What am I missing out on with 32 bit Win 7

[jachin99]

I have a used PC that already has 32 bit win 7 installed on it but the machine has a 64 bit processor I believe. What am I really missing out on with a 32 bit Windows? If I throw some ram in it, and upgrade to an SSD, then it seems like it will be fine performance wise. Are there any useful plugins that only run on x64? Thanks

[Scallica]

A 32-bit OS has a limit of 4GB of RAM.

[sbaeder]

but an SSD will do wonders for an older machine. If you don't need the RAM, and are sticking with Win 7, then there isn't much reason to upgrade. (i.e. big file edits or other memory intensive apps...check memory usage in Taskman or look at "paging" ...which if you are paging a lot, then more RAM helps a lot. If not, then a fast SSD can page a lot faster too

[tonywagner]

I am still running 32-bit Windows 7 (albeit on a 32-bit CPU too, with only 3-4 GB RAM). I haven't come across anything WMC (or Kodi) related yet that I couldn't run.

In fact, the Kodi InputStream Adaptive addon required a DLL from 32-bit Chrome, so that was convenient for me!

[DavidinCT]

I have a used PC that already has 32 bit win 7 installed on it but the machine has a 64 bit processor I believe. What am I really missing out on with a 32 bit Windows? If I throw some ram in it, and upgrade to an SSD, then it seems like it will be fine performance wise. Are there any useful plugins that only run on x64? Thanks

I've asked myself this same thing about 4 years ago. Everyone who uses WMC needs to remember, Windows Media Center 7 was released with Windows 7 back on Oct 22, 2009. Besides some security updates and pulling of some features (Sports, web tv, etc), there has not been any changes. Most machines of that day were single core, less than 1gb of ram or the very early dual core CPUS. So WMC running on a super powerfull system is not REALLY needed, all depending what you want to do.

I always kept on x32 because I was thinking of compatibility of older apps. Well besides something that I use that needs direct access to hardware, x64 needs driver signing and that could be tricky(Look up LCD writer) and needed a bunch of hacks to get working, every other application for Media Center worked. My machine at the time had 8gb but, could only access 4 of it.

So, I would test your primary apps on x64 but, I would bet everything runs fine. After I did a upgrade x64 needed to be standard and I gave my system 16gb of ram...why ? Because I had the money at the time and going from 8 to 16 of the exact same memory was very cheap (under$40) so it was a no brainer.

So your save with x32 but, x64 is where you should be today if you want to access more resources. Keep in mind if you want to move into 4K, your video card has 2-4gb of memory (going with a newer one), and it could put limitations on x32.

And you can run any x32 app on x64...The only ones you cant run would be x16 apps (Windows 95-early XP applications) but, x32 still has sort of support.

[jachin99]

I have actually found an article on the VGX forums about upping windows 7 x86 to accept 8 gigs of ram, and I might try that. What about video cards? The MOBO doesn't have onboard graphics, and the video card in the PC right now is really old. I'm not even sure if it does 1080P I might run some emulators on this machine, or do some light gaming. This machine won't be used for 4k

I'm looking at this card right now

https://www.msi.com/Graphics-card/GeFor ... cification

[joesc]

I might run some emulators on this machine, or do some light gaming. This machine won't be used for 4k

I'm looking at this card right now

https://www.msi.com/Graphics-card/GeFor ... cification

Any recent card is overkill for your machine and the use cases you've mentioned. Any card you find that has 1 - 2 GB of ram should be enough. You can find those for under $40. Just have to get a card that is compatible with your slots (PCIE x4 or x16), hopefully you don't have AGP although you can still find those..

[jachin99]

I chose that one in particular because I'm relatively certain it will fit in my case but I'll look at others as well because I know there are cheaper options out there. If I decide to run a video player with Mad VR, then maybe it won't all go to waste? My biggest fear is that there will be an issue where I can't find drivers for 32 bit OS or for some reason the card I choose won't work but I don't know a whole lot about this either.

