Windows XP X64 free trial - Mini review

odie

Hi,

MS are giving away a free trial (180 days) of WinXP X64. Ideal for checking it out.

Link here http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/evaluation/trial.mspx
Download is about 575mb, about 50 mins over 2mb Broadband line.

Running it at the mo' and its running great.
Some software issues will not run Norton or McAfee. But there is a Tiny Firewall X64 free download compatible from here, http://www.tinysoftware.com/home/tiny2?s=5375286922905295233A1&&pg=content05&an=tf64_download

And a free Avast 64 bit Antivirus from here http://www.avast.com/eng/down_home.html

Most other software is working fine

egan007

great - now where do i get the crack

odie

No need for a crack, MS send you the key and it is valid for 180 days, about 6 months. Free MS OS for 6 months, X64 at that, that can't be bad.

wideband

Hi odie,

do you have to uninstall your current OS

tks

odie

You should be able to install with dual boot
Found a bit of info here
http://www.pro-networks.org/forum/about55350.html

wideband

looks fairly complicated stuff!!

think ill wait untill the retail version......realy don't want to mess up my system

wb

odie

That will be the full retail version, it is shipping to OEM manufacturers at the mo'.

wideband

odie wrote:

That will be the full retail version, it is shipping to OEM manufacturers at the mo'.

any word on when we shall have the retail version (is it 12 months following the OEM)....also, i wonder will norton AV + Firewall work with it.

pan

Any noticable speed improvements with X64??

odie

Norton AV & Firewall don't work, but I found a couple of them that do. Free as well -
Avast Antivirus-http://www.avast.com/eng/down_home.html
Tiny firewall-http://www.tinysoftware.com/home/ti...n=tf64_download

I have it installed on a Targa laptop -
AMD 64 3000+, 1gb PC2700 Ram, 128Mb M10/M11 9700 graphics, 60Gb HD Via RhineII Lan. Ralink Wireless LAN

Multitasking is improved immensely, running Win media player mp3, browsing firefox, IE, checking Thunderbird email, copying photo's from camera, all at the same time and it cruises through the tasks, with no interuption.

PC boots about the same speed as fresh install of XP 32 bit. Toshiba DVDRW drive seems lazy when reading DVDR discs. Works fine writing to them CD's are no problem. Maybe an IDE driver issue.

Issues so far have been:

Graphics - No ATI M10/M11 mobility drivers - I have installed modded ones from NGO ATI Optimized Driver v1.5.5 (2.5)
http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?id=24
They work fine
ATI and Nvidia have 64 bit Drivers for their AGP and PCI-E cards

64 bit version of IE - No Macromedia flash support yet, There is Java support for it from
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/download.jsp

There is a 32bit version of IE (Desktop icon) that works as normal, with all plugins
Wireless network was a doddle to set up, it auto picked it up, asked for the Wep key and was online with BB and transferring files from PC to PC in seconds. - Netopia 3347NWG Wireless BB Router

My Ralink wireless card has updated 64 bit drivers - http://www.ralinktech.com/supp-1.htm

No drivers for my SMlink 56k Modem

Via have 64bit drivers out for the chipset & LAN - http://www.viaarena.com/

Realtek have 64 bit drivers for the sound - http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/dlac97-2.aspx?lineid=5&famid=12&series=8&Software=True

Found my Fuji A340 camera without additional drivers.

Nero Burning Rom 6 works fine
Plays DVD's fine with Nero Showtime
Firefox browser and Thunderbird email work fine
Winzip works fine
Adobe Photoshop 8 & 9 trial versions work fine
Adobe Reader 7 Working fine.

With the exception of the 56k SMLink Modem, Norton and having to use modded ATI mobilty drivers everything else is OK.
Haven't tried any games yet.

All in all it works pretty well.

Will add more as I get to know the OS a little longer. Only have it 3 days.

wideband

nice work odie,

Infini

Nice!

stiofanD

wideband wrote:

any word on when we shall have the retail version (is it 12 months following the OEM)....also, i wonder will norton AV + Firewall work with it.

It looks like there's not going to be a retail version of 64-bit WinXP. Take a look at this article on Tom's Hardware Guide.

In summary: "Microsoft will not be offering the new Windows in a typical retail box, but rather sell the software to system builders and distributors in an OEM package that simply comes with a CD and a certificate of authenticity"

On a more disturbing note it says that those with a licensed copy of 32-bit WinXP pre-installed on a PC with a 64-bit CPU will get a free upgrade to 64-bit windows, however, their license for the 32-bit edition will be invalidated, so there'll be no going back!

wideband

stiofanD wrote:

On a more disturbing note it says that those with a licensed copy of 32-bit WinXP pre-installed on a PC with a 64-bit CPU will get a free upgrade to 64-bit windows, however, their license for the 32-bit edition will be invalidated, so there'll be no going back!

