UPDATE: 2/22 I’ve solved the problem, I’ll have a complete report in a day or two to help others that might be up against what I was. I’ll offer a complete “how to”. – Anthony
This is just a short note to point out that if you have an opportunity to buy a new PC or laptop, demand Windows 32 bit OS.
Promises made by Microsoft of 32 bit application compatibility are blatantly false (at least in my case). After two days of pulling my hair out with Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium, then buying the “anytime upgrade” to “professional” which still didn’t solve the problem. My problem: a very expensive broadcast multimedia program that demands 32 bit operation. Yes I’ve tried XP mode and Virtual PC, still fail. I’m faced now with:
1. Returning my new HP laptop and telling them to shove it into the refurb bin.
2. Buying the full retail version of Windows 7 32 professional, making my laptop overpriced.
3. Driving to Redmond and giving Ballmer a swift kick in the butt for being dumber than Steve Jobs at making customers stranded with no place to go.
There’s no downgrade path to 32 bit from 64 bit, no optional install, no recovery, only more money down the toilet for a retail license I already own, which is 64 not 32. Or return the whole unit as far as I can tell. Pissed off I am.
Ideas welcome. Please, no, don’t tell me to buy a Mac or run Linux, as they are not solutions to this particular problem.
REPLY: Update, WUWT readers come through with a solution, providing a way to get a CD ISO of the 32 bit OS, and advising that the COA key for 64 bit will also work for 32 bit, something I didn’t know. Thanks!
The irony: I could have solved this issue with the Technet volume license subscription that I used to have, but that’s another licensing horror story where I fell into a trap I couldn’t recover from. The subscription lapsed a few days, I went to renew it, but found there’s no option for renewal on my login, and I’ve spent 3 months in runaround with MS volume licensing, who sold me a $900 solution that still didn’t work, getting a refund, then being told I had to buy the renewal through external distributors. When I contact them, they don’t know what I’m talking about and a vicious cycle ensues. I finally gave up.
My issues with MS are ones of over complexity in solving what should be simple licensing problems.
Thanks to WUWT readers for their solution suggestions.
I’ll post a new update when I have the results of this new attempt.
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With a lot of respect mr. Watts, but why smearing MS’ ‘name while not mentioning the name of “a very expensive broadcast multimedia program” ?
“Promises made by Microsoft of 32 bit application compatibility are blatantly false (at least in my case). After two days of pulling my hair out with Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium, then buying the “anytime upgrade” to “professional” which still didn’t solve the problem. My problem: a very expensive broadcast multimedia program that demands 32 bit operation.”
I haven’t run into any 32 bit vs 64 bit application compatibility problems. Probably your program contains drivers for equipment. Drivers are not interchangable.
Frankly, the “very expensive broadcast multimedia program” is to blame here… demand that they support the 64 bit OS. They’ve had years to get it working. With Win7 32, the OS can only access 3 GB of memory.
AH.. forgot to mention, I recommend that EVERYONE buy Win7 x64 unless you have ancient equipment that has basically been abandoned on the driver front.
why do people run out and install a new OS whenever they are told to? Was there something wrong with the previous one?
Had win 2000NT, never wanted or needed xp.. eventually i had to buy a new pc so I installed xp. This time, i backed up the installation CD, no way i am going over to win 7. The thing is the most annoying ever, it constantly wants something from me. Deleted it from my new laptop and installed xp.
Have had like 5 photoshop versions so far, and 3-4 ms offices. Each new version of any program takes up double the ram and processor time, 3x as much disk space and offers nothing new/useful. Each version gets more autonomous and runs things as it pleases., surfs the internet, updates itself, is progressively more needy, wants attention, and is less and less usable. I have no idea what it has done to my computer most of the time. I turn the updates off, turn reminders off, but it reminds me anyway.. my freakin e-mail wants to chat most of the time with people/bots I do not know nor wish to know. Websistes want my nonexisting facebook account to be able to leave comments etc. etc..
the thing goes like this: we provide new program, but you need a new computer to run it. The new computer is capable of such and such, just buy the new program..
I mean, seriously, who needs a 24″ screen and 32 million colours, or 8 channel sound?
so in addition I need a new table, and a cinema surround system. And the human eye is capable of only 16 000 colours. So i guess i ll be needing to buy a new pair of eyes some time soon
they even put out a new bike model each year, for Gods sake. And you cant repair anything on it, it is all “cartridge” design. Where does it stop?
and once you are in the “cloud”, you can forget any future “climategates”
dont be a rat in the rat race 😉
Anthony, somehow I misread that you in fact had the 64-bit DVD for Win7 with your new laptop and I suggested to just match the type of DVD and obtain the corresponding 32-bit disc, but obviously you cannot do what I suggested. Your arrangement no doubt has a recovery partition that allows resetting to its shipped seal state (likely destroying your data in the process). Your best option is bullying the retail dealer of the laptop to supplying you with the DVD (might as well demand both BTW) which may be re-branded OEM Win7 discs. With enough effort they might send them for nothing, but possibly a small charge. All laptops I have bought have come with 64-bit installed and with both DVD’s included but that may be because I select ‘Pro’ when picking the specs. FYI, the DVD’s always contain all the versions within the WIM images on the discs (Premium, Pro, Ultimate etc).
