Windows XP Professional 64

[Vic Vega]

A couple years ago I was laid off and my "box of stuff" from that company has sat unopened since December of 2007. Long story short I decided enough time had past I would look through and found an old copy of Windows XP Professional 64 (otherwise known as Windows 2003 Server 64 tweaked for workstation use).

Out of boredom I went ahead and created a VM for it using VMWare Workstation. I've been using it the last few days and honestly, I really like it. I remember using it briefly before Vista 64 was available.

It looks like XP, smells like XP, but it just feels snappier and more stable.

Honestly, I could easily use this day in/day out for work no problem. XP has a simplicity to it that I really enjoy. I feel like most of the newer versions of Linux, especially with Cinnamon are trying to emulate the classic/simple XP experience. Maybe that's why I like Linux Mint 14.1 with Cinnamon so much.

I'm also really surprised at how well it runs - and it's sitting atop my Windows 7 64 machine. I have it running full screen utilizing both displays and it's fast. No issues with Youtube or any other full screen streaming. No drivers issues - everything works.

Good stuff.

 

[Matt1970]

Problem is is it usually last on the list to be included for drivers or just about anything else for that matter. I installed it on a PC for my dad and he was constantly calling me complaining about software not being able to run on it. XP with more than 3 gigs of ram was cool but there aren't that many people who really needed it running XP.

 

[smitbret]

It works, but becomes less usable with every passing day. I had originally tried to set up my NAS with Win XP 64-bit but had to quit since it creates a huge performance hit when used with my Parity and Drive Pooling software.

From what I've seen, this is not just an isolated case. It ends up being not very friendly with a lot of driver situations.

 

[blankslate]

The only problem is the end of security updates in less than a year for XP...

Unless you have the really rare piece of software that cannot run on Win7 there's no reason not to upgrade to it and give yourself until 2020 to either make the migration to Linux or hope MS comes up with another iteration of XP or Win 7. (a good OS with a not crappy interface)

 

[Vic Vega]

I've been using Windows 7 Enterprise since before it was released.

 

[Matt1970]

The only problem is the end of security updates in less than a year for XP...

Unless you have the really rare piece of software that cannot run on Win7 there's no reason not to upgrade to it and give yourself until 2020 to either make the migration to Linux or hope MS comes up with another iteration of XP or Win 7. (a good OS with a not crappy interface)

They never even made a Service Pack 3 for XP 64 bit.

 

[Vic Vega]

Yup, SP2 is as high as it goes. It really isn't XP, it's just called that.

 

[nehalem256]

Yup, SP2 is as high as it goes. It really isn't XP, it's just called that.

XP 64 is the same kernel as W2K3, which is NT 5.2 vs XP as 5.1

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition uses version 5.2.3790.1830 of core operating system binaries,[37] the same version used by Windows Server 2003 SP1 as they were the latest versions during the operating system's development. Even service packs and updates for Windows XP x64 and Windows Server 2003 x64 are distributed in unified packages,[38] much in the manner as Windows 2000 Professional and Server editions for x86.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_XP_editions#64-bit_editions

So basically XP64 SP2 is not equal to XP32 SP2

 

[Vic Vega]

XP 64 is the same kernel as W2K3, which is NT 5.2 vs XP as 5.1



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_XP_editions#64-bit_editions

So basically XP64 SP2 is not equal to XP32 SP2

Right, I thought we covered that?

 

[PingSpike]

I ran it up until maybe 3-4 years ago as my main OS. I'd probably still be using it but I got Win7 for $30 bucks or something. I honestly miss some aspects of it. I never had any issues with it other than there not being one driver for a cheapo USB modem or maybe it was a USB to serial port device. Every time its brought up people say it has no drivers. I'm sure it didn't when it was first released but my experience has been if there was a Vista/7 64-bit driver there was also a XP x64 driver. It may well be the version of windows (still being used) with the least amount of driver support, but its not like its all that noticeable of a difference.

I never had any software issues with it. The only one it should have is the same one all 64bit versions of windows have, where they can't run 16-bit programs. This was usually only an issue with installers for the most part which you could often get around. To be honest, I'm not sure I ever even encountered that problem once.

 

[Berryracer]

XP 64 bit is a discontinued unsupported POS OS

 

[Matt1970]

XP 64 bit is a discontinued unsupported POS OS

XP 64bit is a POS but you love Norton?

