Vista 64 Bit?

I'm thinking of making the change from 32 to 64 bit Vista?

I don't think I want to re-install the bloatware. I like Access Connections.
Does Lenovo have full 64 bit support? For the WWAN Card etc?

 

I cannot answer for any manufacturer for specifically but, you will have to search around for all the best drivers. I was assisting another Lenovo pers yesterday and we were speaking of just this. he stated he couldn't find a wwan driver. Sometimes it will be necessary to steal the driver from another manufacturer such as Dell. To give you an example. I have a XPS M1330 using 64Bit but have to use the Thinkad fingerprint drivers from UPEK.

Good Luck!!!

 

Thank you,

I think this is going to be a chore. I can't find the WWAN drivers for the MC5725 either.....

 

If its a chore...don't consider the change. if you enjoy the challenge and creating your own OS...go for it.

 

Flamenko,

I'm a former operating systems engineer/designer and writer. I've been in computers for about 35 years and I'm still a really good .Net Developer. I've probably done a hundred of my own windows installations. Hunting down obscure drivers is a growth experience NOT!

I can see the handwriting on the wall, my systems at idle are running out of memory headroom. So this isn't a case of a challenge or a thrill.

 

Renee - wonder how 2003 Server would do for you. It addresses all the memory that Vista 64 can, has pretty much the same driver support as XP. When configured as a workstation (instructions can be found easily), it is more stable and faster than XP. I am considering the same solution, as I get tired of waiting for Vista 64 support to mature...

 

Apologies...and your credentials put mine to shame but what occurs alot, if I my explain, is that people very little IT background do this and then make the jump.

A few days later they are here cursing about having a dead system and not having made a backup and so on and so on. I was just trying to help and would if I could.

I mistakenly stereotyped your use of the word 'chore' as being another person not sure how to and walking the fence which is why I replied as such.

I didn't mean any offence to be taken, apologies if it was.

 

Hi Bsodder,

I've used Server 2003 and I'm not crazy about the UI. I can understand your frustration with Vista 64 support though. I absolutely love Vista's infrastructural support. I'm also not sure that server 2003 goes above 4 gigs. I am not enamored with Vista's fluff.

It's really funny. I think I installed my WWAN about five weeks ago and I absolutely cannot remember where I found the 32 bit driver. Might it be that the lenovo kit has both 32 and 64 bit drivers?

 

Flamenko,

I think you are great and no I didn't take any offense. I've just been going on these scavenger hunts for decades now and I've written many drivers of my own. That's what I mean by "chore". It's just another "chase".

"A few days later they are here cursing about having a dead system and not having made a backup and so on and so on. I was just trying to help and would if I could."

I finished my backups of my 32 bit systems early this morning. Complete PC backup in Vista is a wonderful thing!

 

I think I'm going to take the plunge.

I just talked to philna who has his t61p on 64bits and he has WWAN. He says he is using his x86 drivers which everything I've read about vista 64 is not supposed to be possible.

At any rate.... I have good back ups so if I get into a hole... I'll be ok.

 

Good luck, Renee, hope it all works alright. Report back to us with information.

 

I will......

It's funny but I always get nervous when I do serious things to my own system.

Already I am doing something sort of "usery" that I've never done before. I am using Vista's Windows Easy transfer to transfer everything about me (keep in mind that my disk has several other partitions that will be unaffected by this.).

The other thing I've noticed is that Windows easy transfer seemed to know about Lenovo's SWTools directory and it's going to migrate that too. This is of note because I saw a large number of 64 bit drivers fly by.

I am doing this for "headroom". Over the years I've learned that as soon as you start to feel cramped, it's time to do something about it because it isn't going to get better.

So my next step needs to be to clean up my UFD Key in order tom preserve the activation on my system. I have Vista Ultimate and would almost like to down grade to Vista Business. Vista Business is ideal for the developer because it has all of the infrstructural support that makes Vista so outstanding but omits some of the "fluff".

I think I will need help ARK and that will be in the area of the fingerprint reader, the touch pad and the red button. My system has every conceivable piece of t61p hardware. Oh yes... I should check the NVidia drivers. I'm not a gamer and I've been having excellent results with the Lenovo sandard drivers.

As I have been writing this, Vista Easy transfer is three-quarters of the way through moving all setting and every thing else to a CD.

Suddenly I think this will go fine. I just wish I could remember where I found things Like Sierra Watcher.exe. I seem to think that I downloaded the WWAN drivers from lenovo.

Returning to a theme I talked about earlier. I used to work for a company that was a CPU manufacturer and everything else. One thing I KNOW about purchasing a computer, is to never undersize it. But MAXsize because you will soon grow into it.

 

Um..can u explain the cleaning up of the UFD key ? Im sick of calling them every time I change my SSD for testing purposes.

 

Last night, to finish off my 32 bit installation, I installed VS2008, the .Net development system. My UFD Key had 2 gigbytes of MSDN documentation on it.


What I just did, as part of Stallen's Clean Install Guid was to download the Chipset set drivers and have put them on the UFD Key. Since these things have really non-descript filenames, I simply renamed the executable installer to ChipsetDrivers.exe. It doesn't care what its name is.

PC easy transfer is finished and I was pretty surprised to see that it automatically included many of Stallen's steps. I was really surprised to see this it stored the Software Tools Directory, which will be important.

Oh yes, added to my list of uncertainties is the lenovo hotkey system. Every once in a while I use those keys.

Now I'm going to take care of the activation codes.

 

I cannot find a version of Sierra Wireless Watcher. The one in my current system is complex, has Verizon on it amd works with the MC 5725.

