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Computer people: Will this work?

I want to get Vista 32 bit onto my desktop so I can setup my midi synth and digital studio stuff on this machine (which is XP 64 and the stuff won't install). So I was thinking, instead of spending $250 on Vista, couldn't I just install the software package (reboot disk) from my Toshiba Laptop (Vista OS)?

Will this work or just make a horrible mess of everything?

I can always clean re-install XP64 if it doesn't work and doesn't cause the computer to catch fire or something! :D
 
I have a lot of doubts about that. But... I don't think it would break your machine if you tried. It just might be a real pain to get it back to normal.
~Joe
 
I foresee one or more of the following problems

1) Laptops often have custom devices and the system disks are customized to only install drivers etc for those devices.
2) Some system disks look for specific computer models and won't install on anything else.
3) You won't be able to activate the second copy of Vista without a valid key that hasn't been used before.
 
So you want to install a 32 bit OS on a 64 bit system? I share seedjar's reservations, I don't think this will work. I would imagine the installation program will probably stop you very soon into the process when it checks hardware configuration. But hey, never say never. It's worth a shot if you are confident you can reinstall the original OS. Plus, it is a good learning experience.

It may be easier to try to find a way to run your 32bit app on a 64bit system. Either through the OS or by upgrading your software. 64bit systems are capable of running most 32bit applications. The same was true when Windows was upgraded from 16 to 32bit.

However, I am not too knowledgable about the finer things of Windows. I know enough to troubleshoot server problems when my databases or applications are having problems which are typically network, Active Directory, or user inflicted.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

---------- Post added at 11:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:13 PM ----------

Not a Number does raise a good point. You technically only have one license for Vista 32bit and one Vista 64bit. I don't think the installation program will disallow you from installing 32bit on two machines, but it is technically not Kosher.
 
NaN and dashman explained it better than I could, but that's basically what I expect to happen, as well. Your restore disk probably has all sorts of laptop-specific features on it that, at best, will cause your system to behave very strangely. As someone who installs Windows onto broken-down computers as many as 20 times in a work day, I can say that, even between minor model revisions of the same brand, drivers and other support software can be highly specific and totally non-interchangeable.
Plus, it is a good learning experience.
This part I'm not as sure about. Jury-rigging an OS from a custom install for a completely different set of hardware is an incredibly fiddly process. If swords were the type of person that excels at learning from those types of tasks, he'd probably already have done it and determined whether or not it worked, or at the very least gone to a better resource than a plant forum. No offense, Josh - this is just one of those things that makes Rubik's cubes look simple and removing splinters fun.
~Joe

PS - One thing I wonder is what you need to run that absolutely has to have Windows. Your MIDI devices should work with any old MIDI software, of which there are an abundance of options for XP. Or is it your hardware controller that you're trying to get working?
 
:) Good point, but I would never delibrately stiffle someones willingness to learn. Even it if means they have learned how to corrupt thier system and start anew.

Backup early, backup often. :)
 
Why don't you install VMWare ACE or Workstation? This way you can create a 32-bit environment that runs alongside your other 64-bit apps - since both ACE and Workstation are hosted solutions?
 
M-Audio Axiom keyboard hardware and my Native Instruments software will not install on the 64 bit. It won't even recognize that there's a disk in the drive when I put these companies disks in (their website FAQs still say not 64 compatible). I can install the stuff on the Vista laptop but it's hard drive is not fast enough to process complex audio without clipping. My desktop is a custom build and should have no problem handling this stuff.

So if I buy the Vista 32 home edition OS you think it still will not work cos there hardware itself is 64 bit? The only thing my custom desktop came with is a driver disk for the motherboard, a recording driver disk for the DVD-Rom and the XP64 OS disk. It wasn't a bundled system like the laptop.
 
Yes, 64bit relates to hardware. Specifically the processor. It process 64 bits at a time.

I did a little research an apparently you can install a 32 bit OS on a 64 bit processor machine. But you will lose some performance. The main reason is one that I already knew. You can only use 4GB of RAM at a time. This does not mean that you cannot have more RAM on your system, but it means an application can only address 4GB of memory. This is still alot, especially for a 32 bit application. Keep in mind, that by default Windows reserves 2GB of memory for any applicatoin for kernel operations and 2GB for application memory. You can change this setting (on a server anyway) and tell windows to use 3GB for application memory and 1GB for kernel operations.

I wouldn't worry about this unless this killer keyboard software is a memory hog. Also, since this is a 32bit app, I would imagine that it will do fine with only 4GB of memory.
 
  • #10
Didn't you have an older desktop before this one you built yourself? If you still have 32-bit XP, you could run that. Going to a 32-bit version of Vista is a perfectly viable option too, but I think you can do it for cheaper. If you're feeling really handy, Brokken's idea of running an emulator might work too, but it depends a lot on how efficiently the virtual machine handles bus operations if you're concerned with disk speed.
~Joe

PS - Which model of Axiom is this? Here is a link claiming a successful install of an Axiom using Vista's default drivers as early as 2007. But then I found another more recent account that kind of says the opposite, but maybe it's specific to using an Axiom with Reason.
 
  • #11
I can install the M-Audio (64 key Axiom) on my Vista 32 bit laptop with a downloaded driver from M-Audio's site, but neither the keyboard nor the software will install on 64 bit XP or 64 bit Vista.

If it's only different because of RAM allocation I do actually only have 4 GB of 800mhz RAM on the desktop anyway.
 
  • #12
Have you tried just plugging it into your computer and using the New Hardware Wizard? Skip the M-Audio driver altogether. That's what apparently worked for the guy in the first link I posted.
~Joe
 
  • #13
The thing is, even if the hardware gets recognized, the audio itself won't work since it's all generated in the sound creation software (Absynth 4, Massive, FM8) which doesn't install to 64 bit. The drive won't even recognize the disks as being in the tray it just says "no disk". Same goes for the Imagine FX magazine's "free" monthly DVD Rom. I have to browse that on the 32 bit laptop. Then there are other DVD Roms & software have no problem installing on 64 bit, even old stuff. Internet Explorer really blows on the 64 bit desktop that's why I use Firefox. I like FF way better now but originally it was out of necessity that I used it.
 
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