x64 vista and Dell

Dell is getting their act together on the x64 bandwagon
There are x64 drivers put out by dell, just not officially.
You just have to know where to look, for example the following link
http://support.us.dell.com/support/...eid=R200184&formatcnt=1&libid=0&fileid=277435
nvidia driver for x64 vista on m1530, not on their support site for m1530, yet it is available.
A11 bios update for m1530 to suppport 8 gb of ram, not on their support site.
if you go to their ftp site, and have time to look thru hundreds of files, you can find them.
I think when they have them all, they will put them on their support site, under x64 updates.

 

Been running Vista X64 on an Inspiron 1520 for months... just have to look up hardware IDs and get the proper X64 drivers from another dell product, or direct from the hardware manufacturer.

It would be nice though if Dell would officially support their products on X64 to make it easier for people though.

 

Just now (I mean 1 minute ago) I was going to buy an XPS M1730, I checked with the rep if it came with vista 64 (I had selected 4GB of RAM) and she said not yet. That was a deal-breaker or at least a deal-pauser. Does anybody know when the XPS M1730 is going to come with vista 64? Is it worth waiting for? or should I just choose something else?

 

^^^^I looked in the site and so far they have it (on lappys) on the Studio and the M1330


kinda dumb honestly lol

You can do the upgrade yourself no problem but you could probably wait a week or two and they might put it up

 

There are other ways to get Vista x64

 

what's the advantage of running a 64bit OS? will there be some compatibility issues with certain software?

 

The biggest has to be more ram, and some programs will run faster. Some software has compatibility issues like spyware docter which only works on 32bit OS but most software nowadys has a 64bit version as well.

 

Yes, there are, and the rep told me I could install vista x64 on the machine on my own, but I prefer to get it pre-installed to save the work and the potential complications

 

I tend to keep my computers a long time (4+ years, when they work). I have no hard facts, but I expect that there will be new software written only for 64-bits in the next four years. I may be wrong.

 

While there are just a few programs that are actually written specifically for the x64 bit OS ...a majority of the programs out there for daily use will still work on Vista x64 if that makes any sense.

Also as far as it being a lot of work to install, I think vista is actually really easy to install. It takes nowhere near as long as XP does.

 

I moved to x64 in February when I built a new desktop with 8GB of RAM. I haven't run into any issues yet. Google Desktop won't run in the x64 environment even though Vista x64 can run 32 bit programs easily.

 

It will - I'm running it on Vista x64.You simply have to run the setup file with the /force parameter (GoogleDesktopSetup.exe /force)

 

Interesting to know, I'll have to get it another try.

 

That is good to know, but do you have to do a clean install? and get all the new drivers in advance?
I guess there are guides out there, that would teach me how to do that... I might look for one, if Dell does not come out with a x64 M1730 in the next couple of weeks, but I don't mind to wait for now (although I am also super-ready to buy now)

 

I run vista x64 on desktop. In the past few years x64 support has definitely increased in terms of software availability. When I first installed vista x64 I couldn't even find antivirus that would function properly.

It's important to look at the software you already own and see if you will have any compatibility issues.

What types of applications are you looking at in terms of performance gains from operating on a x64 platform?

 

If you're interested in an m1730 you should look at this policy:

notebook review won't let me include the link because I haven't reached 15 posts yet.

If dell tells you that they won't support the OS it really doesn't matter because you're not getting OS or software support from dell unless you pay for that.

Most of the drivers if not all will work 32 or 64 bit.

I hope this helps you.

 

If you're interested in finding that link you can search on dell community.

Here's the most important content of the post:

Per Dell policy, if you purchased 32 bit Vista of any version, you are entitled to the 64 bit DVD of the same version upon request, with the caveat that Dell does not provide complete 64 bit driver support for all platforms. XP 32-to-64 bit is excluded from this policy. Consumer (aka Home and Home Office) purchases are not eligible for the 64 bit DVD as of June 3. This is subject to change.
For customers in the U.S. region, your best bet to get the DVD is from tech support. It will help if you can use a little Dell lingo to point them in the right direction. If the agent seems unaware of the policy, or unwilling to dispatch the DVD, you might try quoting the Dell policy document something like this: "I know I am entitled to this DVD. If you would kindly check DSN policy document ID 158098, 5th bullet under Policy, first sub-bullet."
This is supposed to be a global policy, but I can not say for certain it applies in all regions, and agents in other regions may not be able to access the same internal document using the same document ID.

 

that policy has since changed. consumers now can get the x64 dvd.

 

The only legacy 32-bit software that I plan to run is Office XP

 

Hi, I just installed my Vista x64 and every thing look good so far, one thing I could not get to work I tried downloading and installing the Dell Dock that's on the Dell M1330 x64, but the application says that i must have dell dock pre-installed then uninstalled it for the application to be reinstalled---!! any idea
Thanks

 

download the 2 versions of dell dock in the link provided.

Launch DELL-DOCK-APPLICATI_A03_R186613.EXE 1st and then install DOCK-APPLICATION_A03_R192718.EXE over the top.

This worked for me.

Link:
http://www.ditii.com/2008/09/24/dell-dock-app-download/

 

This worked great! Thank you for that suggestion.

 

A pleasure. Nice to be able to help, after all the tips I've received here!

 

I've contacted dell a month ago and they gave me all the official 64 bit drivers that they ship with their 64 bit m1530. So there are already 64 bit official drivers but they just don't release it on their website... I don't know why...

 

There is a lot of discontinuity within the hierarchy of Dell's reps and good software/drivers. Many a time, I'll find reps who contradict one another when it comes to advice on gaming and the like. So, it's not hard to believe that there are several files on the Dell FTP site that they do not endorse at all for fear they'll have a thickened workload of dealing with dissatisfied customers and drivers that do not have enough testing with their hardware.

Why they don't release it on their website? Probably web developer laziness If it's official, that means it's outdated but proven to work. The bare minimum. That's why we inevitably turn to 3rd party drivers.

 

Thanks chainy75, that was a great help.

 

I think dell doesnt support x64 yet, mainly because their support system is running at max right now. So they furnish the drivers, unofficially, and with no support, if nothing else, because the bottom line. I have never even called Dell, except to activate sprint card(required), and to request x64 dvd, all my support has come from this forum, dells forum and the vista forum. I have to disagree with the members who do not update to the latest drivers and updates,(if it aint broke dont fix it logic). Drivers are like beta programs, they have to be written in a short time, for use on a operating system that is not really finished. ie sp1,sp2,sp3 on XP. They usually have issues not known until we, the user get it and start experiencing bugs and have to be fixed. Dells chipset drivers are outdated and intel has the latest drivers, so i use the intels. Using dells chipset driver would not allow my 8 gb of ram, the latest Intel drivers did.(of course i had to use a11 bios).
I have had this computer since Feb and updated everything from the start and never had an issue, except with hp expresscard tv tuner, when i went to x64. Hauppage makes the card and they have x64 drivers with additional fix if you have more than 4 gb of ram. After the update everything works like it should.