Isn't all Vista 64 bit?

I want to put 4 gigabytes of RAM into a Dell notebook. I assumed I'd
be getting a 64-bit operating system as long as I got Vista.
What do I need to do to make sure I can run 4 gigabytes? Suppose I buy
a notebook that comes with the Vista deluxe edition, what will it take
to get it to run 4 gigabytes?

wrote in message
...
I want to put 4 gigabytes of RAM into a Dell notebook. I assumed I'd
be getting a 64-bit operating system as long as I got Vista.
What do I need to do to make sure I can run 4 gigabytes? Suppose I buy
a notebook that comes with the Vista deluxe edition, what will it take
to get it to run 4 gigabytes?


No, Vista comes in 32 and 64-bit flavors.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...ons/64bit.mspx

You'll need a 64-bit CPU, and so far as I know Dell doesn't offer one (nor
can I think of anyone else who does- though I reserve the right to stand
corrected) unless it would be in their Precision Workstation (notebook) line
or maybe the Inspiron XPS notebook line.

Well, here's one:
http://www.dell.com/content/products...555&l=en&s=biz


Stew

My Vostro 1500 with XP Home recognizes 3.75Gb so it's not like you're
losing a lot. Of course XP home doesn't let a single process use
more than 2Gb, if it's a single process you want.
--


On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

"S.Lewis" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
I want to put 4 gigabytes of RAM into a Dell notebook. I assumed I'd
be getting a 64-bit operating system as long as I got Vista.
What do I need to do to make sure I can run 4 gigabytes? Suppose I buy
a notebook that comes with the Vista deluxe edition, what will it take
to get it to run 4 gigabytes?


No, Vista comes in 32 and 64-bit flavors.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...ons/64bit.mspx

You'll need a 64-bit CPU, and so far as I know Dell doesn't offer one (nor
can I think of anyone else who does- though I reserve the right to stand
corrected) unless it would be in their Precision Workstation (notebook)
line or maybe the Inspiron XPS notebook line.

Well, here's one:
http://www.dell.com/content/products...555&l=en&s=biz


all current cpu's can do 64bit
since ermmm, start of 2006 ?
amd made 64bit, then intel joined the bang wagon and added 64bit to dual
core (and the last of the p4's??)

i assume dell are selling vista 32bit with pc's currently

from the above dell link
----
64-bit Intel Core 2 Duo and Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme Edition Processors and
up to 4GB1 of dual-channel2 memory with 36-bit addressing, is the latest in
performance notebook architecture.

1 Notebooks configured with 4GB of memory: The total amount of available
memory will be less than 4GB. The amount less depends on the actual system
configuration.
----
this suggests it comes with 32bit vista

Hi!

What do I need to do to make sure I can run 4 gigabytes? Suppose
I buy a notebook that comes with the Vista deluxe edition, what
will it take to get it to run 4 gigabytes?

Once you've made sure the hardware can do it, you need to have an OS
that's written for the 64-bit CPU. Microsoft says all versions of
Vista except the starter version are available in 64-bit...which
surprised me.

William

Hi!

You'll need a 64-bit CPU, and so far as I know Dell doesn't offer
one (nor can I think of anyone else who does- though I reserve
the right to stand corrected)

Well, you *might* stand corrected. I'd be very surprised if almost
everything that Dell is selling did not ship with a 64-bit capable
CPU. The Core2 Duos can do it, AMD parts can do it, later P4s have 64-
bit support, and even the lowly Celeron has 64-bit capability in some
revisions.

Apple's boxen ship with 64-bit capable Core2 Duos, so you could always
buy one of those. ducks and grins

(Yeah, the Celeron D really does come in 64-bit flavors. I got a cheap-
o Compaq Presario box that has so far utterly outstripped my
expectations in every last way. When a CPU ID checking utility said
the processor was capable of 64-bit operation, I flat out didn't
believe it. Some 650 megabytes later I had an evaluation CD of Windows
86 x64 Edition in my hands and loading on that system. Evidently that
utility wasn't lying.)

William

Okay, bad news for 64-bit Dell on notebooks.
The link above says that with Windows Ultimate, you get both 32-bit
and 64-bit versions. So I ordered a Dell XPS 1330 with Windows
Ultimate with the idea of getting four gigabytes of RAM.
The computer came. No 64-bit disk. I talked with Dell. THey said that
Microsoft was referring to the RETAIL version of Vista, not to OEM.
And guess what else. If I install the 64-bit version I void my
warranty.
I called Dell to find out about how much it would cost to buy a 64-bit
OEM version. THey said they don't sell it. So if I want to go the 64-
bit route, I have to buy a whole new retail version of Windows Vista
Ultimate.
This is a little confusing since I know they sell notebooks with four
gigabytes of RAM.
It's a nice notebook, other than this. So far I have only two
problems. One is that Vista is SLOW loading. It shouldn't be this slow
with a 2.2 gigahertz processor and a 7,200 RPM hard drive.
The other annoying thing is that with Microsoft Works 8.5 I keep
getting errors with the word processor (it's not word) that tells me I
have selected too much text to paste into the program through the
clipboard. I got that once even though it was just copying my Dell
order number.

On Nov 27, 12:44 pm, "Tom Scales" wrote:
I can't say I am surprised. I was under the impression that not all the
laptop versions of the processors were 64 bit capable. For me, it
doesn't matter as I don't have any applications that could take
advantage of more than 3GB.

Just curious, what are you doing that would use 4GB?

Digital video editing with other applications (mainly firefox) open at
the same time.
I wanted the power of 64-bit processing to chew through video files
quickly. And a ton of RAM so I don't have to shut everything down all
the time.