A couple of weeks ago stories started to appear on the Internet talking about the increased percentages of 64 bit Windows that was accessing the Windows Update site and I got intrigued about trying to run the 64 bit system again myself.
So I went ahead and cleared out my secondary 300GB SATA drive and booted up using my Windows Vista Ultimate 64 Bit install DVD disk. Vista is quite good at taking care of the dual boot menu so I was not worried about that with the exception of renaming the entries to ID 32 vs 64 bit at the end. I used EasyBCD to edit those entries and set the menu delay.
Anyway, installing 64 bit Windows is just like installing the 32 bit version – absolutely no difference at all. Once the system booted into the final stages and allowed me to pick a user name, photo and desktop background it ran through the normal system tests and then gave me access to the desktop.
At that time I started the update process. The first scan of the system with Windows Update resulted in 62 important updates and 41 optional ones appearing. Most of the optional updates were the language packs. So began the update odyssey and it only took two more cycles to get everything updated on the system. I was impressed in the fact that Windows Update had drivers for much of my peripherals. It identified and installed drivers for my Logitech webcam and its sound element, Realtek Gigabit ethernet card, ActivCard USB card reader, Pinnacle 800e USB TV Tuner, Radeon 1200 (on the mother board) and my Radeon 1650.
So all in all very good at finding my devices and setting them up for use but then I do not have anything real obscure.
The big run for me right now with my 64 nit install is that I have barely booted into the system to really start testing how it will function on a daily use basis. That is my next step – I want to be able to see if I can do those things I do each day in 64 bit Windows and make the cut over to it on a full time basis. I have a lot of software to test out and see if it will work as well.
More to follow.
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Richard is the Owner of WindowsObserver.com and has been involved in tech for over 25 years. His first website – AnotherWin95.com – came online in 1995. Back then he used GeoCities Web Hosting for it and what you see here today is the result of the work he has continued on the site since 1995. In January 2010 his community contributions were recognized by Microsoft when he was awarded the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award for Windows Desktop Experience. In January 2011 he was renewed as a Microsoft MVP but in a new category called Windows Expert - Consumer and in January 2012 he received the award for the third time.
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I’ve ran 64 bit Vista off and on since beta 2, but I’ve been running it steadily for the last 6 months without any problems. The most obscure thing I have attached is my Griffin Technology Powermate (amazing little device). I have also found that the 64 bit iTunes runs way better on Windows than the 32 bit version does.
While I haven’t noticed a dramatic difference, my system is a little snappier running 64 bit Vista, although it’s more noticeable when I’m running XP via Virtual PC.
I hope everything works as well for you as it has for me!
can you tellus how you got the powermate driver installed? I’ve tried 1.5 and 2.1 and can’t get it to install powrmate.sys.
I’ve ran 64 bit Vista off and on since beta 2, but I’ve been running it steadily for the last 6 months without any problems. The most obscure thing I have attached is my Griffin Technology Powermate (amazing little device). I have also found that the 64 bit iTunes runs way better on Windows than the 32 bit version does.
While I haven’t noticed a dramatic difference, my system is a little snappier running 64 bit Vista, although it’s more noticeable when I’m running XP via Virtual PC.
I hope everything works as well for you as it has for me!
can you tellus how you got the powermate driver installed? I’ve tried 1.5 and 2.1 and can’t get it to install powrmate.sys.
[...] posted a few weeks ago about installing Vista Ultimate x64 Edition on my desktop and how that experience went. Since that time I have probably booted into Vista [...]