[DavidinCT]

I might run some emulators on this machine, or do some light gaming. This machine won't be used for 4k

I'm looking at this card right now

https://www.msi.com/Graphics-card/GeFor ... cification

Any recent card is overkill for your machine and the use cases you've mentioned. Any card you find that has 1 - 2 GB of ram should be enough. You can find those for under $40. Just have to get a card that is compatible with your slots (PCIE x4 or x16), hopefully you don't have AGP although you can still find those..

I guess it's all depends on what you need. I wanted to be able to play x265 videos, and any lower card that does not have hardware decoding could be very hard on the system (using lots of resources), especially for a older system. My old system had a old GTX750 TI in it (a fairly good gaming card), when I tried to play a 4K x265 video, it was a complete slideshow. Even with 1080p x265 encoded videos would spike resources on the CPU, and shudder time to time. I upgraded to a GTX1050 TI ($90-125 card, that I got for like $85 or so), and these videos play flawless.

The 10XX cards have x265 and I found it to be a very worthy purchase. If you have no interest in 4K, or high bit rate 2k (1080p full Blu-ray rips) any off the shelf $40 card will work, Emulators as well would work, unless your trying to play some NEWER (last =5-7 years) games.

Go to ebay, buy a used card... best bang for your buck. Pick a video card based on what your doing today and what your planning to do in a year from now. Otherwise you will be spending more money later to replace it again.

I chose that one in particular because I'm relatively certain it will fit in my case but I'll look at others as well because I know there are cheaper options out there. If I decide to run a video player with Mad VR, then maybe it won't all go to waste? My biggest fear is that there will be an issue where I can't find drivers for 32 bit OS or for some reason the card I choose won't work but I don't know a whole lot about this either.

Get a good name, like a NVidia or ATI even lower end card, you should be OK with x86 support. Another thing, WMC is a dead product, so you never update a video driver UNLESS YOU NEED TO FIX A PROBLEM. Find one that works for everything you need and leave it alone, as driver updates will/can cause issues on WMC.

Truth is, if your in the gaming world, ti seems x64 does get quicker updates but, x86 is still up there. Does anyone actually ship x86 machines besides the knock off china tablets ?

[jachin99]

I went ahead and ordered 4 gigs of RAM (up from 1 gig) and an SSD. I think I'll install these each one at a time so I can get a good sense of how each changes the machines behavior. Right now it runs pretty slow. The UI is snappy but things like updates, library scans and virus scans are really slow

[DavidinCT]

I went ahead and ordered 4 gigs of RAM (up from 1 gig) and an SSD. I think I'll install these each one at a time so I can get a good sense of how each changes the machines behavior. Right now it runs pretty slow. The UI is snappy but things like updates, library scans and virus scans are really slow

If your staying with x86, the ram will help performance (not speed)a little but, the SSD will make the biggest noticeable speed improvement.

Library scans could use CPU and Disk I/O so a CPU upgrade could help in that area but, the SSD is another thing that would help here.

[Crash2009]

I went ahead and ordered 4 gigs of RAM (up from 1 gig) and an SSD. I think I'll install these each one at a time so I can get a good sense of how each changes the machines behavior. Right now it runs pretty slow. The UI is snappy but things like updates, library scans and virus scans are really slow

You could run the WEI (windows experience index) between each upgrade. WEI will also tell you where the weak hardware is.

My first 64 bit convinced me to toss all my 32's

Use a lightweight AntiVirus

[jachin99]

Windows was telling me the WEI needed to be updated so I ran it, and the machine crashed. There is one particular addin that would be useful to me that only works with 32 bit, and that is media center outlook. If at the end of all this I have to go with x64 then I won't be too disapointed I guess. I found some old ram laying around, and threw it in the machine, and it seems more stable. EDIT: FOUND ISO. I never imagined I would use 32 bit anything so I don't have one laying around. What AV would you recommend? I'm on MSSE right now because its free, and I don't want to go AV free.

Lets say the motherboard dies tomorrow, because I have a spare, will I be able to swap MOBOs and keep my Windows install or do I need to start from scratch?

