Get The Most From 64-Bit Computing

Get The Most From 64-Bit Computing

By   11:57   No comments:

Since it was introduced for Windows operating systems, 64-bit computing has changed substantially. Not only do computers running 64-bit versions of Windows perform better and run faster than their 32-bit counterparts, they are also more scalable because they can process more data per clock cycle, address more memory, and perform numeric calculations faster.

And do you know that Windows 7 supports two different 64-bit architectures:

• x64: This architecture is based on 64-bit extensions to the x86 instruction set, which is implemented in AMD Opteron (AMD64) processors, Intel Xeon processors with 64-bit extension technology, and other processors. This architecture offers native 32-bit processing and 64-bit extension processing, allowing simultaneous 32-bit and 64-bit computing.
• ia64: This architecture is based on the Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing (EPIC) processor architecture, which is implemented in Intel Itanium (IA64) processors and other processors. This architecture offers native 64-bit processing, allowing 64-bit applications to achieve optimal performance.

You can also read my earlier post on which i have discussed the Advantages And Dis Advantages Of 64 Bit Windows

Sixty-four-bit computing is designed for performing operations that are memory intensive and that require extensive numeric calculations. With 64-bit processing, applications can load large data sets entirely into physical memory (that is, RAM), which reduces the need to page to disk and increases performance substantially.

The EPIC instruction set enables Itanium-based processors to perform up to 20 operations simultaneously.

Currently, the prevalent firmware interfaces are:

• ■ Basic input/output system (BIOS)
• ■ Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI)
• ■ Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)

Itanium-based computers differ in many fundamental ways from computers based on the x86 and x64 specifications. While Itanium-based computers use EFI and the GUID partition table (GPT) disk type, computers based on x86 use BIOS and the master boot record (MBR) disk type.

Computers based on x64 use UEFI wrapped around BIOS or EFI. This means that there are differences in the way you manage computers with these architectures, particularly when it comes to setup and disk configuration.

However, with the increasing acceptance and use of UEFI and the ability of Windows 7 to use both MBR and GPT disks regardless of firmware type, the underlying chip architecture won’t necessarily determine what firmware type and disk type a computer uses. This decision is in the hands of the hardware manufacturer.

Generally, BIOS-based computers use MBr for booting or for data disks and Gpt only for data disks. eFI-based computers can have both Gpt and MBr disks, but you must have at least one Gpt disk that contains the eFI system partition (eSp) and a primary partition or simple volume that contains the operating system for booting.

In most cases, 64-bit hardware is compatible with 32-bit applications; however, 32-bit applications perform better on 32-bit hardware. Windows 64-bit editions support both 64-bit and 32-bit applications using the Windows on Windows 64 (WOW64) x86 emulation layer. The WOW64 subsystem isolates 32-bit applications from 64-bit applications. This prevents fi le system and registry problems.

The operating system provides interoperability across the 32-bit/64-bit boundary for the Component Object Model (COM) and for basic operations such as cutting, copying, and pasting using the Clipboard. However, 32-bit processes cannot load 64-bit dynamic-link libraries (DLLs), and 64-bit processes cannot load 32-bit DLLs.

In the shift to 64-bit computing, you may want to track which computers in the enterprise support 64-bit operating systems, which computers are already running 64-bit operating systems, or both. With Windows PowerShell you can:

• Determine whether a computer has a 64-bit operating system installed by using the OSArchitecture property of the Win32_OperatingSystem object.

An example and sample output follow:

get-wmiobject -class win32_operatingsystem | format-list

• 
• Determine whether a computer supports a 64-bit operating system by using the Name and Description properties of the Win32_Processor object.

get-wmiobject -class win32_processor | format-list name,description

Here, the first sample output tells you the computer is running a 32-bit version of Windows. The second sample output tells you the computer has an x64 processor.

As a result, you know the computer can be upgraded to a 64-bit version of Windows 7. Rather than check each computer individually, you can create a script to do the work for you.

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0x0000007e Printer Cannot Connect Operation Failed

0x0000007e Printer Cannot Connect Operation Failed

By   20:57   3 comments:

Windows 7 Enterprise having this problem when installing printers. And the error message that Windows gives is, "Windows cannot connect to the printer." Details: "Operation failed with error 0x0000007e".

What is the solution for this error, if we do not want to have the computers with local port definitions.

If you are an Windows administrator, try the following script: "rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /in /q /n \\myserver\myprinter"

Here is the solution for 0x0000007e “Printer Cannot Connect Operation Failed ”:

I wanted to post my findings for people searching this.

My Environment:

Server: Windows Server 2008 32 bit

Printers: HP LJ 4100, HP LJ 4600

Driver: HP Universal Print Driver

Clients: Mixture of W7 x86 and x32

Symptoms: 32 bit clients have no issue adding printers, 64 bit clients are unable to add printers and receive an error of "Cannot Connect to Printer" with an error code of 0x0000007e.

