[RESOLVED] [64] Dual booting vista and xp-64

[MikeCan]

Hello everyone. Just a couple questions .

1)I'm currently using xp pro 32 bit, but have a 64 bit version sitting around. I also recently got the 32bit Vista and 64bit as well (go free college software!). I built my PC back in October and originally planned on setting up a RAID, but didn't have the money to get an extra hard disk, now I do. So basically my plan is to set up the RAID and dual install xp 64 and vista 64. I have a Pentium D 805 and 2GB of RAM, so I was wondering if my system could handle the 64bit versions fine and if those would be recommended over their 32bit counterparts?

2)Also I've never backed up my applications before and transfered them to a new HDD or what not. I know people usually just reinstall from the hard copy, but I have quite a few applications that are simply downloads like Steam (gaming) and Zone Alarm Security Suite and was wondering if I can just plop those straight from the programs folder onto an external drive then after I have everything installed plop them straight on over again (seems like that would skip installing any drivers and registry keys for the programs rendering them useless?). I'd rather not have to re-download a lot of stuff because it is gigabytes worth of data and I only have a 2mb cable connection... any suggestions on application backups?

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions! Have a great day!

-Michael

[Steve R Jones]

I would use the 32 bit OS's since there isn't any real good reason to use the 64bit...(except maybe the 4 gigs of ram)

No can just copy Program files folder to another machine and expect it to work...There are tons of files that get copied to the Windows folders and tons of entries to the registry...

Acronis True Image will let you transfer your single drive image to a Raid setup...Course you'll need a third drive...

[MikeCan]

Awesome, I'll look into Acronis True Image and see what I can do. Thanks for the tips... so why no advantage to 64 bit?

[SpywareDr]

... so why no advantage to 64 bit?

Yet ...

The battle between 64-bit vs 32-bit will inevitably yield 64-bit as the victor, but the transition is going to take some time. Just as it did with the 8-bit to 16-bit and then 16-bit to 32-bit transition, it'll take years for software vendors to make the switch from 32-bit to 64-bit.

[SuperSparks]

Having said that, there is little disadvantage to running x64 now, as long as you can find drivers OK - I have been since last November. There are additional security features in x64 that should make it a bit more resistant to malware, and it runs 32-bit apps just as well as Vista x86 does, so there is no real downside to it, at least none that I've found so far.

[MikeCan]

Thanks everyone, I'll take a look to see if I can find x64 drivers for what I use and if I have everything covered I'll probably go with that . Thanks again for the advice!