[Crash2009]

Windows was telling me the WEI needed to be updated so I ran it, and the machine crashed.

1a) If WEI crashed at first run, I would think your first step should be to figure out... "Why"

1b) Personally, I would strip it down at this point. (eliminate "case short"), visual inspection of both sides of MB... look for puffy caps on the topside, and shiny solder on the bottom-side. Power Switch wires can short also. Then move on to Ram slot/Ram Stick Test. Re-Paste CPU.

https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2 ... s-7-a.html

2) New MB = New O/S

3) If you are going to run Win7, go get Ultimate. (as I recall, Ultimate installs as 32 or 64 as necesary)

[DavidinCT]

3) If you are going to run Win7, go get Ultimate. (as I recall, Ultimate installs as 32 or 64 as necesary)

For WMC, you need home premium or higher. They all include WMC accept for the lowest versions (home and starter). The big differences between Home Premium and Ultimate for WMC use is very little. Going to pro or Ultimate the biggest feature is that it gives you domain access (you can add your computer to a domain) and most of that is not at all needed AT ALL for a WMC machine..

You can get a all in one ISO, or standalone, on WIndows 7 versions, they are all available in x86 or x64 accept for "starter" and I think that is only available in x86 and no one would want that version anyway.

More details here...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7_editions

So in a nutshell, if it's only for WMC use... get home premium or higher... If you can get ultimate cheap, then go for it...but, for dedicated WMC use, WIndows 7 home premium will do everything you want and can get it in x64 or X86 versions.

Remember, I was a Beta tester for Microsoft for Vista WMC and WIndows 7 WMC...and I took the full certification on WMC...so yea this is pretty imbedded in my head :-/

There is one particular addin that would be useful to me that only works with 32 bit, and that is media center outlook.

Have you tested it in x64 ? It's interesting as Media Center Outlook was created for Vista, and most of those apps run fine on Windows 7 X32 or X64.... I'd be shocked if it didn't run on x64... I honestly have not seen a WMC app that didn't run on x64 yet...

[jachin99]

I installed a fresh version of WIn 7 ultimate x86, and its giving me a score of 3.9. I'm guessing it ran this on its own at some point during the install because I didn't. I'll have to look but media center outlook might only be compatible with 32 bit versions of outlook

[Crash2009]

Here is a complete list of the differences between all versions of Win7

https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1 ... tions.html

WEI 3.9 is a good start. WEI should give you some suggestions, as to, what upgrades would result in a higher score.

x86 = 32 bit
x?? = 64 bit

[jachin99]

Alright, let me clear a few things up, Media Center Outlook is only compatable with x86 Windows Vista and 7, and outlook 2007 with the help of the cdo library, and 2003 without it according to the OAB Software Site. I downloaded the DCA and installed it but how do I run it? The download links in the wiki are a Microsoft download BTW, so if they are letting those die, then they might be gone soon too. Its a good idea to grab these, and possibly the playready download. After that, there isn't much more they can break, if anything.

EDIT: Maybe its time to start a new thread. https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/deva/2 ... look-2010/

[Crash2009]

Now that you have installed DCA into Win7, open up WMC and have a look up in Extra's

If you go over to MDL, (the WMC for Win10 thread) Login and find one of my posts there, DCA, PlayReady, and LAV are available for download from my signature. I install all three into every new build. DCA is run from WMC Extra's, and PlayReady should run during Tuner Setup. LAV gives you some additional codecs.

https://forums.mydigitallife.net/thread ... st-1261617

I really don't see any value in checking my email with WMC. Sounds like a great way to destroy a DVR.

Forget about all the add-ins for the moment....you will have plenty of time to break it later.

Get yourself one clean build and do a backup.

[jachin99]

I checked a few things on the machine. Windows is activated, and I have downloaded and installed the DCA from the wiki links. When try to run the DCA from extras, WMC tells me I have no internet connection. I do have internet and I tried setting the connection type to always on but had no luck. I have downloaded all important updates. The only thing k left that I can think of is I'm not connected to an hdcp compliant display. Is there a way to manually ru. The DCA outside of WMC?