A free turbo memory card goes to anyone who can find it. I think I found it on the Sierra site. There are many lines of Sierra cards and the MC5725 is marketed in a very different way. Normally a Sierra card comes with watcher, mine didn't. I am sure I downloaded it from the Sierra Site.

First one to find it gets a turbo memory card.

 

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-67954.html

Is this not it? It is for the MC5725 and works for 64Bit.

Or are you looking specifically for the wireless watcher different from the driver?

 

Hey Renee, is it this?

http://www.sierrawireless.com/resources/support/Drivers/SWUSBMUX.msi

 

Gentlepersons......

I'm looking at the Sierra Wireless directory in my t61. It has 12.4 megabytes of software. I remember stumbling around on the net and being a little perplexed... but I finally found it and downloaded. Ark, I don't believe that is it because that msi is only about 1,5 megabytes. It won't be a small tiny download. By the same token Flamenko, after looking at the lenovo software and reading the readme file there is nothing in there about the watcher.

 

How about this? http://www.sierrawireless.com/resources/software/watcher/Build1363/3G_Watcher_Generic.msi

Found it here: http://www.sierrawireless.com/support/software_ac580_verizon.aspx

 

Thank you Ark, that was it !

Do you need a Turbo card? If so, it's yours.

 

I think I'm all ready to do it.

Goodness this is not going to be fun.

 

Is it that 1GB Intel Turbo Memory thing?

Good luck Renee, I'm sure you'll do it smoothly.

 

it's one or two gigs...... I'm not sure. It came with my T61p and I needed the mini-pci slot for my WWAN card.

 

Wow, thats nice of you Renee, if not I wouldn't mind purchasing that from you, but of course not until after Art.

 

I'm all set Renee and I really appreciate the offer, but no thanks.

 

If anyone deserves it Ark, it's you. That avitar is you.

Klutch.... if you send me a protective SSAE, I'll send you a turbo card.

 

Anti-static bags correct?

 

btw... Vista 64 is going in... there are loads of software packages that have to be loaded. I did store my activation information, deleted my 32 bit partition so I could recover the 6 gigabytes from the recovery space and now..... it's going to be a long night.

 

Klutch.... I think that would be well advised. This is the time of year for static and the card is small and not made for a lot of stress.

 

I'm going to do a diet coke run.... bbs.

 

I'm a little shocked.... Vista is still installing but the ultraNav and track point work with no additional software.

 

Isn't it supposed to? Worked during my XP clean install.

 

I think the Trackpoint is like a regular mouse input so it technically should still work.

 

Good luck Renee - I'll be trying this in yer footsteps I think...

 

I will definitely do it when I get a windows anytime upgrade disk and a usb dvd drive. Oh ya, and 4gb's of ram.

 

great.... so far the activation backup and storage did not work

 

Hm, but you were able to use your key from your laptop for the 64bit upgrade correct? Hopefully it doesn't keep going downhill.

 

No, I'm on thirty days probabtion

 

ACK!!!! Avast is no longer free......

Nevermind... yes it is.......

 

Avast?

Is AVG no longer better?

 

I am not familiar with it? Teach me?

 

Sure thing.

Still working on Vista 64bit install?

 

I like Avast, I've had AVG in the past and it wasn't as friendly. Both are good free AV's though.

 

Are they both Vista 64 compatible?

I know Avast is more eye candy but what were the main differences that you noticed between them, klutchrider?

 

Ark,

Yes, I am still working on the install and I will be for a couple of days. My system has lots of layered software and it all has to be installed. Right now, I'm downloading a printer driver and SQL while VS2008 is installing. Photoshop and Office have yet to go in. Although many of my settings and email transferred, Windows mail is not connecting to gmail. Several of my own written programs are not starting automatically from registry entry. In x64 land there are two Proam Files - Program Files and Program Files(x86) for legacy applications.

 

I know for a fact that Avast is 64 bit compatible because that's what I use on my desktop that has XPP-64, AVG I'm not to sure, haven't used them in ages. A couple of years ago when I used the program it was resource intensive, while I can't state that for a fact today, Avast has filled all my basic AV needs.

Couple annoyances in Avast that I definitely disabled were the sounds created when it updates it's databases, etc.

edit: Just checked AVG's website and it now also supports Vista 64-bit.

 

I have been using AVG Free Version on my Vista Ult 64 Bit system since September...I had been using it for years before that. Works Great!

 

Yeah, I understand that. IMO just use what you're more comfortable with, both are great free sources of AV protection.

 

When I installed the wireless drivers, vista found several "problems" and downloaded drivers to fix the problems which were drivers for hardware.

The lenovo drivers are a pain because I had wanted to get rid of those directories in the c:\drive root. However all lenovo drivers want to do dumps into those directories. After the dump you have to find the directory and run setup.

VS2008 in installed. Perfect Disk defragmentation is installed. The MSDN library is waiting on a disk defragmentation.

Although a fingerprint driver is installed, I have no manager. So no fingerprint reader yet. Office, Photoshop and SQL are still in the queue.

The networked printer driver is in. When systems are networked, a 32 bit copy of vista can ask another 32 bit system for a driver and it will supply it. However, when one system is 32 bit and is 64 bit, Vista will treat those systems as if they are different operating system and you have to do another download for printer drivers.

I also talked to Phil and he said the reactivation failed for him too.

 

So Renee, you are continuing to install all your software - are you going to activate with another key, or lose it all in 30 days? Also, did you install the same flavor of V64 as V32 (Ultimate, Biz?).