 

[gammaray]

i've used windows xp 64 3-4 years as well before windows 7 64. loved it, it just doesn't feel snappier and faster than XP, IT IS a LOT faster, especially to load video games. Also never had a BSOD, ever.

but it's an old relic now...

Apollo and Arnold in Predator lol

 

[Arkaign]

XP 64 bit is a discontinued unsupported POS OS

I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it a POS. It was quite good, but never given the full support it deserved. Of course now there's no reason to run it vs. W7 64, but it's not really unusable or anything. We have an Equitrac server set up at one of the law firms running on an old OptiPlex C2Q with XP64, and it works flawlessly for the intended purpose.

 

[smitbret]

XP 64bit is a POS but you love Norton?

I would agree on a certain level.

XP 64-bit might not be a complete POS, but it might as well be a dead OS since it does have a difficult time playing well with a lot of things. Norton however has been resurrected in the last couple of years and is one of the easiest AV programs out there.

 

[Towermax]

I ran XP 64-bit at work for about a year and liked it very much--was fast and used the full 4GB of ram on the system.

I'd like to find a copy to put on one of my old systems, just to play with and to run a couple of things that don't like Vista, 7, or 8.

 

[Viper GTS]

I ran XP 64-bit at work for about a year and liked it very much--was fast and used the full 4GB of ram on the system.

I'd like to find a copy to put on one of my old systems, just to play with and to run a couple of things that don't like Vista, 7, or 8.

Pretty much this.

Not having a reason to use it today (with 7/8 x64) doesn't mean it wasn't a good option in its day. I ran it for a year or two on a dual socket workstation machine, it worked great. Rock solid and full use of all the memory I had in it.

Once Vista hit I migrated to that and never looked back but XP x64 served me well.

Viper GTS

 

[Montosaurous]

Everyone loves XP, though I think some forget it's initial reception.

 

[Berryracer]

XP 64bit is a POS but you love Norton?

your comparision makes no sense and has no relevance? Norton Antivirus is a resurrected AV from the dead and is not a great product with great support.

XP 64-bit never got the support it deserved and many programs didn't work with it back in the day when I tried it including some drivers

 

[John Connor]

I currently run XP 64 on my desktop and have had only minor program install troubles. I would switch to Win 7 64 but I have too much invested into Flight Simulator a 22 GB + install and would have to reinstall all that crap on top of everything else I have installed. It just works for me. Would like to play BF3 though.

 

[Matt1970]

your comparision makes no sense and has no relevance? Norton Antivirus is a resurrected AV from the dead and is not a great product with great support.

XP 64-bit never got the support it deserved and many programs didn't work with it back in the day when I tried it including some drivers

And that's the fault of Microsoft for a lack of 3rd party driver support? And I love Norton. I have made a lot of money over the years cleaning up the messes Norton has made.

 

[NutBucket]

I run this on one of my work PCs. Its older C2D and it hasn't given me any issues. Haven't run into any software issues either. It does seem more stable than regular XP and not any better/worse than 7.

 

[Berryracer]

And that's the fault of Microsoft for a lack of 3rd party driver support? And I love Norton. I have made a lot of money over the years cleaning up the messes Norton has made.

When you say the mess Norton has created, do are you talking about systems running the latest NAV 2013 or older buggy versions? Coz I have had 0 problems with NAV 2013.

The most issues I saw with the best rated AV is Bitdefender AV, while its detection rates are superb, the program itself is a buggy POS

 

[Matt1970]

When you say the mess Norton has created, do are you talking about systems running the latest NAV 2013 or older buggy versions? Coz I have had 0 problems with NAV 2013.

The most issues I saw with the best rated AV is Bitdefender AV, while its detection rates are superb, the program itself is a buggy POS

I did say over the years so it would have to be older versions. "older buggy versions" doesn't say much for a company that has been around for over 20 years. I will say this, at least it is not as bad as McAfee.

 

[Jody Thornton]

Honestly, I could easily use this day in/day out for work no problem. ... I'm also really surprised at how well it runs... everything works.

Good stuff.

I don't have the driver issues others have either. I run Windows XP x64 Edition on an HP xw8200 with two Xeon 3.68 GHz processors, and two SCSI 73 GB drives on separate U320 controllers. It runs VERY reliably and it smokes!

(Of course this machine was intended to be used with it.)