64-Bit OS WARNING

[gwnelson]

I have just configured my new black box - @XI dual core Athlon that is killer - & my first visit with WinXP64. Revit installed & runs flawlessly, as does my other app's. I read up on XP64 prior to ordering it installed & came to the conclusion that although there is no real benefit right now, there didn't appear to be any real downside.

Then I tried to install my system printers, all HP's. Nothing appeared in the "Add Printer" menu so I looked for good drivers at the HP site. The bad news: HP doesn't have any 64-bit drivers for any of it's printers, and there is some vague committment to having something in the near future.

My thinking right now is leaning towards bagging the XP64 & dropping back to vanilla WinXP. That, of course presents a new set of problems, not the least of which is having to obtain a fresh copy.

If there are any similarly surprised virtual colleagues that have enjoyed this experience and arrived at a different conclusion I'd like to hear about them.

[hand471037]

...I have just configured my new black box - @XI dual core Athlon that is killer - & my first visit with WinXP64. Revit installed & runs flawlessly, as does my other app's... ...My thinking right now is leaning towards bagging the XP64 & dropping back to vanilla WinXP. That, of course presents a new set of problems, not the least of which is having to obtain a fresh copy...

Hey, actually, do you have an old computer sitting around, or some extra cash? You could simply turn the old computer into a Print server, or better yet get a HP JetDirect card for the printer so it could just live on the network as another device. Would either of those work for you? Maybe not, for I think you'd still need a driver on your XP machine...

well, another solution which is far from perfect is to go out and buy Partition Magic and make your system into a dual-boot, Windows XP and XP64, and boot back into XP only for those things that you need from there...

[mod edit: moved to hardware as suggested by Jeffrey...removed his request so his post made sense in context after the move]

[Scott Hopkins]

Then I tried to install my system printers, all HP's. Nothing appeared in the "Add Printer" menu so I looked for good drivers at the HP site. The bad news: HP doesn't have any 64-bit drivers for any of it's printers, and there is some vague committment to having something in the near future.

I passed on XP 64 for exactly this reason. The bleeding edge hurts!