do the retail winxp CD's have this capability and you just need a different
product key? Or is this a completely different CD? If I upgrade from 32bit
to 64bit will my older programs still function but just at the 32bit speed
----- or will they not function period?

tuuf wrote:
> do the retail winxp CD's have this capability and you just need a different
> product key? Or is this a completely different CD? If I upgrade from 32bit
> to 64bit will my older programs still function but just at the 32bit speed
> ----- or will they not function period?



nope you cannot upgrade.
XP 64 bit requires a fresh install.

What makes you think you need a 64bit OS?

tuuf wrote:
> do the retail winxp CD's have this capability and you just need a
> different product key? Or is this a completely different CD? If
> I upgrade from 32bit to 64bit will my older programs still function
> but just at the 32bit speed ----- or will they not function period?

What capability?

You mean to use Windows XP Professional x64?
- It's a completely different product/different CD/different product key
than Windows XP Professional.

And most 32-bit programs will work fine in a 64-bit environment - but you
should check with the manufacturer of each application to be sure. Also -
not all hardware vendors created 64-bit Windows XP drivers for their
hardware. It's always best to check with the hardware vendors for each of
your hardware devices to ensure there are drivers for the OS you are wanting
to run before you start down the road very far as well.

I never wanted to run WIndows XP 64-bit. Windows Vista I did and Windows 7
I am doing. Much happier with the latter all around (32-bit or 64-bit) than
I have been witha Windows OS in a long time.

64-bit is not so much a speed thing... Not literally anyway. It's how
things are processed and it can, indeed - if the software is written to
optimize with 64-bit in mind - make things faster than before. But a 32-bit
application which runs on a 64-bit OS will be no slower or faster than it
would be on an equivalent 32-bit system.

Why are you tinking of going 64-bit Windows XP? Want to utilize more
memory?

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

tuuf wrote:
> do the retail winxp CD's have this capability and you just need a
> different product key? Or is this a completely different CD? If
> I upgrade from 32bit to 64bit will my older programs still function
> but just at the 32bit speed ----- or will they not function period?

Shenan Stanley wrote:
> What capability?
>
> You mean to use Windows XP Professional x64?
> - It's a completely different product/different CD/different
> product key than Windows XP Professional.
>
> And most 32-bit programs will work fine in a 64-bit environment -
> but you should check with the manufacturer of each application to
> be sure. Also - not all hardware vendors created 64-bit Windows XP
> drivers for their hardware. It's always best to check with the
> hardware vendors for each of your hardware devices to ensure there
> are drivers for the OS you are wanting to run before you start down
> the road very far as well.
> I never wanted to run WIndows XP 64-bit. Windows Vista I did and
> Windows 7 I am doing. Much happier with the latter all around
> (32-bit or 64-bit) than I have been witha Windows OS in a long time.
>
> 64-bit is not so much a speed thing... Not literally anyway. It's
> how things are processed and it can, indeed - if the software is
> written to optimize with 64-bit in mind - make things faster than
> before. But a 32-bit application which runs on a 64-bit OS will be
> no slower or faster than it would be on an equivalent 32-bit system.
>
> Why are you tinking of going 64-bit Windows XP? Want to utilize
> more memory?

Oh - and there is no in-place upgraded path for 32-bit Windows whatever to
64-bit Windows whatever.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Based on the questions you pose, you neither require 64 bit Windows XP
nor should you want it.

tuuf wrote:

> do the retail winxp CD's have this capability and you just need a different
> product key? Or is this a completely different CD? If I upgrade from 32bit
> to 64bit will my older programs still function but just at the 32bit speed
> ----- or will they not function period?