I will upgrade to Windows 7, 32bit (from Vista) in a few days and would like to know: do I have to expect any problems concerning the PMDG 747/MD-11, FSX and Windows 7? Do the developers think it is safe to use Windows 7? Any experiences yet from Windows 7 users?

I would seriously think about going to the 64 bit version, as it allows much greater memory addressing...Andrew

I would seriously think about going to the 64 bit version, as it allows much greater memory addressing...Andrew

Yes, but then I have to reinstall everything because UPDATE is only possible from 32bit to 32bit :( Richard

Good point...The difference may be worth it though... and you did say upgrade...Andrew

Get 64 bit guys...

64-bit is FOR SURE worth it if you run anything memory-intensive. I think if you fly anything PMDG, that qualifies. If it were me, I would even pay extra to move from 32-bit to 64-bit on that upgrade path they offer. Another option is XP64 which may actually be a superior solution if you're running older hardware and still want to go 64-bit.

Get 64 bit guys...

roger roger...already bought 64 with my student discount. just waiting until I get to el paso to install it.

64-bit is FOR SURE worth it if you run anything memory-intensive. I think if you fly anything PMDG, that qualifies.

Is this really 100% certain? I just read a computer magazine where they tested W7, Vista and XP 32-bit and 64-bit and they said 64-bit MAKES ONLY SENSE if you use TRUE 64-BIT PROGRAMS! 32-bit PROGRAMS (e.g. games) actually run SLOWER on Windows 64-bit in most cases and that there are no programs which use more than 2 Gigabyte RAM anyway. In other words 64-bit is only useful if you run several programs at the same time!!!???Richard

Yes, I have a question related to that: isn't it a problem if you wan to run 32bit programs on a 64bit system? When my current XP installation dies, I will move to W7, and I'd like to know what's better: 64bit or 32bit, provided I can use 32bit programs on a 64bit system,.

You're better off doing a clean install of W7 in any event - you get all sorts of issues doing an upgrade installation.Go for 64-bit in any event - it is the way forward.John Ellison

Is this really 100% certain? I just read a computer magazine where they tested W7, Vista and XP 32-bit and 64-bit and they said 64-bit MAKES ONLY SENSE if you use TRUE 64-BIT PROGRAMS! 32-bit PROGRAMS (e.g. games) actually run SLOWER on Windows 64-bit in most cases and that there are no programs which use more than 2 Gigabyte RAM anyway. In other words 64-bit is only useful if you run several programs at the same time!!!???Richard

We are both right. The magazine is correct in most respects however there are still advantages to 64 even if written for 32 in some cases. Don't forget we are talking FS here and FSX with SP2 or Acceleration is made to take advantage of 64-bit (address space above 2GB) and FS2004 can be made to take advantage of it as well.This is about flight simulator and in this case 64-bit is in my opinion a requirement. More specifically the recommendation was derived to address an issue of running out of available memory (address space) and not a comparison of performance directly. (you don't get much performance when you run out of memory :( )While I would expect certain 32-bit programs to start more slowly in a 64-bit environment that does not necessarily translate into the program running more slowly in all cases. I would expect little differences between the two on a performance front with 64 doing better on larger data and 32 doing better on smaller data programs. In our world (Home users of Flight simulator and games) I doubt those differences would hold any statistical value other than a couple of marks either way in 3D-Mark. Bottom line here is that with FS and all the heavy add-ons available chances of an out-of-memory error are almost guaranteed when operating within a 32 bit environment making 32 not suitable for FS in my opinion.The advantages (depending on your specific needs and requirements) of running a 64-bit OS outweigh any disadvantage, particularly when you consider that 64-bit is the way of the future and you can expect to see more programs taking full advantage of the 64-bit architecture in that future.My statements are not based in fact but represent my opinion. I also base my opinion on that I only run FSX and even then I am on XP-64 (no comment about Vista or Vista7). Your mileage may vary.

:(

You're better off doing a clean install of W7 in any event - you get all sorts of issues doing an upgrade installation.Go for 64-bit in any event - it is the way forward.John Ellison

Yes, I agree, that 64-bit probably is "the way forward"...I

This is about flight simulator and in this case 64-bit is in my opinion a requirement. More specifically the recommendation was derived to address an issue of running out of available memory (address space) and not a comparison of performance directly. (you don't get much performance when you run out of memory :( )Bottom line here is that with FS and all the heavy add-ons available chances of an out-of-memory error are almost guaranteed when operating within a 32 bit environment making 32 not suitable for FS in my opinion.

Yes, sounds very convincing and logical :(I now have to ponder if I should really burden all this work on me or just wait until I buy a new PC in a year or two...Richard

Yes, sounds very convincing and logical :(I now have to ponder if I should really burden all this work on me or just wait until I buy a new PC in a year or two...Richard

Your call, I have seen myself change operating systems once per month for several months to get to where I wanted to be. Each install taking several weeks as you know and already mentioned. I wouldn't do it on a whim, I did it because I had to (FSX was unbearable to me otherwise). I caution again that my results are based on XP-64 (my system, my hardware,me...me...me...me...me as Smith would say) and I will further add that one of my monthly reinstalls was removing Vista-64. FSX is optimized for XP (not Vista) and all I care about. So I have no need to attempt a try at Vista7 and doubt that I would be happy if I did.However if I was on Vista-32 anyway, I wouldn

Also, if you initially upgrade from Vista 32 bit to Windows 7 32 bit, with the intention of going to Window 7 64 bit within a few days, make sure you don't activate your serial key during the Windows 7 32 bit installation as the license key is only good for one or the other (even though both upgrade versions are in the box). MS tech support informed me of this after I was having some issues upgrading the other day.Craig