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General discussion

I messed up installing Vista Ultimate 64-bit

Aug 9, 2007 1:26AM PDT

My computer came with Vista Home Premium but because it was a 32-bit OS I was only able to use 2.8 out of the 4 gigs of RAM that my computer was capable of. So, I downloaded Vista Ultimate 64-bit from my school since that supposedly would fix this and burnt it to disk as an ISO file. I then booted the system from the disk to do a clean installation and everything seemed fine. I entered the serial # and the installation started. However, at some point something went wrong and I got the blue screen saying windows was shutting down to prevent damage to my computer. Now windows won't start in normal or safe mode. I plan on just reinstalling Home Premium from the Dell recovery disk to get back to square one but what do I need to do to get Vista Ultimate 64-bit running on my computer?

Discussion is locked

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ISO Needs To Be Extracted...
Aug 9, 2007 1:43AM PDT

Did you burn the full VISTA DVD by using a burning program to extract the ISO files to their various parts which are then burned to the disc?.. If so, the VISTA disc will have LOTS of files on it.. If not, the disc will have only one ISO file.. The single ISO file won't correctly install the operating system.

And if you did actually extract the ISO file correctly, did you set the burning program to "verify" so that you are sure all files are fully copied to the disc? It sounds like the disc is faulty.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Hold on there pal.
Aug 10, 2007 5:49AM PDT

You can't use 4 GB's of memory. Take one out.

You may even have to take two out.

Your PC can only do what the motherboard is capable of doing.

I have a Intel E6700 CPU on a MSI platinum P6N motherboard and can use only 3 GB's of memory.
Ask me what to do and I'll tell you.

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For your information.
Aug 10, 2007 5:55AM PDT

Just because the slots will hold 4 GB's does NOT mean your PC can handle 4 GB's.

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Ok
Aug 13, 2007 12:37AM PDT

So what do I do to get the most useable RAM from my computer?

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Oh, and one other thing.
Aug 10, 2007 6:18AM PDT

I already experienced this just trying to install 64 XP.

My advice to you is forget it until it is use is widespread among the public arena.


I didn't write this but it is exactly what I know.

1. Most hardware does not currently have 64-bit drivers.

Out of all the boxes that I have installed x64 Vista on, I could always get it to boot up. However, the lack of 64-bit drivers for many hardware devices typically left me without any chance of burning DVDs or listening to audio. Networking devices and card readers were frequently not supported as well. Vista x64 is pretty but it's not very fun without network access or audio.

2. In Vista x64, any driver that is not properly signed will not be able to enter the kernel and will fail to load.

3. Vista x64 currently does not backward support most x86 (32-bit) drivers.

For the most part 64-bit systems run 32-bit applications very well. However, vista x64 doesn't run x86 drivers... at least at this stage.

4. Vista x64 does not support 16-bit software.

You may think that you never, ever run 16-bit software. However, XP actually handles this legacy fairly well.

5. Very little x64 software currently exists.

x64 software runs better on a x64 system with an x64 OS. Currently, however, there is very little x64 software out there. If you have that magical combination, you do get a nice performance boost. Currently, however, this combination is way to far ahead of the curve.


Conclusion:

Most users with 64-bit hardware should install the 32-bit (x86) version of Vista.

Vista x64 is the turning point for operating systems as they transition to 64-bit. Currently, however, the majority of users will be very disappointed by installing Vista x64. The lack of 64-bit drivers for most current hardware will be very disappointing and frustrating to most users. Why push for 64-bit now anyway? The performance gains promised by 64-bit will not be seen for years until 64-bit compiled versions of software is the norm.