This is generally good advice for all computer buyers: DEMAND the DVD’s, both of them or cancel the order and go somewhere else. Tell them No Discs, No Sale, buh bye. In this declining economy (yes, it will get much worse now) the retailers will not be arguing with sure sales, so TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS! You are in a buyer’s market now. Demand those Win7 discs and tell them you will blog about this if they cause you any fuss. The recovery partition method is the worst idea yet invented in the race to the bottom of cost cutting. Personally, I do not want to ever even see the startup option to ‘Reset to Factory Sealed State? Press ‘Y’ to destroy your computer!. That is just so sad.
LOL! That is hands down the FUNNIEST thing I have seen in a long time WRT computer, tech and Microsoft! Please tell me that actually happened. Please!
I can see a whole new genre of TV commercials here: Realty Commercials! Cops revisited! On location at Best Buy. Oh man. I’m surprised Apple didn’t think of this one yet (pssst, don’t tell ’em). Lol.
“”””” kiki says:
February 23, 2011 at 7:08 am
why do people run out and install a new OS whenever they are told to? Was there something wrong with the previous one?
Had win 2000NT, never wanted or needed xp.. eventually i had to buy a new pc so I installed xp. This time, i backed up the installation CD, no way i am going over to win 7. The thing is the most annoying ever, it constantly wants something from me. Deleted it from my new laptop and installed xp.
Have had like 5 photoshop versions so far, and 3-4 ms offices. Each new version of any program takes up double the ram and processor time, 3x as much disk space and offers nothing new/useful. Each version gets more autonomous and runs things as it pleases., surfs the internet, updates itself, is progressively more needy, wants attention, and is less and less usable. I have no idea what it has done to my computer most of the time. I turn the updates off, turn reminders off, but it reminds me anyway.. my freakin e-mail wants to chat most of the time with people/bots I do not know nor wish to know. Websistes want my nonexisting facebook account to be able to leave comments etc. etc..
the thing goes like this: we provide new program, but you need a new computer to run it. The new computer is capable of such and such, just buy the new program..
I mean, seriously, who needs a 24″ screen and 32 million colours, or 8 channel sound?
so in addition I need a new table, and a cinema surround system. And the human eye is capable of only 16 000 colours. So i guess i ll be needing to buy a new pair of eyes some time soon “””””
Well I need a 24 inch screen; in fact I need a 26 inch screen which is what I use; and it is a real fair dinkum screen with 1920 x 1200 pixels. Yes I’d like one of those 32 inch ones with higher resolution. I need to work with a dozen windows of graphic information open at any time; which is what it going on behind this postage.
As for the 16,000 colors, I presume you are saying that there are 14 bits of color information; well lets say 15 bits so there is five bits per primary color. Well that is not any 16,000 different colors., five of those bits are nothing but brightness information so there’s really only 10 bits of color information or only 1000 colors. You see 1,1,1 and 255,255,255 are exactly the same color, just difefrent brightness.
I believe that there may be 4096 colors; I don’t believe the human eye can detect any more.
If you have a uniform screen, with all pixels the same, except one which differs by one in one primary color level, and you can see that pixel on the screen; then you can say its a different color. Otherwise it is balderdash.
We had 32,000 “colors” back in the days of CRTs with their phosphor screens. There was more electron beam crosstalk over the phosphor dots, than you could distinguish as different information.
today’s TVs claim 1,000,000 : 1 dynamic contrast ratios. You can unplug the set from the power, and you can’t get the screen black enough to meet that ridiculous claimed spec; and the room light reflection from either the screen or the polished rounded picture frame surround, is way in excess of what black level they claim; well unless you watch TV in a Totally dark enclosed room; and the picture reflected off your room furniture back onto the screen will easily exceed that absurd contrast background number. The marketters are simply lying in their teeth. HP makes its monitors with mirror reflective scrrens. You can buy a room mirro for a fraction of the cost of a computer monitor.
If I was head of HP, I would fire every engineer, and every marketting type that had anything to do with their computer monitor products. We all used to work our A**** off trying to get off pixels to be off, rather than reflections of room lighting.
I just realized I offered no solution to the problem! Silly me..
Well, it goes something like this 🙂
1. Copy data to external drive
2. Format hard drive
3. install windows xp professional, 32 bit is just fine. No worthwhile program that you would use at home needs 64 bits. Well, maybe Met office climate models, home edition..
4. wait for windows 8 sp3 to come out in a year or two, with all problems resolved.
Computers are really one field where it is NOT desirable to be cutting edge. You just end up paying much too much and having problems you could have avoided.
5. buy Mac: I see is not an option. Considering that windows 7 is a “bit” similar to the mac os, which I had the misfortune of using for 5 years, Mac has the definite advantage that it is immune to 90% of all malware out there. and it never crashes. And I mean really.. never. The 10 programs that exist for it work perfectly :))
I did not read all the responses, however MS is very clear that Windows 7 will not recongize drivers that are not signed. The personal confuser (PC) is not exactly what got us to the moon. 🙂 Call Algorius….he invented all things.
What is all this about? I still use Windows98, it runs like a bullet and sneers at all viruses and trojans. OK, it can’t support new-fangled 21st century hardware…
Anthony,
I just noticed this article on Win7.