Windows 10: Will we see a 32 bit preview of W9 ?

Ops, sorry, I misread your post and thought you uninstalled it. I hadn't had my morning coffee at the time, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. *Smile

A lot of times with preview releases, the OEM haven't updated their drivers and submitted them to Microsoft. By the time the official version comes out though they have, and a lot of your basic drivers are backed into the OS and install in the background. The latecomers then eventually show up on windows update.

 

While there will probably be an x86 version, it may be only the non-pro version, or even starter version for tablets that are running 32 bit atom processors (there are 64 bit atom processors, but vendors are still making 32 bit tablets).

In addition, the 32 bit version and 64 bit version may require a UEFI bios, so if your laptop isn't UEFI then it may not work. (This is just speculation on my part).

Finally, even if it doesn't require a UEFI bios, it may require a more modern BIOS that supports functions your model doesn't. Or, the driver model may change enough that your 32 bit 8.x drivers won't work in 9.

So, it's hard to say whether it will work or not...

 

*Smile Thanks,
Well I guess the waiting time is nearly over and so I'll soon find out one way or the other. The old Acer (by todays standards) is very pedestrian but it does run W8.1 amazingly well and trouble free. Last BIOS update for it was over 6 years ago I think... I am running the latest though.

 

Good way to go !

*Ditto

 

VM is only good if you want to see how the OS looks and how the interface goes.
I understand that direct installation may not be an option to a lot of people, but if you are testing an OS, it's also good to see how the OS taps the PC's full resources, how it affects the overall performance and be able to find out what drivers you will need to make all your peripherals and hardware add-ons to work the way they should. You can't totally judge an OS via VM. You may find that Win 9 works to your liking via VM, but direct installation will be a totally different thing (esp. when it comes to hardware driver compatibility). It may not be as easy as installing it on VM. But again, if one just wants to see how it goes and be able to join the discussion, VM is not a bad idea.

 

I alwayes prefered "bare metal" to VMs, but they're quite handy in many testing scenarios !

*Smile

 

I shall certainly try to install W9 as a full and proper install. Only if I can't do that might I consider the other method... which would be new territory for me.

 

Bare metal or VM... Anyway I'll be ready for *Start 9 !


*Smile

 

It wouldn't surprise me if Windows 9 was only 64 bit. Their is no good reason to have a 32 bit system except for very old hardware. You could still get Windows 7/32.

 

You can probably still get a Linux i386 kernel. It's finding a working 386 outside of a museum that's tough. *Smile

 

I would have thought that MS would want to woo people away from 32bit? I am also sure that MB manufacturers and Intel would want that too.

 

However, I just want to see the preview on my machine, which can only host 32-bit clients. I'm fine if the finished product is x64 only, but I hope the preview is available for x86.

 

32 bit "only" hardware is dying out, slowly but surely. That just leaves your legacy software, which if it's really old, likely won't run on todays latest version of Windows, 32 bit or 64 bit. Time keeps on slipping slipping into the future. *Smile Are we there yet? Maybe not this time around but its coming. At some point Microsoft is going to abandon the 32 bit version. When is anybody's guess though.

 

Actually, I have no issues running any of my older software (even on Windows 8x). Maybe Windows 8.1 won't run Office 2000 or before, but I have a lot of older 32-bit audio software that runs PERFECTLY. What software does other folks have issues with?

 

Hopefully this answers the original question: http://www.nineforums.com/windows-9-...tml#post148605

Also,

"The 64bit version of the OS weighs in around 4GB while the 32bit version is a little bit over the 3GB mark."

Read more here and bookmark the possible download site.