For those looking to dive into the depths of Windows XP Profressional x64 Edition, I thought i'd put together a few tidbits that you might find helpful.
There is a trial version available for Windows XP Profressional x64 Edition avaiable from
Microsoft.
Check out
http://www.froogle.co.uk for places to get the x64 version of Windows XP!
EBuyer:
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...=89195&_LOC=UK
The update program is now LIVE and available at the Microsoft site. This allows you to 'trade in' your 32-bit XP Pro license for a new 64-bit one.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/6...e/default.mspx
The retail verion is now available in Japanese (why!?). The English version is being pressed atm.
Your 32-bit XP Pro key will NOT work on xp64.
Also, x64 Edition is NOT Windows XP SP2 (a common misconception). Its Windows Server 2003 SP1. That means its not NT 5.1, but NT 5.2. This means it has a different networking stack (quite a bit different) and has IIS6 (for the webdevs).
In other words, it brings the OS forward a little bit.
Drivers
VIA
VIA have provided x64 drivers for all parts of their chipset at the above link.
nVidia
nVidia have been thoughtful enough to provide drivers for motherboard AND gfx card. However, SLI is currently in a leaked driver.
nForce 3 Motherboard Drivers
nForce 4 Motherboard Drivers
GeForce GFX Card Drivers (Unified)
Leaked SLI GFX Drivers (Use at your own risk)
ATI
Shockingly, ATI are the first to come out with WHQL drivers for their GFX Cards!
Catalyst 5.4 x64
Release Notes
Creative Labs
UPDATE!!! Creative Labs are still being quite slack. However, an updated BETA of their drivers for Live/Audigy/Audigy 2 users does exist. One snag is that they put a time limit on these drivers (120 days from the 18th April this year!) So I do hope they release new drivers soon.
BETA Drivers for Live/Audigy/Audigy 2
Microsoft ActiveSync / PocketPC / SmartPhone
Microsoft have quietly released ActiveSync 4.0 which is has x64 support built right in. Microsoft haven't released this on THEIR pages yet, but it is everywhere else. I use it personally, it works fine (if not better than when its on win32!)
ActiveSync 4.0 Download
Software
Unfortunately, Alcohol 120% will likely not be ported to XP 64-bit... why? Because the makers are on record saying that they don't believe they should port to this 'Server Operating System'?... Ok so they are mis-informed.
The makes of Daemon Tools are working on a 64-bit version at the moment. However, its in closed Beta.
Until then.
FileDisk
As for other things... just about EVERYTHING should work. Hell, I have things like Visual Studio .NET 2003, SQL Server 2005, TortoiseSVN, FileZilla, iTunes, Office 2003... the WORKS. It all works fine.
This is thanks to a new layer in Windows called 'Windows on Windows'. 32-bit Apps that run in this mode appear in Task Manager with a *32 next to their process name. This means that
any old application/game etc. works fine under the new OS. You'll notice a different registry key for them tho. Their settings go into HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WoW6432Node, and if they install DLLs in the Windows directory, they go into x:\WINDOWS\SYSWOW64 instead of SYSTEM32. This is handled transparantly by Windows.
Things to look out for are apps that use addons to the context menu (the right click on an explorer window). They won't work anymore. However, people have worked around this by updating their Shell to use 32-bit Explorer. A side effect of this is that you lose the speed from the new Explorer, but you do get to have all those lovely 32-bit Extensions. Worth checking out.
How to run the 32-bit Explorer shell on Windows x64
Alternatively you can load up Internet Explorer (32-bit) and put C:\ in your address bar... and bingo, they'll be there.
If you want VMWare... you'll need VMWare 5. I use it... it works great.
Anti-virus
There is only one anti-virus that actually works on x64 (that actually works!). Its even free for personal use!
avast!
Games
I haven't found a game not to work... yet.