It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
Community
General discussion (archive)Upgrading to Windows 7 - 32 or 64 bit?(19 posts)solved(19 posts)solved
(19 posts)solved
Pages:
1
2
This is my favourite topic
Posted December 28, 2012
Depends on what exactly you call "old games". Also, what amount of RAM have you installed? If it's 4 GB or less a 64-bit system will gain you hardly any advantage. If you have more or are planning to upgrade in the future though and if you have a modern CPU, you should definitely go for a 64-bit system.

I can't comment on the problematic of running a 64-bit system because, personally, in all the time I've been working with 64-bit systems now I've never had a single problem. In fact, I have switched to 64-bit years ago for both, my primary system (Linux based) as well as my gaming system (Windows 7 Professional), and I have never looked back.

All Windows 64-bit systems come with a subsystem called WoW64 (Windows 32-bit on Windows 64-bit) by the way to ensure that 32-bit software can still be executed on the system. So chances are good that your 32-bit software will also run fine on a 64-bit system. And for old DOS games -- as has already been mentioned -- there are programs such as ScummVM (originally designed for LucasArts adventures; runs a lot more games though) or dosbox.

If I were you and wanted to make absolutely sure, I'd look which games I plan to install and play on my new system and check the internet if people reported problems that couldn't be solved.

Otherwise, if you can't verify that certain programs you plan to use won't run on a 64-bit system and if you have a modern CPU capable of executing 64-bit code and 4 GB of RAM or more, I would not recommend considering a 32-bit system anymore.
Posted December 28, 2012
The only downside to Windows 7 64-bit is that you can't natively run DOS or 16-bit Windows (Windows 3.x) programs. DOSBox can easily take care of your DOS games. If you have any Windows 3.x programs, that can be a little more tricky.

You can get Windows 3.x to run under DOSBox to play Win3x games. However, be aware some Windows 9x games used a 16-bit installer. So while the game itself may work, you'll run into problems trying to get it to install. This can be difficult to work around, and you'll have to resort to installing the game through a virtual machine running an earlier version of Windows, then copying the install directory over to Windows 7 (check out the free VMware Player if you go this route). Or if you check around the 'net you may also find updated installers or third-party utilities for some games that will work around the problem.

Finally, be aware that some games that used older versions of DirectX may have whacked out colors under Windows 7. This is a problem with both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, however. To work around this, you'll either need to disable the Aero UI and use the classic UI, or kill the Explorer interface before starting your game (either manually, or through a batch file that first kills explorer.exe then launches your game, then restarts Explorer when your game exits).

As an example, here's a batch file that will run Diablo:

taskkill /F /IM Explorer.exe
c:\games\diablo.exe
echo Press any key when you've finished playing.
pause
start explorer.exe

I'm running Windows 7 64-bit, and play a wide variety of games from DOS through Windows 9x. The only game that's given me trouble is MechWarrior 3 -- I just can't seem to get that one to run without heavy graphical corruption. For everything else, I've found workarounds. Sometimes it can take a little research and spending a little quality time with your good friend Google.

Another option, if you're not upgrading your hardware, would be a dual-boot configuration with WinXP and Win7. If you are upgrading, be aware that most new hardware no longer has driver support for WinXP, so this wouldn't be viable.

Good luck!
Post edited December 28, 2012 by Ryan333
Posted December 28, 2012
avatar
MasterReaver: I play both old and new games, and for the newer stuff, 64 bit seems to be the logical choice to make use of all my RAM.
Is it not an option to keep your older WinXP PC too as a backup, in case you encounter any games that won't run on the new system?

It is not only the Windows version, quite more often the old Windows game compatibility problems are hardware related (e.g. the new graphics card or its drivers not supporting some legacy feature that the game needs, or the game not liking quad-core CPUs etc.). So that also suggests it might be a better idea to keep an old retro PC around just in case, instead of trying to make your new PC backwards compatible in questionable ways, like selecting 32bit Win7/8 instead of 64bit.

If "old games" means mainly GOG games, as far as I can tell they don't have any extra issues with 64bit Windows compared to 32bit. But if you are talking about some early Win95 games that might be partially 16bit (at least the installer), there you might run into some problems on 64bit Windows. Some of those issues might be possible to overcome manually. But as said, if you run into backwards compatibility problems with your older games, I think they will be much more often related to hardware/drivers, than to the exact Windows version you are running.
Post edited December 28, 2012 by timppu
Posted December 28, 2012
avatar
MasterReaver: After many years of running Windows XP 32 bit, I'm finally making the leap to Windows 7.

The problem is, I'm not sure if I should install Windows 7 32 bit or 64 bit.

I play both old and new games, and for the newer stuff, 64 bit seems to be the logical choice to make use of all my RAM.

However, I'm worried that I'll run into endless nightmares trying to get old games to run in a 64 bit environment. Has anyone had experience in this regard? How hard is it to get old games to run equally well in Windows 7 64 bit as they ran on my Windows XP 32 bit?
I am on Windows 7 64-bit and have had no real issues with GOG games or others for that matter. The real issue for me has been not being able to use older peripherals, simply because the manufacturers don't bother to update the drivers to 64-bit. So I'd say, software-wise, don't worry, most 32-bit apps run fine. If you are concerned about other hardware though, you might need a 32-bit system, even if dual boot.
Post edited December 28, 2012 by rawmilk905
Pages:
1
2
This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)Upgrading to Windows 7 - 32 or 64 bit?(19 posts)solved(19 posts)solved
(19 posts)solved