Are we Ready for 64 Bit – Feedback part 1
There are a couple of issues when converting to 64 bit software. One issue is that of running older software written for 32 bit systems on your new 64 Hardware and OS. A second issue is the difference in configuration of a 64 bit system in ways that differ from what you may have learned on a 32 bit environment.
Today I’m sharing a detailed response from Mark regarding the first issue of running 32 bit software on 64 bit machines and OS. Mark writes:
Hopefully, someone might benefit from my frustrations mentioned below.
Being an avid user of third party (and sometimes obscure) utilities, it is always difficult to make a “bit” architecture transition, and keep functioning with the same familiar tool sets at the same efficiency. However, the path from 16-bit to 32-bit back in the mid ‘90’s was much more painful. Sure the old Windows 95 desktop client offered a “boot to 16-bit” mode, but it was hardly “efficient” to keep rebooting between architectures. Not to mention the addition of exponentially growing HD capacities, which sometimes required the switch from FAT to FAT32/NTFS, or the multiple CPU instruction sets that appeared, or the proverbial “nail in the coffin” driver upgrades necessary, etc., etc.
In contrast, the 64-bit transition in the Microsoft eco-system has been largely assisted:
- 64-bit CPU’s have been around for more than a decade and therefore instruction standards are very mature.
- Microsoft provided the integrated virtual machine “XP mode” in Windows 7 for running incompatible programs
- Most users already run NTFS HD formats due to the capacities of present HD’s (even on external media)
- Many (if not most) 32-bit drivers still work under a 64-bit Windows 7 installation
However, the greatest headaches that I have encountered were mistakenly thought to be “64-bit” issues, and I find many have encountered the same “mistaken” assessments. Since Windows XP, one can choose to run a program in “compatibility mode”. In fact I had a number of programs and utilities running in “XP mode” because I thought that they would not run under Windows 7 64-bit, when it was simply down to the new security architecture of Windows Vista/7 as compared with Windows XP. After simply accessing the “Compatibility” tab of the properties of the program shortcut, and selecting “Windows XP (SP3)” as the “Compatibility Mode” and/or “Privilege Level” as “Run this program as an administrator”, all programs that I used to run in XP mode, can now be run natively from the 64-bit Windows 7 client.
The above solution also effected my installations of MS Access 2007/2010 (32-bit) and SQL Server 2005/2008 (32-bit). Any queries that I ran from an Access form or SQL Server Management Studio, were painfully slow, and we’re orders of magnitude slower compared to the same installations under a 32-bit WinXP or Win7. After extensively analyzing the SQL Server/Windows logs, I discovered there was some common .NET error showing up. After simply running Access and SQL Server 2005/2008 in the XP compatibility mode and with administrator privileges, everything began running optimally fast again. Running as administrator may present security issues, but for in-house developments, this may be acceptable for supporting legacy 32-bit installations until an upgrade path is possible.
As a clarification, this only works for “programs”, not for incompatible drivers.
I’ve been working with Windows Server 2012 a lot lately and have found that a lot of the solutions Mark presents are implemented in a different way. Group Policy is often the required configuration method for establishing software credentials outside of the norm.
Are you a guru with Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012? Are there key differences we need to understand when working with the new Windows OS? Share your experience by making a reply below or sending an Email to btaylor@sswug.org.
Cheers,
Ben
$$SWYNK$$
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