Windows XP x64 and AOL

[Scuffer]

Got me a new 64-bit computer and Windows XP x64 OS to go with it. Only they don't like each other, something to do with winminiport apparently.

AOL's technical support doesn't have a clue, so I wondered if anyone else had had any luck with this combo.

 

[Dida]

does the x64 OS operate any faster than the 32 bit system?

 

[Speedo]

does the x64 OS operate any faster than the 32 bit system?

Every review I've read has shown a minimal difference, like +/- 2%.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Ditch AOL.

But really

Success. Turns out the latest AOL cd-rom install did not install a 64bit winminiport, so it means no 64 bit driver was available to connect to the internet.

AOL 9.0 installs AOL Connectivity Service (ACS) 3.0 from the cd-rom. I was told to download a Beta ACS 4.0. When I did this, I was able to connect to the internet and both AOL 8.0 and 9.0 are now working well under Win x64.

 

[Cedric Greene]

Every review I've read has shown a minimal difference, like +/- 2%.

I have read the same thing time and again but as personal experience between XP home and x64 I noticed a 5% to 10% on almost every aspect and with a cold boot time of under 30 seconds, unfortunately support isnt quite there and Ive had to go back to XPhome for Diskeeper, Zboard, and Daemon-Tools which is rather unfortunate.

Oh yeah and on topic, seriously get rid of aol. Why have a kickass system but still have dial-up? And aol dial-up at that!

 

[Speedo]

I have read the same thing time and again but as personal experience between XP home and x64 I noticed a 5% to 10% on almost every aspect

I'm sure it varies from app to app, obviously there's more out there than what the few things they test. Until there are more native 64bit programs (not to mention drivers) though, there's no reason to upgrade IMO.

with a cold boot time of under 30 seconds

That's more hardware though. I'd say my boot time is 15-20 sec, with XP Pro

 

[CruddyLeper]

I'm sure it varies from app to app, obviously there's more out there than what the few things they test. Until there are more native 64bit programs (not to mention drivers) though, there's no reason to upgrade IMO.

Well... yeah, I'd go along with that. Most apps have at most maybe 1% of code in them to take advantage of a 64 bit processor.

It's improving though. I don't intend to go 64 bit till there's a clear definite advantage - I mean, I can get a few percent by running games under 2K rather than XP, so why go to the expense of a 64 bit system for much the same speed?

BF2 is a watershed though. I can't see much of a difference between my rig and an equivalent 64 bit but it is just about noticeable.

Also, my rig is unusual (for games - it can't multitask at Windows apps for toffee) so for a lot of people it's much more apparent. Also you need a screen res of >1280 X 1024 to see it.

EDIT: Much the same deal when 32bit appeared. The world's first commercial 32 bit computer (Amiga A3000 I believe) was often returned because no software was available that took advantage of the features. Commodore were also first with the CD games console (CDTV) and 32 bit games CD games console (CD32). No wonder they went bust. All that lovely hardware (for the time) and no interest in software development whatsoever.

Anyway, it took maybe 7 years for 32 bit to become the norm (remember Win95? A3000 shipped in 1988). So far it's about 30 months since 64 bit hit the streets - and the progress has been much more rapid, both in terms of hardware availability, but much more important, in software support.

 

[Scuffer]

@GrandAdmiral - thanks, but I've already tried that. It seems you need to download on to your computer that has AOL on, which I can't do.

x64 seems no faster. But the 64 bit version of Far Cry has to be seen. Absolutely glorious. A few issues getting other things to work, but support quite good. Not worth getting for the sake of it, not yet anyway. Should be good in a few years though.

I'm moving house in a couple of months, so I don't want the hassles of a broadband contract until thats all settled, so dial-up for now. AOL isn't/wasn't bad, as long as you close the stupid AOL broswer immediately anyway.

Anyone got any ISPs they know support x64? AOL is no longer polluting my machine...

 

[Padma]

OTOH, Linux has had viable 64-bit distros available for over a year, now. Fast, and *free*.

 

[Speedo]

OTOH, Linux has had viable 64-bit distros available for over a year, now. Fast, and *free*.

And with no programs that on run on it...

x64 seems no faster. But the 64 bit version of Far Cry has to be seen. Absolutely glorious. A few issues getting other things to work, but support quite good. Not worth getting for the sake of it, not yet anyway. Should be good in a few years though.

The 64 bit version of Far Cry doesn't really use many 64 bit optimizations, they just gave it some extra eye candy not in other versions

Anyone got any ISPs they know support x64? AOL is no longer polluting my machine...

Any decent ISP shouldn't care what OS you're running.

 

[Scuffer]

OTOH, Linux has had viable 64-bit distros available for over a year, now. Fast, and *free*.

I've tried Linux once before, and really didn't get on with it. I'm sure it's great if you know what you are doing, but I lack patience.

Anyway, thanks for advice everyone, time to hunt me out a new ISP.

 

[Padma]

And with no programs that on run on it...

The *only* thing missing from Linux, including 64-bit versions, is Windows-based games.

(And many top-selling games are already ported to Linux by their publishers. If only Firaxis/Take2 would consider that....)

Virtually anything else you want to use a computer for is available under Linux. Not the *same* programs as Windows uses, but equally capable programs. For instance, Adobe Photoshop and PaintShopPro are not on Linux. But the Gimp is, and it can do almost everythign the others can do. (The only exceptions I am aware of are a few "high-end" things, that only a relative handful of people use, anyway.) K3B is the best CD/DVD-burning program I have ever seen, bar none. It is available only in *nix, not Windows.

I can surf the web with any of many browsers (and NONE of them are IE! ), I can do my email, manage my calendar, hotsync my Palm, download pictures from my digital camera, play *many* games, etc. Why would I want to be stuck on the Windows treadmill?

But I am way off-topic here, so I will shut up, now.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

^ Well if you actually need a 64 bit OS then abandoning industry standards like Photoshop etc is not an option. I can't see too many pros going with Gimp and I can't blame them. That would be like going from Quark Express/Adobe Premier to MS Publisher or Adobe Pagemaker. Not going to happen on a proffesional level and a certain amount of ametuers will also want to use the tools the pros are using. Anyone who really needs an app like Photoshop probably needs the features that Gimp can't offer. Gimp is more along the lines of Paintshop Pro. Then you have to consider the job market. A lot of people need to learn apps that industry professionals use when applying for jobs. I have had a few jobs where extensive experience with Photoshop was an absolute requirement. The real professional design software for Linux is supposed to come from Macromedia and they hope others will follow. By others I'm sure they met Adobe, but I'm not sure how thats going since Adobe purchased them.

How well have your ported games run on Linux? Have you noticed any difference? I've seen benchmarks but never actually compared it on my own systems.

 

[CruddyLeper]

So then, obviously a huge gap for a Linux based Windows emulator that can run MS based apps without actually using an MS operating system.

You could call it FreeWin.

Of course, you couldn't warrant it to do anything in particular (just like Windows isn't actually warranted to do anything) and MS would kick and scream like the spoilt brats they are... but hey, who'd care about that?

 

[Padma]

CruddyLeper: it's called WINE (WINE Is Not an Emulator).

 

[IglooDame]

Anyone got any ISPs they know support x64? AOL is no longer polluting my machine...

As Speedo says, any ISP (aside from AOL and maybe a few others with custom connect software) shouldn't care what OS you're running, or what hardware is inside your box. Of course, ones that advertize "near-broadband speeds" are doing software compression and you probably won't find that supported on your box, but such is life.

 

[Gogf]

Ditch AOL.

And Windows. That will fix all your problems.