Location:
State:
Carrier
Country
Status

Will we see a 32 bit preview of W9 ?


Just wondering because I'd really like to try it out, however I would be installing it on an older laptop which was a non starter for W8.1 x64 due to non availability of drivers. The x86 version I managed to get to run well.

Hard to say but the main issue there would also be the drivers that will come with Win 9. It may not recognize most of the hardware on the old laptop. I remember my 4 year old machine had problems with Win 8 drivers before. So I would be expecting something worse than that. I just hope that hardware manufacturers will be proactive about the Win 9 release this time around. Win 8 should be a lesson learned.

Yes, a problem indeed... and the laptop in question will be 8 yr old this December (Acer 9301). When W8 preview launched, I tried it but had to abandon things. Error messages and no video driver that I could get to work. With W8.1 x64 it was the wireless card driver that was a real problem, the x86 version happily accepting an older Vista driver.

It will certainly be interesting to see how it pans out.

You could always download VMware Player Plus: Easiest Way to Run a Virtual Machine | United States virtual machine and load the ISO image of Windows 9 in you current OS so that you don't have to risk anything until the OS is fully ready. That is what I am going to do. Run a virtual machine and then install it on the bare metal hardware when I am more familiar with it. If you need more info on VM check out the tutorials on the sister 7 and 8 sites.

Thanks for that. I've never been down the VM road (so I'd be starting as a total beginner) but it certainly looks a workable option if I hit installation issues.


Thanks

The early preview looks to be an enterprise preview so I would expect an x86 version just for compatibility issues. Some corporations are running some pretty ancient software. Just my 2 cents.

That would be good if it was. My old Acer has run XP, Vista (for most of the time), W7, and W8.1 Enterprise. 8.1 has been the best overall experience.

You could always download VMware Player Plus: Easiest Way to Run a Virtual Machine | United States virtual machine and load the ISO image of Windows 9 in you current OS so that you don't have to risk anything until the OS is fully ready. That is what I am going to do. Run a virtual machine and then install it on the bare metal hardware when I am more familiar with it. If you need more info on VM check out the tutorials on the sister 7 and 8 sites.
I'm also going the VMware path as well. If I think it went well enough I'll do a dual boot but that's only if things go really well in the VMware environment and if the reports from others here are positive on that type of testing.

If you create your VM as a VHD or VHDX type then you can run it as a VM or dual boot it. Probably...

Windows 8 VHD - Create at Boot to Dual Boot with

Yes, a problem indeed... and the laptop in question will be 8 yr old this December (Acer 9301). When W8 preview launched, I tried it but had to abandon things. Error messages and no video driver that I could get to work. With W8.1 x64 it was the wireless card driver that was a real problem, the x86 version happily accepting an older Vista driver.
So did you have any issues with the processor? Windows 8x apparently needs PAE, DEP and NX to work. I'm hoping I can get an x86 version to work.

Will we see a 32 bit preview of W9 ?