My resolution:

Open 2 command prompts on the server and do a dir on c:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86\3\hpcpn*.dll in one window and a dir on c:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\x64\3\hpcpn*.dll in another window.

Chances are, you will not have the same file in both directories, which is what windows wants. I've tried renaming and I've tried copying the other dll file, these methods don't work. You can muck with installing new drivers all day to get these files to align, or you can do the following:

When installing for a 64 bit client:

Take note of the three digit number at the end of that dll file in the x64\3 directory

Open regedit and browse to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Printers\<Printer Name>\CopyFiles\BIDI. Change the value of the "Module" key to end with the dll that we found in the \x64\3 directory

When installing for a 32 bit client:

Take note of the three digit number at the end of that dll file in the w32x86\3 directory

Open regedit and browse to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Printers\<Printer Name>\CopyFiles\BIDI. Change the value of the "Module" key to end with the dll that we found in the \w32x86\3 directory

I hope this helps everyone, if it still does not work for you, just read more on this page…

I spent a long time working this issue with HP and Canon and what ended up solving the 0x0000007e error on the Win 7 x64 clients using a Windows 2008 print server:

• Logon to the Windows 7 client machine
• Click on the Start button
• Click on Devices and Printers
• Click and highlight any printer already installed on the local machine. (This should allow you to see the “Print Server Properties” button right underneath the address bar at the top of the page.
• Click on Print Server Properties button
• Click on the Drivers Tab
• Highlight and remove every single driver (Make sure you are on the client machine NOT THE SERVER!!)
• Click OK and then Close the Printer Page.
• Go to Start /Run / and type in services.msc
• Find the print spooler service
• Stop the print spooler for at least 10 seconds
• Restart the print spooler service
• Go back to the print server and try and reinstall the printer

It works for you, that is fine.

In addition, according to Microsoft database, if the driver has color profiles, the add printer wizard will fail. It is a known bug in Windows 7.

I found a hotfix on Microsoft page which was supposed to solve this issue.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982728/en-us#appliesto

It might help you.

And if it does not work, I would like to know if adding the printer as local printer works. Please check if solutions on the following thread will work:

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w7install/thread/a7fe6b93-5752-49a6-add7-0cf129b7b348

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Windows 7 Keep Getting Code 52 On Device Manager | How To Fix

Windows 7 Keep Getting Code 52 On Device Manager | How To Fix

By   20:33   No comments:

Windows has been giving me a hard time with audio drivers. The problem occurred shortly after the Patch that have come from Windows update where updates were applied.

I keep getting Code 52 in the device manager : windows cannot verify the digital signature for the drivers required for this device. The drivers used to work fine until then.

Computer is a  running Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit SP1 with all the latest updates from Microsoft.

Try the following fixes:

• Uninstalling/reinstalling the driver and deleting the device and it's drivers from device manager before reinstalling.
• Test your sound card using Diagnostic Utility from your vendor, (if it is dell, possible Dell Diagnostic Utility), and see if the sound card works.
• Try system restore to revert to an earlier state, most probabley it should work…

And if all these steps failed to get the sound card working again, try these.

Well, now coming to the actual problem. One simple reason for this error is, your windows 7 system file have been damaged or has been corrupted. And Just to simple close this issue down, you can reinstall Windows 7 which will actually solve the problem.

You don’t want to format and install, just install on top of your current OS, and you can still able to find your old files in C:\Windows.Old.

While I never like to reformat a computer, too much time will actually be spent troubleshooting this issue and some times no headway will be made. Simple and fast, is to re install Windows 7. Or if you wish to fix and troubleshoot this, go ahead!

Please fully uninstall the driver, then download the appropriate drive in the following link.

Drivers From Dell

After installing this driver, please use Sigverif.exe to check the unsigned device drivers.

1. Click Start Menu, then type sigverif.exe.

2. Click sigverif.exe which is listed in the Program list.

3. Hit start to verify the drivers, when it finish's, click Advanced=>View Log.

If the sound card driver is unsigned, you may rename these files, then try to reinstall the driver again. If the issue still happen, I suggest you to contact the manufacturer to ask for a signed driver for this kind of issue.

As you can see in the above figure, none of the audio drivers are listed.

When installing drivers for the audio device manually via the device manager, you will usually get the same code 52 error. On the second IDT HD audio device, you may get the following error :

"The class installer has denied the request to install or upgrade this device".

I have tried installing previous versions of the driver, both from the website you provided and with Dell tech support, but the problem persists.

I suggest you to rename all the files, and then try to install the driver again.

