Win XP Pro x64 viable option?

adarryladarryl No Man Stands So Tall As When He Stoops To Help a Child. Icrontian
edited April 2009 in Science & Tech
Through my work, I was just given a valid copy of Win XP Pro x64 w SP2 with COA. Is this a viable alternative to Vista or does it still have driver availability issues I remember from its initial release?

Comments

  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    I use XP x64 edition on my HTPC. It works just fine and I have no problems with driver support. The most common problem I encounter is poorly-written Windows software that attempts to convince me that it's "not compatible with this OS." The Windows compatibility mode features usually take care of the problem but there were a couple pieces of software that just wouldn't take that answer *coughEAgamesSecureROMcough*. I live without them.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • adarryladarryl No Man Stands So Tall As When He Stoops To Help a Child. Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    Thanks!
  • SoundySoundy Pitt Meadows, BC
    edited April 2009
    If the proper driver support is available for your hardware, you're probably okay, but because XP64 had kind of a short existence, there's probably a fair bit of non-mainstream hardware that won't be supported.

    The other issue is that some software still may not work with it. When I first got my Athlon64 machine, I tried it with XP64, and found everything was great EXCEPT... ATI's Multimedia Center application (the part with the TV tuner and such) for my All-in-Wonder card, wouldn't run.

    The drivers worked, other apps would work (VLC, etc.), but the MMC software itself simply wouldn't run on XP64.

    Just something to be aware of... support in general may be spotty.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    If you own a piece of hardware that's not compatible with XP64, it's either ancient as hell, or so obscure you probably should not have purchased it in the first place.

    There are no lingering support issues if you have solid hardware from a recognizable brand produced in the last, say, 4 years.

    It's time for the FUD to die.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    A completely redundant peanut gallery comment:

    WinXP64 works with everything now. 64 bit is mainstream
  • SoundySoundy Pitt Meadows, BC
    edited April 2009
    Thrax wrote:
    If you own a piece of hardware that's not compatible with XP64, it's either ancient as hell, or so obscure you probably should not have purchased it in the first place.

    There are no lingering support issues if you have solid hardware from a recognizable brand produced in the last, say, 4 years.

    It's time for the FUD to die.

    Are you kidding? There's a ton of new hardware coming out that you can't even get XP32 drivers for, let alone XP64. Trying buying a new laptop that has anything but Vista drivers available for all the components without doing a ton of digging and hacking and mickey-mousing. Can't tell me my buddy's new Acer laptop is "obscure"... or another friend's HP... or my son's Sony. My brother tried kacking Vista to put XP on his Dell XPS laptop, but there were no wireless drivers to found for it anywhere.
  • SoundySoundy Pitt Meadows, BC
    edited April 2009
    primesuspect wrote:
    A completely redundant peanut gallery comment:

    WinXP64 works with everything now. 64 bit is mainstream

    64-bit is mainstream... not necessarily XP64. It was flaky when it was released, and Vista was already nearing release by then. Its service lifespan was so short, it didn't relegate nearly the attention it needed for proper support.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    I'll repeat what I said yesterday on the same discussion:
    XP64 is fine and works great with any hardware made by a major manufacturer in the last, say, 4 years. It's not fine if you have ancient hardware or an OEM computer from a company that couldn't care less about you.

    Demonizing an OS because OEMs are deliberately choosing hardware without XP drivers is hardly a fair assessment, nor is it an accurate representation of the people using this forum who are quite content to build their own machine.
  • adarryladarryl No Man Stands So Tall As When He Stoops To Help a Child. Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    My PC is a DIY build but I put Win XP 32 bit on it even though it cannot recognize all 4 gigs of my RAM just because I had it. The XP Pro x64 dropped into my lap after I had completed my build but I thought it might be a good alternative to Vista to get all of my RAM recognized. I tried to catch a Windows 7 download when it was out but I didn't get in on time to get a copy. My hardware is all new so that is not an issue. This would be going on an AMD Phenom II X3 build I finished at the end of March/early April.
  • SoundySoundy Pitt Meadows, BC
    edited April 2009
    Thrax wrote:
    I'll repeat what I said yesterday on the same discussion:



    Demonizing an OS because OEMs are deliberately choosing hardware without XP drivers is hardly a fair assessment, nor is it an accurate representation of the people using this forum who are quite content to build their own machine.

    I didn't demonize anything. Read what I wrote:
    If the proper driver support is available for your hardware, you're probably okay, but because XP64 had kind of a short existence, there's probably a fair bit of non-mainstream hardware that won't be supported.

    The other issue is that some software still may not work with it. When I first got my Athlon64 machine, I tried it with XP64, and found everything was great EXCEPT... ATI's Multimedia Center application (the part with the TV tuner and such) for my All-in-Wonder card, wouldn't run.

    The drivers worked, other apps would work (VLC, etc.), but the MMC software itself simply wouldn't run on XP64.

    Just something to be aware of... support in general may be spotty.
    Which is essentially the same thing you said. The rest of it is my explanation for why I think this is the case. Do you disagree with that? XP64 was late to the game and had only a short development span before Vista hit the market. Thus it's something of an orphan child. This isn't "demonizing the OS", it's demonizing the parents and the general system around it.

    In the end, the message is the same: don't be surprised if it's not a smooth ride. Be aware of the potential problems going in.
  • mas0nmas0n howdy Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    I've run XP x64 on half a dozen machines here at the house at some time or another and greatly prefer it over both regular XP Pro and Vista.
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