-bit OSes because it used a 16-bit driver.  Similarly, I have a 32-bit program with 16-bit components which allows me to transfer music to a hard drive which is installed in my car.  That program was meant to work on Windows XP and unfortunately the developer of the program has now essentially ceased support, so again, when I switched to my 64-bit version of Windows Vista 2 years ago, the program became largely unusable.  Now then, in some cases, others have managed work arounds by changing some of the requirements for some of the files (for example, for the latter program, I was able edit the .msi file from the partially extracted original program.  This allowed me to remove the OS requirements which allows the program to become usable again).  But this isn't something that just anyone can do, and not programs will work that way.

But as I stated, 32 and 64-bit programs have become much more commonplace, so it's no longer the same issue it used to be.  Those who require the legacy software should probably just keep their old computer for that specific purpose for when they need it, but otherwise, they can move on.