64 bit hardware, compatibility with 32 bit OS DWatson 4/14/2007 7:26:02 PM Based on everything I have read here and elsewhere is is accurate that I can buy 64 bit hardware and intall either 32 or 64 bit OS versions based on what software i might be loading? I need to do some software testing, but I just want to ensure that if my information is bad about the 64 bit stuff i think will work that i can reimage back to the 32 bit OS version on new hardware for now and try again in 6 months or so when things catch up. I will have to buy several pieces of 64bit hardware and need to make sure it is a safe plan.

Re: 64 bit hardware, compatibility with 32 bit OS Theo <theo[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> 4/14/2007 8:08:49 PM The only pieces of hardware that are "64-bit" are the motherboard and the CPU. All other hardware you purchase will function in a x86 series computer whether it is 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, or 64-bit as long as the board has slots the hardware will fit into. Obviously you can't plug an ISA board into a PCI slot, and so forth. You do need a 64-bit platform, board & CPU, to run 64-bit operating systems, and you can run either 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, or 64-bit operating systems on an x86 extended (64-bit) CPU. Most 32-bit software will run on Win x64 and/or Vista x64. The biggest problems are when a 32-bit program uses a 16-bit installer. DWatson wrote: [Quoted Text] > Based on everything I have read here and elsewhere is is accurate that I can > buy 64 bit hardware and intall either 32 or 64 bit OS versions based on what > software i might be loading? > > I need to do some software testing, but I just want to ensure that if my > information is bad about the 64 bit stuff i think will work that i can > reimage back to the 32 bit OS version on new hardware for now and try again > in 6 months or so when things catch up. I will have to buy several pieces of > 64bit hardware and need to make sure it is a safe plan.

Re: 64 bit hardware, compatibility with 32 bit OS "Charlie Russel - MVP" <charlie[ at ]mvKILLALLSPAMMERSps.org> 4/14/2007 8:44:34 PM Assuming we are talking about x64 hardware, the answer is yes, it is completely compatible with a 32-bit OS. (x64 is Microsoft's word for hardware that uses the AMD64 instruction set. This includes 64-bit hardware from AMD, and "EM64T" hardware from Intel. It does NOT include "Itanium" or "IA64" hardware from Intel.) -- Charlie. http://msmvps.com/xperts64 http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel "DWatson" <DWatson[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:13730704-7418-4EA2-905A-96DB01A6B09C[ at ]microsoft.com... [Quoted Text] > Based on everything I have read here and elsewhere is is accurate that I > can > buy 64 bit hardware and intall either 32 or 64 bit OS versions based on > what > software i might be loading? > > I need to do some software testing, but I just want to ensure that if my > information is bad about the 64 bit stuff i think will work that i can > reimage back to the 32 bit OS version on new hardware for now and try > again > in 6 months or so when things catch up. I will have to buy several pieces > of > 64bit hardware and need to make sure it is a safe plan.

Re: 64 bit hardware, compatibility with 32 bit OS "John Barnes" <jbarnes[ at ]email.net> 4/14/2007 9:31:01 PM If you plan to take an image of your 32 bit system now, and image it back on new equipment there will be a number of considerations you need to take into account. Two are, the drivers associated with the new hardware, and how the drive will enumerate in your configuration. I would add that I haven't had the luck Theo has had at getting 32-bit programs to run on Vista64. Some problems are Vista and some related to 64-bit. "DWatson" <DWatson[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:13730704-7418-4EA2-905A-96DB01A6B09C[ at ]microsoft.com... [Quoted Text] > Based on everything I have read here and elsewhere is is accurate that I > can > buy 64 bit hardware and intall either 32 or 64 bit OS versions based on > what > software i might be loading? > > I need to do some software testing, but I just want to ensure that if my > information is bad about the 64 bit stuff i think will work that i can > reimage back to the 32 bit OS version on new hardware for now and try > again > in 6 months or so when things catch up. I will have to buy several pieces > of > 64bit hardware and need to make sure it is a safe plan.

Re: 64 bit hardware, compatibility with 32 bit OS DWatson 4/14/2007 10:06:00 PM Thanks guys. I appreciate the feedback. "John Barnes" wrote: [Quoted Text] > If you plan to take an image of your 32 bit system now, and image it back on > new equipment there will be a number of considerations you need to take into > account. Two are, the drivers associated with the new hardware, and how the > drive will enumerate in your configuration. I would add that I haven't had > the luck Theo has had at getting 32-bit programs to run on Vista64. Some > problems are Vista and some related to 64-bit. > > "DWatson" <DWatson[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message > news:13730704-7418-4EA2-905A-96DB01A6B09C[ at ]microsoft.com... > > Based on everything I have read here and elsewhere is is accurate that I > > can > > buy 64 bit hardware and intall either 32 or 64 bit OS versions based on > > what > > software i might be loading? > > > > I need to do some software testing, but I just want to ensure that if my > > information is bad about the 64 bit stuff i think will work that i can > > reimage back to the 32 bit OS version on new hardware for now and try > > again > > in 6 months or so when things catch up. I will have to buy several pieces > > of > > 64bit hardware and need to make sure it is a safe plan. > >