Just wondering why is this disturbing.....do you not thing this is a reasonable offer from MS.

stiofanD

wideband wrote:

Just wondering why is this disturbing.....do you not thing this is a reasonable offer from MS.

I suppose I was thinking that you might get the 64-bit upgrade, find that half your applications don't work nearly as well (or at all) on 64-bit, and then you can't go back to 32-bit XP without buying a new license.

wideband

Ok...i see what you mean, but one should download the trial version first and test compatibility that way.

Fenster

egan007 wrote:

great - now where do i get the crack

Haha, no joking, that was my first thought when I saw the thread.

Lord Nikon

it's a pretty big download, and I sure as hell not paying 20dollars for getting it posted to the gaff. All I need now is the relevent processor.

kmb

Can seem to get my zyxel prestige 630ci to work with 64bit.

Anyone get this done?


regards kieran

odie

Checked on Zyxel site and it looks like there is no 64 bit driver yet.

http://www.zyxel.com/support/download.php

odie

It seems SMLink have posted a 64 bit driver for my 56k modem which is now working perfect
Here is the link - http://www.smlink.com/content.aspx?id=134

Now all I need are proper ATI Mobility drivers, as the modded ones are not really up to scratch. They function, but on the laptop they don't refresh fast enough, causing that ripple effect when opening windows.

So far everything I have thrown at it regarding software has worked. Then again all the apps are more recent versions. Haven't tried any old apps.

unkel

I used the release version for a couple of weeks about two months ago - I have a habit of installing new versions of M$ OS within days of release

Working fine and felt fast and I did get most hardware to work and most 32-bit software was working fine too. Switched back to 32-bit because some drivers (including Samsung laser printer) were not yet available

harney

I have a 360 day licence for the 64bit version, anyone know if it will work with the current downloadable version?

odie

Update-

Have put it on a seperate drive I bought recently, and switch it out with the old one on the laptop when the humour takes me. I find that the screen has a habit of rippling with the modded ATI drivers I am using. Makes it very hard to use for long periods, however apart from that, the lappy is flying.

All hardware working, all Apps working, at this stage it is probably comparable to XP 32 bit.

I'll keep going with the Trial version till Longhorn comes out. Not worth buying XP64 bit. And all top hardware manufacturers should have drivers by then for Longhorn hopefully.

odie

Found a full review on the Windows X64 here, has more info on compatibility and list of drivers supported -

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=13615

gline

there is no big improvement running x64 yet until proper drivers and software are widely available, the drivers are getting better but still lots of hardware manufacturers not bothering to make 64bit drivers for this OS and some may never bother as longhorn will be out next year and that will probably surpass this OS


i had it installed a few months ago and there was no big preformance imporvement, the benchmarks were only 2-5% better, i personnally dont think it is worth it yet.

jor el

I installed it last night and can see a big improvement in speed when using Windows Explorer to navigate large directories. I'm comparing this to a fresh install of XP-32 bit aswell as I had to re-install that due to bloat. XP-64 is pretty much the same as XP-32, most apps seem ok, such as Nero, Firefox, Thunderbird, however as mentioned already McAffee virus scan didn't work and I didn't try the firewall as I assumed it wouldn't either.

I have found 64-bit drivers for my motherboard and will install them tonight so that should get my network card up and running. However, my wireless network adapter (Belkin Wireless G USB) has no 64-bit drivers available, nor does the SMC one either so I'll be without net access unless I wire it to my router, which is a long ways away.

NVidia driver works well as does the SB Audigy 2 beta driver. My old scanner will probably never work but hey, I hardly ever use that anyway.

All in all it seems pretty good, but without wireless networking I'm going nowhere and probably won't use it much.

Mythago

Well, got confirmation that my X64 final release has been shipped Shame I'm in thailand, and won't be home to install it..... oh well Only drivers I'm short of on the trial version are logitech webcams. Everything else runs pretty sweet! Overall X64 is a huge improvement IMO over XP, especially since drivers are becoming alot better.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/upgrade/default.mspx

Stephen

If you've got 32 bit XP Pro installed and you go and apply for the 64 bit exchange thing with microsoft is it possible to upgrade your existing XP 32bit install to 64 bit when you receive the disc, or do you have to reinstall from scratch? I know there'd be headaches with drivers and stuff doing this but ... is it possible?