If it still does not help:

Just to finally close this issue down, we actually reinstalled Windows 7 on this laptop last week and it has solved the problem. While I never like to reformat a computer, too much time had already been spent troubleshooting this issue and no headway had been made. Thanks for all your help Juke.

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Advantages And Dis Advantages Of 64 Bit Windows

Advantages And Dis Advantages Of 64 Bit Windows

By   20:00   No comments:

Windows Operating System makes everyday tasks faster and easier, to make our PC work the way we want it to, and to make it possible to do new things. And that's exactly what its doing. And now, we have the old 32 bit architecture as well as the new 64 bit architecture. As we have plenty of knowledge working with so far 32 bit architecture, now its time to learn the advantages and the dis advantages of 64 bit architecture.

When deciding to move up to a 64-bit operating system, you should first consider what 64-bit gets you. Knowing what software runs on 64-bit should influence your decision; you will see no advantage if you are running 32-bit software on a 64-bit OS. 

You also lose the ability to run 16-bit software, which shouldn’t be a problem unless you rely on older software, such as old work software or home-made packages you haven’t yet updated. Read more about the Benefits Of Windows 7 64-bit Operating System

Advantages Of 64 Bit Windows Architecture: 

• More processing power: In very basic terms, 64-bit means that it can handle twice as many bits per clock cycle. For more on the technicalities of the architecture, we recommend reading this Wikipedia entry.
• More memory: The 32-bit consumer version of Windows is only capable of addressing 3 to 3.5 Giga Byte of RAM; therefore, when you use more than 4 Giga Byte, the additional RAM goes to waste. Hitting the 3 to 3.5 Giga Byte limit only occurs if you work with several memory-hungry programs at the same time.
• Performance advantage: Practically speaking, applications can make use of the 64-bit architecture to process huge data operations more quickly. This is especially important with advanced programs, such as video editing suites, games, or encryption software.

• More security: The 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and 7 contain Kernel Patch Protection which prevents malicious programs from changing the Windows kernel. The operating systems also boast a Data Execution Prevention which uses a special processor feature to prevent an application from running code from a memory region where it’s not supposed to run. Overall, the 64-bit edition is more secure than its 32-bit counterpart.

Dis Advantages Of 64 Bit Windows Architecture: 

• Possible driver issues: 32-bit drivers are not supported; hardware manufacturers have to provide special 64-bit versions. However, this is not as much of an issue anymore, as nearly all of the hardware that has been released over the past three years has shipped with drivers right out of the box. If not, these drivers will come via Windows Updates or download from the manufacturers support Web sites.  
• Higher memory consumption: All memory addresses are now 64 bits long instead of 32 bits. This results in a larger memory footprint for Windows and applications. We’ve seen 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and 7 taking up 200-350 Mega byte more RAM than 32-bit versions. If you have at least 3 Giga byte of main memory, this is not an issue, but on a low-end machine (1-2 GB), this causes more access to the hard disk and potentially slows down the machine.
• No compatibility with 16-bit software: Support for old 16-bit applications has been disabled. In most cases, this is not an issue, except when you or your company uses legacy software that has some 16-bit parts still built into it.
• Additional Windows layer: 32-bit applications run under the Windows on Windows 64 (WoW64) environment, which emulates the old 32-bit Windows systems. This means that all 32-bit programs need to go through an additional layer in Windows before they can be processed. Although this layer is very thin, it usually results in a 2% performance loss.

These are the top four advantages and dis advantages of going for a 64 Bit Windows Architecture. You can also read my other post where I speak about the Benefits Of Windows 7 64-bit Operating System.

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Advantages And Dis Advantages Of 64 Bit Windows

Advantages And Dis Advantages Of 64 Bit Windows

By   23:04   1 comment:

Windows Operating System makes everyday tasks faster and easier, to make our PC work the way we want it to, and to make it possible to do new things. And that's exactly what its doing. And now, we have the old 32 bit architecture as well as the new 64 bit architecture. As we have plenty of knowledge working with so far 32 bit architecture, now its time to learn the advantages and the dis advantages of 64 bit architecture.

When deciding to move up to a 64-bit operating system, you should first consider what 64-bit gets you. Knowing what software runs on 64-bit should influence your decision; you will see no advantage if you are running 32-bit software on a 64-bit OS. You also lose the ability to run 16-bit software, which shouldn’t be a problem unless you rely on older software, such as old work software or home-made packages you haven’t yet updated. Read more about the Benefits Of Windows 7 64-bit Operating System

Advantages Of 64 Bit Windows Architecture: 

• More processing power: In very basic terms, 64-bit means that it can handle twice as many bits per clock cycle. For more on the technicalities of the architecture, we recommend reading this Wikipedia entry.
• More memory: The 32-bit consumer version of Windows is only capable of addressing 3 to 3.5 Giga Byte of RAM; therefore, when you use more than 4 Giga Byte, the additional RAM goes to waste. Hitting the 3 to 3.5 Giga Byte limit only occurs if you work with several memory-hungry programs at the same time.
• Performance advantage: Practically speaking, applications can make use of the 64-bit architecture to process huge data operations more quickly. This is especially important with advanced programs, such as video editing suites, games, or encryption software.

