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I'm looking to install a 64-bit version of vista and programs that I use at work is 32-bit. My question is can I run 32-bit program on a 64-bit OS? If so how?

Thanks

stx-di wrote:I'm looking to install a 64-bit version of vista and programs that I use at work is 32-bit. My question is can I run 32-bit program on a 64-bit OS? If so how?

Thanks

64 bit Vista will run most 32 bit programs with no problem. It just sees the program is 32 bit and installs it accordingly.

Some old 32 bit programs do not like 64 bit, but I have some ten year old apps running in 64 bit Vista with zero complaint.

Unless you have specific reasons for installing 64 bit Vista, the speed and performance difference is not especially "thrilling".

mgo wrote:Unless you have specific reasons for installing 64 bit Vista, the speed and performance difference is not especially "thrilling".

That depends on what applications one runs. If one runs only 32bit applications, then x64 is probably an overkill. However, if those applications have x64 alternatives, I think it´s worth moving on to these. As JDH pointed out several times, the computing world is moving towards x64 (...and probably some day 128bit ). It´s only a matter of time that most applications will become native x64. The performance gain is noticeable especially for the low-end and high-end computing.

I believe Vista x64 (and in general 64bit OSes) has a few more advantages that the OP might want to consider: It´s more stable from theoretical and practical standpoint and it´s less vulnerable to malware. Not to mention the ability to utilize more RAM (provided no hardware limitations), which with Vista and the upcoming Win 7 results in active performance gain.

BTW, while beta-testing Win 7 I found that Office 2007, despite being rather a 32bit application (according to JDH it seems to have a few x64 components), runs much smoother on the x64 platform than on the x86 one...

Just my 2$

Marin

The program I'm trying to run is ATP.

Below are the requirements:


System Operating Requirements


Recommended System Requirements:
Please Read Carefully: NavigatorV® will run on computers that meet the recommended Microsoft Windows system requirements provided they have a DVD drive. Systems may actually run with lower grades
of equipment (unless stated below as required) but are at the risk of the user’s discretion and may compromise optimum performance.

• *Required* Operating System: WIndows XP (SP2), Windows
Vista (32-bit only) or Windows Server 2003 (SP1)
• *Required* Disk Drive: DVD-ROM
• Processor: Pentium 4 or later
• System Memory: 1 GB
• Free Storage: 10 GB (estimated for a medium sized library
running EZ Update)
• Internet Connection: DSL, cable, T1 or better
• (Optional) Wireless: Suggested at 802.11g or above
• Additional Software: Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.0 (provided),
Microsoft .Net 3.0 (provided), Microsoft Excel & Word (*Required*
for NavigatorV® Forms)




NOTES:


The FAA forms provided with ATP NavigatorV® were created using Microsoft Word. ATP supports Microsoft Word only. If you do not have Microsoft Word, you can use Microsoft Word Viewer to print the FAA forms and manually enter information (this application is free and can be downloaded from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads). ATP recommends these two options. Any other word processor is not supported by ATP.

Hm, they say Vista only 32-bit... In such cases there is only one rule IMO: one has to try it out to find out if it works or not (assuming the app is 32 bit, not 16 bit).

I've been runing Vista 64-bit on my T60p for nearly one year without any major problem. So far the only program that refused to work with Vista 64-bit is Adobe Acrobat v7, which tried to install a virtual PDF printer into the system but failed.

Take a look at WOW64. It will help you understand why 32-bit Windows applications will run in a 64-bit versions of Windows without problem, well, mostly.