windows 7, 32bit or 64bit

i have the 13.3 inch mbp, what version of windows 7 should i run 32 or 64bit?

Depends what you are going to run on Windows 7. Personally, I'd go 64-bit but if you have less than 4GB of RAM there's isn't much point.

Is the 64-bit Windows 7 limited to a BootCamp partition, or can one install the 64-bit version on a virtual machine such as VMware Fusion 3?

Boomzilla said:

Is the 64-bit Windows 7 limited to a BootCamp partition, or can one install the 64-bit version on a virtual machine such as VMware Fusion 3?

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Pretty sure you can do both with Fusion. I had to go back to 32 bit because of the dang Cisco VPN client.

True Bassist said:

Depends what you are going to run on Windows 7. Personally, I'd go 64-bit but if you have less than 4GB of RAM there's isn't much point.

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i only have 2gb of ram

i'm just going to run basic applications like adobe photoshop, google earth, m word, firefox etc

so 32 bit is fine?

when would i need 64bit?

If you don't know the differences between the two...does it even matter?

I run 32-Bit via Virtual Box. Since I "only" have 4GB of RAM, the Win7 install never gets more than 2GB of dedicated RAM and 128MB of video memory. Even if I bumped up to 6GB on my laptop, the VM would only get 4GB and I still really wouldn't need 64-Bit. If you have the HDD space, you could install both via Virtual Box (which is free) and then decide which suits you best.

20ls01 said:

i only have 2gb of ram

i'm just going to run basic applications like adobe photoshop, google earth, m word, firefox etc so 32 bit is fine? when would i need 64bit?

Click to expand...

You would need the 64 bit version when you begin to run Windows applications that require more memory than can be supported by the 32 bit version. However, if you're looking to the future, I advise you to up your memory to at least 4 GB and install the 64 bit version. You can add more memory later on if needed.

Note that the 32 bit version of Windows 7 can not be upgraded to the 64 bit version. The 64 bit version has to be installed clean. No upgrade path from a 32 bit OS to a 64 bit OS in Windows.

Regards.

so those applications i mentioned will have no issues with windows 7 64 bit?

how slow wil my computer be when i run 2gb on 64bit win 7?

thanks for helping

The applications you mentioned will run OK in 64 bit Win 7. As far as the 2 GB is concerned, it'll be OK but as I stated above, you really should go with at least 4 GB. The 64 bit kernel definitely likes more memory. And I guarantee you will love the improved speed running the 64 bit version with 4 GB.

Regards.

32 or 64 bit?

I tried instaling the 64 bit version of Windows 7 this morning on my Imac. After trying several times, I gave up. I kept getting a message during the windows load process that said that there was a hardware problem and I needed to disconnect any external storage devices and reboot. I did several times but could never get past the error screen. I then tried to load the 32 bit version and it is loading just fine. I am doing this through parallels software which I updated prior to trying to load Windows 7.

Has anyone else had this problem?

If not, any ideas on why this may be happening?