Talk:Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

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"Windows XP 64-bit Edition is designed to use 64-bit memory addresses" -- I think the maximum memory limit is set to 128 GB in current version, so the addesses probably don't use full 64-bits for memory adressing Helix84 21:57, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)

You are right, updated the page to reflect this.[1] --Yamla 22:16, 2005 May 11 (UTC)

Definitely move. There isn't a reason not to at all. Shame that the redirect already exists. - Estel (talk). 13:14, May 9, 2005 (UTC)

Well, I got rid of the redirect from Windows XP 64-bit Edition, and AlistairMcMillan put it back. On 20 Oct, I'm getting rid of the redirect again. '64-bit Edition' is a completely separate product than 'Professional x64 Edition'. - Ehurtley 00:06, 19 October 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] question

Is there any real point in 64? so far it would seem its designed around functionality that is not and will never happen in it's lifetime from the home and small business user's perspective, while larger businesses will have the resources for custom implementations of free or open licensed software that will accomplkish the same for much less heartache.

There absolutely is. Once people have more than 2 gigs of RAM and particularly, more than 3 or 4 gigs, the extra memory addressing is invaluable (though not fundamentally required). My home desktop and my laptop both have 2 gigs of RAM now and I know many people with more. --Yamla 15:21, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

--128.154.44.44 19:47, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

64 bit is definately a very good thing, however Windows XP 64bit edition is, I believe, a waste of time. If Vista wasnt coming out in 11 months then maybe it would be worth the investment, but as vista will be available relatively soon this version strikes me as a complete waste of time and money for virtually no benefit. Vista on the other hand will be amazing. Martin 15:37, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
Windows XP 64bit edition is still a worthwhile investment for those that want to avoid the inevitable initial teething problems with Vista as well as the DRM crap.
And 640kb ought to be enough for anybody, right?
It's important that the evolution of 64-bit happens before we need that extra addressing on a typical machine. In seven years, 3 GB of memory might be standard, if only so that doing searches across a lot of information can be really, really fast because it's all cached in memory. In the meantime, the quality of 64-bit drivers and software can ramp up, developers can get good at it, and in time, we can move to 64-bit being the "standard", just like we moved to from 16-bit to 32-bit some twelve years ago. Warrens 18:02, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Availability

Needs some info on that you can't buy the thing, only can get it pre-installed in a very small number of OEM machines.

MSTCrow 07:15, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

"Another solution is to use virtualization software like VMware or VirtualPC to run other versions of Windows or MS-DOS, but are considered "hellishly slow" to users compared to the aforementioned DOSBox." This statement sounds rather biased...--128.154.44.44 19:47, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

I agree. Virtualisation software is generally fairly fast. Indeed, I'm somewhat surprised that DOSBox is faster then VMware or VirtualPC since DOSBox is an emulator although it does use dymanic translation for i386 processors according to wiki. In the past, I heard it was very slow although I guess it has significantly improved. Of course, any DOS or Windows 3.1 app is unlikely to be very taxing in any case. Nil Einne 19:45, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Licencing

I removed:

It is only available pre-installed on machines from a limited number of OEMs, or in licence packs of 5 or more.

as on this UK shop site it is availible seperate from hardware in a 1 pack: [2] Hamish (Talk) 22:26, 15 July 2006 (UTC)

This link is actually a OEM version (which is says in the description), and not a retail version (which doesn't exist). Technically (in the US, anyways), OEM software must be sold with hardware, and cannot be sold unbundled. Some on-line retailers get around this by making you buy a cheap piece of hardware, such as a power cord. Others completely disregard the licensing restriction, and sell the OEM software alone. The point is, there is no true Retail version of XP Pro x64, and there is no legal way to acquire XP Pro x64 by itself. Thalter 16:46, 20 July 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Compatibility with other applications

Can some knowledgeable people review this, and then either make the pertinent changes, or else drop me a note and erase this comment?

"Unlike prior versions of the Windows NT line, 64-bit Windows versions do not include NTVDM so there is no support for the execution of [...] POSIX ..."

I should be thick, but I do not see any relationship between NTVDM (i.e. 16-bit support) and the POSIX subsystem. Furthermore, I "feel" the SUA subsystem can be lifted from 2003 server x64 R2 back to XP x64, since it is exactly the same base under the hood. Similarly, this very subsystem is included in Vista x64, in Ultimate or Enterprise versions. And of course the SUA (ex-SFU, ex-Interix) subsystem is just a piece-for-piece replacement (and vast improvement) for the original POSIX subsystem, as shipped with NT until v.5.0 (Windows 2000) and dropped with XP 32 bits (MS knowledge base). AntoineL 14:49, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 32-bit Windows memory constraints (Post-SP1)

The article refers to 32 bit Windows being constrained to 4 gb RAM - but, if memory serves, SP1 introduced a 3 gb limit. Am I wrong? 62.107.208.113 17:15, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

This is an answer without references and it's been awhile since I've cared about this kind of minutae, so go look it up. But: NTOS normally creates a 4gb virtual address space. This is mapped to whatever real memory+virtual memory you have. Within this space, 2gb is for kernel mode, and 2gb is for user mode. Since there is no direct mapping to real memory, this division is fine... until now when machines have 4gb of memory and for all intent, there is nearly a 1:1 relationship to real memory. Prioritizing 3gb for user mode/1gb for kernel mode is a performance trade-off. afaik, this option was present in Win2000, but maybe my memory is faulty. Go look it up, but I think that's the answer you want. This also doesn't get into things like 48 bit memory addressing (PAE) modes on 32 bit x86. SchmuckyTheCat 20:43, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
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