Migrating to 64 bit Vista

I am running Vista Business x64, and I havent run into any problems with drivers yet... I have been using the x64 as my main

OS for about 4-5 months now..

Even programs that are mainly made to run as 32 bit, will run as 32 bit but for me they have run fine.

I use a Brother MFC 420CN network printer and havent had any driver problems for the printer, scanner or fax.

These are my experiences and may differ from setup to setup..

Good Luck ! and keep us informed of your experience!

Does going to 64 bit require a fresh install or can I upgrade and not reinstall all my other software?

Thanks!

It is not an upgrade, so yes full clean install.  While you are using x32 os, go to manufacturers websites, and download their 64 bit drivers.  Intel drivers packages have both 32 and 64 drivers.  burn these on to a cd/dvd, or usb storage for installing.  I personally recommend purchasing new hard drive and doing fresh install on new hard drive.  this way you can try it test it, etc. If it doesnt work for you just put oem disk in and use new one for ext hard drive.  I did this and dont see going back to 32, but i have oem disc ready if needed.

if you have fingerprint scanner, you can download drivers from their website, but you have to purchase the fingerprint program for 14.95.  Their program works better than the dell 32 bit version.

I've had EXTREMELY good luck finding ALL the Vista x64 drivers for my M1330.  Most were on Dell's Drivers and Downloads site.  Some took a little searching because they may be listed for one particular system but actually be applicable to other systems.  The one I couldn't find was for my nVidia 8400M GS.  Windows Update found one first thing!  Now that they are all in one USB drive, I can reinstall everything in about an hour.

I'm really impressed with the speed and stability of Vista 64!

Tom
XPS 420, Q6600, 4GB, 500x2, Radeon HD2600XT, Bluetooth, eSATA, Ultimate SP1
XPS 420, Q6700, 4GB, 750GB x 2 (RAID 0), GeForce 8800 GT, Xcellerator, Bluetooth, eSATA, Ultimate SP1
XPS M1330, 2.2GHz, 4GB, 200GB (7200), SP1
XPS M1330, 2.0GHz, 4GB, 320GB, Vista Ultimate SP1 & XP Pro SP3

It sounds like it is worth doing and may be the missing link.  (A company loaned me a Latitude last year running XP Business Edition and I liked it much better than my machine.)  I read on Microsoft's site that performance improves for users who run and switch between many applications and that was sort of the reason for getting the 4 Gb of RAM.

What about disks?  I've got this RAID thing on mine.  Does the upgrade allow you to configure this? 

Your BIOS supports it and you can get the 64-bit Matrix Storage Manager from Intel....so you can install in RAID if you wish.

Can't wait until 4GB RAM sticks get cheap; then I'll go to 8GB total.

I'm still astounded by the shutdown and startup speeds.  Granted it's a new install but still....

Tom

LumberingLaptop-

Hi, my name’s Cody, and I’m working with the Windows Vista Outreach team to help answer questions folks might have about Windows Vista.  I noticed you were working on making the transition to a 64-bit version of Vista, and I wanted to share a handy resource with you. 
Zrtom is totally right, a great place to look for updated 64-bit drivers is at your PC manufacturer’s website.  However, another good place to check out might be Microsoft's new Windows Vista Compatibility Center, which you can find at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/Default.aspx

That site lets you search for specific hardware and software to see if they are compatible with a particular version of Vista.  If you can’t find what you are looking for at that site, you should check with the manufacturer of the hardware or software, and they should be able to help you out.   

Please let me know how your transition went, or if there’s any other questions you might have!

Thanks,

Cody
Windows Vista Outreach Team  

Thanks for the info.  I did the compatibility check.  I did have all of the drivers from the Dell disk which came with the computer a month ago. 

At this point, I have two remaining issues.  Vista does not recognize Blue-ray disks and it sees my C: drive as using more space than Treeview.  The manufacturer of the CD/DVD/BR drive posts no driver but instead offers links to various shareware driver detection programs.  The Blu-ray issue may be due to the Roxio software; but after spending a fair amount of time chatting with Dell tech support about the Blu-ray issue, they recommended I reinstall Vista, suspecting my core files are corrupted.  This after completing the Vista install eight days earlier.  I'd hoped to making a back-up image last week but I can't due to the Blu-ray and drive inflation issues.  Frankly, after observing all of the registry poking and rebooting from yesterday's chat session, I'd feel more comfortable reloading everything.

There has been a lot of troubleshooting since I got this machine in early August, far more than I care to admit.