WIN 7 64 bit -- 32 bit

[Jeff Belany]

I read through the old posts and saw that someone mentioned you cannot run 32 bit drivers on a 64 bit machine. I have WIN 7 64 bit and I know I can run in a XP compatibility mode. Would this allow me to run a laser that only has 32 bit drivers? I am looking at running a second laser that will not run on 64 bit. Any ideas on doing this other than running a second computer? Would prefer to run everything off one machine.

Any ideas greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Jeff in northern Wisconsin

[Gary Hair]

Jeff,
I don't believe that is possible, I couldn't get it to work anyway. As far as I know the XP mode is for software only, hardware and drivers still need to interface directly with Win7 and be 64 bit. If that has changed then I'd be very glad to be able to finally use the Win7 64 bit partition that has been (im)patiently sitting on my hard drive unused...

Gary

[Jeff Belany]

Gary,

Thanks for the reply. You mention a 64 bit partition. Does that mean you also have a 32 bit partition?

Jeff

[Gary Hair]

I do have both versions of windows running on their own partitions. It was a bit of a challenge setting up both and having boot manager play well with both, but I got it to work with the help of a couple of websites that explained the process. The 64 bit version hasn't been booted into in months because my laser driver won't work and it's not worth running the apps in 64 and then lasering from 32.

Gary

[Tim Bateson]

Jeff, Does the 64bit Epilog driver not work with your model?

[Jeff Belany]

Yes, the 64 bit Epilog works perfect. I'm buying a second laser that does not have (never will have) 64 bit drivers. So, I need to figure out how I am going to run the 32 bit machine. I sure hate to have 2 computers running 2 lasers. I would much prefer doing all my work on one computer.

Jeff in northern Wisconsin

[nathan mcafee]

You must have 64 bit drivers for a 64 bit OS. You can install most 32 bit programs on top of the 64 bit OS because they use an emulation mode that is sort of like a wrapper, however, the platform everything runs on must have the 64 bit drivers.

In most cases you can just install the 32 bit program, everything will happen like magic. In some you need to manually tell it to use a specific emulation mode (like windows XP).

That being said, it is possible to use what is called a virtual machine to run a copy of Windows 7 32 bit in a window on a 64 bit platform. Go to microsoft's website and search for Virtual PC. It is free and Microsoft licensing will allow you to run a copy of the OS on the OS platform without buying an additional copy. I have run 32 bit drivers in virtual PC. Not all work but if you are married to the new laser machine it is worth a try. Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

Before my new career as science teacher/laser mogul I spent 9 years working for Microsoft.

[Gary Hair]

That being said, it is possible to use what is called a virtual machine to run a copy of Windows 7 32 bit in a window on a 64 bit platform.

Do you mean Virtual Machine or Virtual PC? I thought that Virtual Machine is for servers only. Virtual PC works only on Pro and Ultimate and even though it says it has USB support, it didn't work with my laser driver. I wish it would, sure would be nice to take advantage of all the memory I have in my computer

[John Noell]

The (32-bit) version of XP running in Virtual PC is called a "virtual machine." I have had very good luck using 32 bit XP drivers when running in XP Mode on my 64 bit Win7 box. As Nathan says, all may not work but a heck of a lot do. I was quite surprised and still see it as 'magic' (despite having a coding background).