What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

[travistee]

Gateway had my fx7026 in for repair. They tried to fix a problem I was having by installing a 32 bit bios I instead of the one the specs call for) and 3gb drivers ( I have 4 gb of memory).

What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista.
I had one error message about the 32 bit bios not being supported with the 64bit OS, but I don't remember how I got that message.

Gateway

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

You don't need another BIOS to run a 64-bit OS nor being required to flash the BIOS again to switch to a 32-bit OS.

The same BIOS usually works with all OS modes.

[bgavin]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

If you only have 4gb memory, why not use a 32-bit OS? I have about 3.4gb available after subtracting the limitations of the 4gb addressing space with 32-bit XP.

One usually goes to a 64-bit OS so they can have 32gb or more ram. Otherwise, the driver hassles are not worth the grief for only 4gb.

[travistee]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

I was planning on adding more memory later.

Apparently they have a problem getting it to run right with 4GB of memory, so they tried to pass it off with 3GB drivers.

I'm trying to explain to them that I didn't buy it to use 3GB of memory, and get them to either fix it or take it back. They are not very cooperative.

[bgavin]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

The 3.x gigabyte limitation of 32-bit XP is fully disclosed and documented.

My ABit IP35 Pro has 3.4gb available, and 0.6gb consumed by non-addressable system requirements. I still have 1.4gb more than I would have with a pair of 1gb sticks, and still have dual-channel mode working. 3x1gb sticks disables dual channel.

I don't game or video edit, so I'm naive about huge memory needs for this applications. I do know there is a lot of chatter about compatibility problems and a lack of drivers for the 64-bit versions, so I'm asking if the big memory thing is worth the hassle.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

travistee
They didn't do a thing wrong. - That's how it works.
Explanations are all over the Internet and have been there for years.

XP or Vista doesn't matter. (Except that Vista is more of a hog.)
32-bit vs 64-bit does.
32-bit is limited to 4Gb less the address space needed for drivers.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

I don't game or video edit, so I'm naive about huge memory needs for this applications.

Very few people -actually- use more than 1 GB.
Very VERY few -actually- use more than 2 GB.
- Probably Graphics designers or someone that does rendering (animation). Maybe extreme gamers.

Marketers have people convinced they need to max out their RAM and for the vast majority of people that's total hog-wash.
- Just because it's in there doesn't mean it's being used. - At all.

.

[travistee]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

wont the 3GB drivers limit the memory I can use?

Its a Vista 64 with 4GB memory now and I want to expand it later.

They didn't tell me exactly which drivers they installed.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

I.C. your confusion now:
A driver package may be 3GB on a hard drive but only a tiny piece of that loads into RAM for it to run.

Why don't you see how much RAM you actually use before running off to buy more?
If Vista works like previous Windoze versions you can set up Task Manager to monitor memory use.

.

[travistee]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

Its not the space on the harddrive.

They want to use their 32 bit software for bios and drivers so it will only be able to see 3 GB of memory, even with vista 64.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

That would mean the drivers are 1GB not 3GB.
They aren't doing anything wrong.
That's how it works with Windows.
If you don't like it you need to get rid of Windows.

There's GOT to 10,000 web pages on-line that explain all this by now.

.

[bgavin]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

Vista Home Premium with the aero interface enable idles at 0.97gb ram consumption.

Disabling the aero interface recovers 200+ megs of memory, but it is still a pig. I've not seen any of my clients exceed 2gb, even with Vista.

I have 4gb on my primary workstation, and use it all. I run multiple Virtual Machines at various times, which eats up the memory. This is not a normal situation for 99% of regular users.

The only machines I've seen that require more than 4gb are servers running large databases or Exchange. My son's shop runs 32gb on all their SQL-2005 servers, and they use it all. He is in the process of increasing ram in all his database servers.

[jpdoe]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

Remember how messy was the transition to 32bit OSs for Microsoft? I mean... how much time did we have to wait to have a real 32bit OS for our 32bit CPUs? The worst thing is that these days there was real advantage in the switch. Nowadays, other than maximum usable RAM, there doesn't seem to be much advantage.
Either way... I would really like a definitive switch once and for all. No more new 32bit MS OS, please.

[willawake]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

except that it is the future and it is interesting/cool

[bgavin]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

I installed Windows 7 into VMware today.
One of the more interesting things is the reduced memory footprint.
It is currently idling at 323mb used, default installation.

I figure Windows Vista has already gone the way of Windows ME, and the follow-on Windows 7 is probably something I should learn.

[KeriJane]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

Arrrgh!

I went through this whole thing YEARS ago!

32-bit Windows XP or Vista maxes out at 3.something GB. REGARDLESS of how much physical Ram is in your system... I have 8gb in this Mac Pro and it doesn't do a thing for XP (in Boot Camp)

That's actually pretty good considering the theoretical maximum is 4GB for a 32-bit Processor.

So, I went to 64-bit XP.... and Ta Da! 64-bit computing. Only one teensie thing...Absolutely NO software supported!

That is, nobody made software that would even RUN on XP64 let alone take advantage of 64-bit operation. Even now, REAL EXPENSIVE stuff like Edius and Adobe Premiere Pro say "Certified for use on 32-bit Vista or XP ONLY".

I found a happy answer though...
Mac!
Look! No BIOS! (It's got EFI instead)
For OS, Leopard! It's a 64-bit AND a 32-bit OS at the same time (as far as programs are concerned) It can use all 16GB this machine can physically handle (Mac Pro 1.1) and put it to good use even if individual programs can't.
Unlike Vista/XP 64bit, I haven't had any compatibility problems with 32-bit programs, even with a pretty old favorite..

Yay! my Windows box sold!
Keri

[PCBONEZ]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

Electronic Fuel Injection?
~ KOOL !!!!!!

[jpdoe]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extensi...ware_Interface

It has been around for years on pc clones too, but it didn't catch on.
I've read lately that MSI implemented it on a motherboard, as a concept.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/...033405/msi-efi

But at this point this implementation doesn't add anything of real value, when compared to the traditional BIOS.

[KeriJane]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

Hello.
From what I understand, EFI (Extensibe Firmware Interface) has some pretty good advantages, some of which Microsoft is fighting against.

Advantage one: BIOS requires use of 16-bit processor mode, a throwback to the 286 platform! This means that a CPU installed on a BIOS infected system must be designed to support 16-bit operation, if only to start the computer! The last time I had a 286 computer we was dancing the Macarena!

Advantage two: a nice, built-in Boot Manager. Also, EFI can support a "mini OS" that is capable of troubleshooting hardware, act as a disk utility, basically anything that we use UBCD for. It can even emulate a BIOS in order to support 32-bit Windows! Sadly Mac doesn't exploit much of this aspect other than the Boot Manager and the BIOS Emulator.

Advantage three: This is the one Microsoft hates for some reason.... EFI can load Device Drivers into the Firmware, thus relieving the OS from that duty and speeding up Boot times. That said, Microsoft's 64-bit OS's do support EFI-based boards.

Advantage four: It Boots Fast!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extensi...ware_Interface

Have Fun,
Keri

[jpdoe]

Re: What problems will I have with 32 bit bios and 64 bit vista

Hello, KeriJane
I was referring to the EFI implementation MSI used on its boards. At this point it only implements what's found on regular BIOSes.
Thanks for the info, though. I was not aware of advantage three.