Expert: Bobbert - 2/20/2009

Question
I am getting ready to buy a new computer.  I've been looking around and find that most of the computers have Vista Home Premium 64 bit installed.  I have been using XP Home.  Will I have a hard time using my software, printer, scanner, etc.?  Is this a big issue?  Do you think that in a few years, there will be no more 32 bit systems?

Answer
Generally, I would say yes, the 64-bit "switch" is pretty painful for legacy software/hardware support. As far as 32-bit systems, they have been more or less done away with by now, hardware wise, although software has yet to approach catching up (while we have 64-bit Windows, the compatability game hasn't improved since Microsoft released 64-bit versions of Windows XP to professionals almost four years ago).

You can stay with Windows XP if you'd like, either through a downgrade, or recycle your existing licence (Microsoft does not like this, as its transferring an OEM licence, however as XP is quite hard to find, I've no issues suggesting it, as it leaves the user with a working product, just ensure that you aren't using the same licence on both systems at once, if you're wondering what the licence is, its the multi-colour sticker with your XP serial #, you'll need one of those #'s for installing XP).

I would suggest going with the downgrade, or purchasing a second copy of XP, to be quite honest, as its the more "mainstream legal" solution, and shouldn't cost more than $100 US.

The compatability issues of Vista 64-bit will hopefully be resolved with the upcoming Windows 7 (estimated release date is around December 2009/January 2010), however nothing is set in stone, and we could be in for even more problems. Either way, Windows XP's life cycle is coming dangerously close to ending overall (as in, no more updates, no more fixes, and it no longer being considered "safe"), which means many users are scrambling for an alternative.

If you do decide to go with Windows Vista, I would suggest going with the 32-bit variant, as it seems to fare much better with compatability, however it still isn't as "stable feeling" as other operating systems (such as Windows XP, or Apple's OS X).

-bob