• More security: The 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and 7 contain Kernel Patch Protection which prevents malicious programs from changing the Windows kernel. The operating systems also boast a Data Execution Prevention which uses a special processor feature to prevent an application from running code from a memory region where it’s not supposed to run. Overall, the 64-bit edition is more secure than its 32-bit counterpart.

Dis Advantages Of 64 Bit Windows Architecture: 

• Possible driver issues: 32-bit drivers are not supported; hardware manufacturers have to provide special 64-bit versions. However, this is not as much of an issue anymore, as nearly all of the hardware that has been released over the past three years has shipped with drivers right out of the box. If not, these drivers will come via Windows Updates or download from the manufacturers support Web sites.  
• Higher memory consumption: All memory addresses are now 64 bits long instead of 32 bits. This results in a larger memory footprint for Windows and applications. We’ve seen 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and 7 taking up 200-350 Mega byte more RAM than 32-bit versions. If you have at least 3 Giga byte of main memory, this is not an issue, but on a low-end machine (1-2 GB), this causes more access to the hard disk and potentially slows down the machine.
• No compatibility with 16-bit software: Support for old 16-bit applications has been disabled. In most cases, this is not an issue, except when you or your company uses legacy software that has some 16-bit parts still built into it.
• Additional Windows layer: 32-bit applications run under the Windows on Windows 64 (WoW64) environment, which emulates the old 32-bit Windows systems. This means that all 32-bit programs need to go through an additional layer in Windows before they can be processed. Although this layer is very thin, it usually results in a 2% performance loss.
  

These are the top four advantages and dis advantages of going for a 64 Bit Windows Architecture. You can also read my other post where I speak about the Benefits Of Windows 7 64-bit Operating System.

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Install Windows 7 64 Bit With A 32 Bit Product Key | or Vice Versa

Install Windows 7 64 Bit With A 32 Bit Product Key | or Vice Versa

By   22:46   No comments:

Is it Possible To Install Windows 7 64 Bit With A 32 Bit Product Key | or Vice Versa? This is my question for long time. I have a Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit NFR (Not For Retail) Installation DVD, but I want to install the 64 bit version. Is it possible to use the key that I've received for the 32 bit Windows 7 Ultimate version to install the 64 bit version? 

Today’s PCs come pre-installed with either the 32-bit (also known as x86) or the 64-bit (also known as x64) edition of Windows. With the full retail package of Windows 7 (which includes one 32-bit and one 64-bit disc) now available.

But if you have purchased a new computer, Operating system (OEM) will be pre installed on it and you can only have the recovery disk and not the original disk but just one product key. That is either 32 Bit or 64 Bit will be included. What to do if you want to switch the architecture?

In the past I have read in some online forums that they bought the PC with Windows 7 32 Bit installed and when they try to install 64 Bit Windows, the product activation actually failed. 

Solution:

I guess this will give you an idea about using the single product key for both 32bit and 64 bit of Windows Operating System. Yes, you can use the same key. Product keys are SKU dependent. They are not architecture dependent. Yes, Whilst the media is different, the key licenses you to use either as long as it is within the same context. That is, OEM for OEM, Upgrade for Upgrade e.t.c.

Here is one example for you:

I don't know Microsoft's official position, but at the Server 2008 launch last year they gave out a 32-bit and a 64-bit version. They included 2 keys: 1 for a virtual install, the other for physical. That must mean both keys are valid with both versions.

I've also seen VLK's get rejected on OEM CD's and vice versa on XP (used to work for school district and we kept confusing CD's).

I guess that means your product key is licensed for Windows Ultimate 64-bit NFR as well, but it would be hard to obtain if it even exists, since NFR isn't intended for public distribution.

However, if you got into any activation problem, at the very worst you'll need to call Microsoft and they'll sort it out for you.

Every Retail box of Windows 7 comes with both the 32- and 64-bit-DVDs: So you can install the most effective that you feel.

Highly Important: When you are installing the Windows 7 Operating system, be sure you are using the original Disk downloaded from Microsoft. If you're not downloading the ISO direct from Microsoft then you want to be very careful with it. Microsoft applications and ISOs downloaded from "less than legitimate sources" have been infected with Trojans etc in the past and in few occasions those product number will already be in the hit or block list in the Microsoft Data Base, you want to make totally sure that yours is clean before you use it.

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