Windows 7 (and student discount)

[erkishhorde]

So, with XP about to die, I'm not terribly fond of the idea of switching to Vista. I'm hearing some things about Windows 7 and students being able to get a copy for $30. Anybody tried 7 yet or heard anything good or bad?

Linky if you're a student. http://www.win741.com/

edit: Oh, I just submitted my email and found that I'm still able to get this.  But another quandary has arisen. 32 bit or 64 bit. I've got a 64 bit processor in my computer but I'm not utilizing it right now. I'm still running 32 bit OS and everything. What are the techies' thoughts on 32 bit vs 64 bit?

[derby]

What are the techies' thoughts on 32 bit vs 64 bit?

there are only two reasons i would run a 32-bit OS:

1) i had a 32-bit-only processor

2) i had a peripheral without 64-bit drivers

[Mad Duc]

Agreed - unless you have a real reason to run 32bit don't.

[factorPlayer]

XP is hardly 'about to die'

To be sure, it is on its way out now, but it is so entrenched in the PC world it will still be common for at least another couple years.

Only microsoft could make an OS that was viable for 10 years!

[hypurone]

x64 all the way. It can address and use waaaaay more memory than x86. It's code is inherently more stable than 32bit by thread design. Go for 64bit man! 

[derby]

x64 all the way. It can address and use waaaaay more memory than x86.

waaaaay more memory than you'll ever need to use on a desktop system (in your near lifetime).

[mitt]

To be sure, it is on its way out now, but it is so entrenched in the PC world it will still be common for at least another couple years.

I have heard support & updates for XP until 2014.

mitt

[mitt]

there are only two reasons i would run a 32-bit OS:

1) i had a 32-bit-only processor

2) i had a peripheral without 64-bit drivers

Odd ball question - could autocad 2006 run on windows 7 64bit?  That is one reason I have my main computer at home still running 32bit XP.

mitt

[He Man]

Odd ball question - could autocad 2006 run on windows 7 64bit?  That is one reason I have my main computer at home still running 32bit XP.

mitt

I get hangups with Autocad 2006 when i installed it onto windows 7 RC. Autodesk wont even work. I have Autocad 2006 on my Vista 64bit though. runs fine.

[ducatiz]

waaaaay more memory than you'll ever need to use on a desktop system (in your near lifetime).

"640K ought to be enough for anybody.."

I have 4 gigs in my XP desktop and pagefile is at 12 gigs.  I seem to use a lot of RAM. 

I want to switch to W7/64 but I am afraid some of my stuff won't go, like my APS film scanner.  (I have a LOT of film I am scanning from my artfag days)

[He Man]

your best bet is to probably contact the manufacturer. If they cant give you any words of wisdom, then you can always install windows 7 RC 64bit as a dual boot and try it out. if it works then migrate to the real windows 7. if not then just take it off and stick with XP until theres more support.

[ducatiz]

your best bet is to probably contact the manufacturer. If they cant give you any words of wisdom, then you can always install windows 7 RC 64bit as a dual boot and try it out. if it works then migrate to the real windows 7. if not then just take it off and stick with XP until theres more support.

Konica/Minolta is out of the film business, kaput.  it's an orphaned product.  It's a DiMage Scan Dual IV.  .. 

[derby]

"640K ought to be enough for anybody.."

i was thinking that when i wrote my comment.  

however, there's a big difference between 640K/~4GB and ~4GB/~16EB (16 million terabytes) of memory.

16EB is so ridiculous that current 64-bit architecture doesn't even support it (AMD64 has a 52-bit physical memory limit).

I have 4 gigs in my XP desktop and pagefile is at 12 gigs.  I seem to use a lot of RAM. 

are you looking at "pf usage" or the "total physical memory available" in task manager? they tell you different things.

also, xp and vista/7/server2008 handle memory differently. the latter like to "fill up" much of the available physical memory to keep more stuff cached instead of swapping it out to disk to free up more physical memory.

I want to switch to W7/64 but I am afraid some of my stuff won't go, like my APS film scanner.  (I have a LOT of film I am scanning from my artfag days)

make sure there are 64-bit drivers avail before making the switch. check with the manufacturer. it'll either say they have some, they're built into windows, or they're not available.

[derby]

Konica/Minolta is out of the film business, kaput.  it's an orphaned product.  It's a DiMage Scan Dual IV.  .. 

looks like there's no vendor-supplied driver for it, but applications like vuescan have native support for the scanner using their own driver under vista/7.

[ducatiz]

i was thinking that when i wrote my comment. 

however, there's a big difference between 640K/~4GB and ~4GB/~16EB (16 million terabytes) of memory.

right, but i just need more than 4 gigs.. don't need 16 EB, but I could use 16 Gb.,

are you looking at "pf usage" or the "total physical memory available" in task manager? they tell you different things.

total available and pf usage when under load.