Am I crazy

Ok, this is what I am thinking but it feels a bit crazy. I just recieved my m17x (review in other post). I like everything about it (except the DVD drive). But because I didnt do my homework, I didnt realize I could not get Vista x64 for this machine. I need this version due to some development I am doing which requires 64bit.

So I am sitting here thinking, I can wait until (someday) AW comes out with 64bit drivers. If this would be in the next few months I could deal with it. But next few years, no I cant.

Or, I could return this and eat the restocking fee and get a Sager which does appear to have Vista x64 option. It seems as if I could do this and get a quad core to boot for less than the m17x (even with the restock fee).

The one bad thing about this would be I would lose the nice backlit keyboard (which I really like).

Am I crazy?

 

You CAN run Vista x64 on Area 51 machines, I am running it on m15x. See my signature for more details and if you have Vista 64bit media then you can actually install it. Ping me if you face any challenges.

 

You can a dual boot also One with vista ultima 32bit and Vista Vista ultima 64bit

 

I have seen the success stories for the m15 but I have not been successful trying anything on the m17. I have an Original Vista CD and a Vista with SP1 CD. I can boot the original vista, but it stops at the first steps stating that it is missing drivers. Ive tried the drivers that people have used with the m15 with no luck. It just says no appropriate drivers found. The Vista SP1 cd wont even boot. It hangs on the black Windows screen (with the progress marqee going back and forth). Never gets beyond that.

It sounds as if everyone is able to at least get Vista thru the installation on the m15 though.

 

This cant be driver problem. Looks like media problem or problem with your DVD drive. Even without any driver, your vista should install into Standard VGA graphics + Sound + Network drivers. If it does not boot from media you better get a new media from Microsoft. You can order it here for free - http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/compare-editions/64-bit.aspx (go to page end and select the drop down)

Have you tried the same media on any other machine ? Does it actually boot?

 

I am preetty sure the m17x is a 64 bit compatible because i got every single OS there is out there installed on my m15x (except the Windows XP not into old times).

I also killed 3Dmark2006 <--- too old i aint into reminiscing. Installed 3DMark Vantage professional instead.

 

Well, I tried the media in my desktop and it booted into the install just fine. So perhaps this is a drive issue. I will see if I can get a new one. I will post back when I get more info. Thanks all so far for your help.

Is there anyway to test the drive to see if it is really bad before I start the replacement process?

 

You can use Nero to create a boot image file of your DVD and then write it to another blank DVD. This will test the capability of the drive to read all the sectors of the media which is giving you errors. If you were successful in making the media then try to boot with the new copy. I am not aware of any better way to actually test the drive.

 

I actually used Nero (on the m17x) to create the Vista DVD. I have Vista in iso format (from msdn). Built the DVD and verified OK on the m17. Really frustrating. I am trying the boot one more time and letting it take its time. It has passed the "Loading files" stage and is in the black screen with Marquee display with "Microsoft Corporation". I can hear the drive reading every couple of seconds. Maybe just maybe its just slow...crossing fingers.

 

Are you hearing noise like it is trying to adjust the lens head too often ? This can cause sometime if you burn a ISO file to DVD. I have one such iso of OSx86 with me and it takes close to 30 minutes just to come up to setup screen. I would recommend you to get another ISO or better make a copy of retail DVD if any of your friend has it then use your product key to install it

 

I'm not sure what the sound means. It does sound like a head move, followed immediately by a read. Wait, repeat. Approx every 10 secs. I will try a get a retail DVD. Probably gonna have to buy one, cuz no one i know has ultimate 64