Windows XP 64 Bit and Windows XP 32 Bit

Jet Storm · Feb 15, 2015

I'm think about installing Windows XP 64 Bit on my old desktop.

Will the Windows XP 64 run my old computer programs (like my old computer games [chessmates, and etc] and Microsoft Office 2003)?

Is it true 32 bit programs (like my old computer games [chessmates, and etc] and Microsoft Office 2003) will not run on Windows XP Professional (64 bit version)? I hope certain programs will work. My desktop has 4GB of ram; however, only 3GB is showing. I am currently using Windows XP Professional (32 Bit version). I am kind of confused as to why its doing that.

Have you guys heard of Virtual Box. I was told you can install an operating system as a guest operating system. If that is true, my other question is, does the guest operating system get saved onto your computer or does the guest operating system automatically uninstall itself when I finally shut down the computer. I'm actually thinking of having two operating systems on my PC desktop. Is that possible to do theoretically.

RaDiKaL_ · Feb 15, 2015

WinXP 64bits has many issues, including compatibility with 32bit programs, you'd be better keeping your 32bit version.

the 32/64bit version determines the amount of usable RAM, a 32bit OS will only be able to use 3 ~ 3.5GB of RAM, that's why while you have 4GB only 3GB is showing, still, if you want a 64bit OS better go with at least Windows 7, otherwise keep your Win XP 32bits.

Yes, Virtual Box, VMWare and others allow you to run a guest OS, it will create a single file that will behave as its own HDD so all data on it won't delete/uninstall after you shut down the pc.

You can run multiple OSs, if you intend to virtualize them with Virtual Box or other consider the fact that you'll have two OSs using your system resources, so 4GB might not be enough (it will work but possibly slower than what you'd expect), I suggest you get more RAM in order to have a smooth virtual OS.

Another option is to have a dual boot installation, that is to keep your current OS and install a 2nd one on a different partition, depending your needs this could be a better solution, unless you need to instantly switch from what you're doing on one OS to another, in that case Virtualization is the way to go.

FALC0N · Feb 15, 2015

XP 64 will have the same limitations that any 64 bit windows has. It will run 32 but programs, but not 16 bit. This is important as many 32 bit programs from the late 90's to early 2000's used 16 bit installers.

32 bit OS can only address 4GB of ram. But a portion of that address space is needed for hardware addressing. So less memory will be usable. A 64 bit OS should solve this as it can use the address space above 4gb for the hardware, freeing up enough address space for the full 4GB.

Yes, you can run XP or XP64 in a virtual machine. You could also dual boot XP and another OS.

Jet Storm · Feb 16, 2015

RaDiKaL_ :

WinXP 64bits has many issues, including compatibility with 32bit programs, you'd be better keeping your 32bit version.

the 32/64bit version determines the amount of usable RAM, a 32bit OS will only be able to use 3 ~ 3.5GB of RAM, that's why while you have 4GB only 3GB is showing, still, if you want a 64bit OS better go with at least Windows 7, otherwise keep your Win XP 32bits.

Yes, Virtual Box, VMWare and others allow you to run a guest OS, it will create a single file that will behave as its own HDD so all data on it won't delete/uninstall after you shut down the pc.
How much RAM do you recommend for a PC Desktop having a Virtual Machine? To be honest with you, my PC only have 4GB and that is the maximum it can handle. I also have a somewhat of a modern laptop. The laptop is HP Dv7-6b32us (with Intel Core I7 and etc). It came pre-installed with 4GB. I added 16 GB to it later. However, my laptop has Windows 7 Ultimate. I prefer keeping that operating system on my HP Laptop. I like windows XP because I also like old stuff as well as new stuff.

You can run multiple OSs, if you intend to virtualize them with Virtual Box or other consider the fact that you'll have two OSs using your system resources, so 4GB might not be enough (it will work but possibly slower than what you'd expect), I suggest you get more RAM in order to have a smooth virtual OS.

Another option is to have a dual boot installation, that is to keep your current OS and install a 2nd one on a different partition, depending your needs this could be a better solution, unless you need to instantly switch from what you're doing on one OS to another, in that case Virtualization is the way to go.

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Windows XP 64 Bit and Windows XP 32 Bit

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