Win7 32 to 64-bit transition

I want to upgrade my OS from 32 to 64 for more memory. As I understand it, there is no upgrade path and a full version needs to be installed. And during the install the disk gets reformatted so I’ll need to reinstall all the crap (er, I mean tools) I have. It’s this last part I dread.

So is the above true, or is there an alternative?

thanks

Its only worth the hassle if you are gonna use 8GB or more. I’m afraid I don’t know of any other methods besides the clean install.

if your projects, sound content and OS are on seperate disks, you could just reinstall the OS Disk, reinstall Cubase and all the other stuff you need on the SYS drive. You should then be able to just reload the files and continue work.

I take it that C6 Projects made with C6 WIN7-32bit OS can be inported without prbs into a C6 WIN-7 64bit environment… does someone care to elaborate? I’ll be trying this procedure soon because I’ll be going 64bit too…

If you have everythng on one drive, save your data (2 copies, like an image and to an ext HD) or even better buy a new HD and reinstall WIN764bit + C6 and copy your data back from the ext HD.

hope this helps…

How do you figure? I went from 3gb of triple channel ram (Core i7) under Windows XP to 6gb of triple channel ram with Windows 7. And the kicker is I’m using 64bit Windows with 32bit Cubase, and while I get a lot less out of the whole deal I am still getting an improvement since now Cubase gets the full 3.25gb or so of memory whereas before the OS took away some of that available memory. I did this because I need to retain 100% 32bit compatibility as I use a number of 32bit VSTi’s that are no longer in development. Eventually some day when all my current projects are done I can replace them with 64bit counterparts but not as it stands now.

He’s going to full on 64bit from what I gather. So if he uses anything above 4gb RAM he’ll gain an improvement.

BTW, I agree with the above - either an image backup or simply buy a new drive to load it up on so the original drive is a safe backup. Clonezilla is a free backup imaging utility but if you’re not a tech by nature it might be a tad confusing so read up on how to use it.

Rev.

My opinion about 8gb or more is based on my own and others’ workflow habits. Either you use the ram judiciously, or you go all out and load everything. If its such a hassle to reinstall, reconsider how much you are gaining. Dont upgrade this computer and decide later on you want 8, 12, 24, even 32gb, because youll go through the same reinstall again. It is possible to use a small amount of ram if you do the right things to make the most of it.

Thanks for the all the advice. I’ve got 3 HD on the system, so I’m not worried about projects, samples, etc. getting trashed. Digging out all the software distributions, registration codes and the like is the cyber equivalent of packing to move - and I hate moving.

In the last month or so I’ve started running out of memory, even on projects much smaller (i.e. no audio, few tracks) than much larger projects a few months ago. I used performance monitor to verify that the C6 and not some gremlin is what is using the memory. I’m guessing I was hovering just below trouble for awhile and some combo of C6, Win7 and mystery updates moved the line a bit.

Can you have both the 32 & 64 versions of c6 installed and then run whichever you want?

yup.

As already stated above, yes you can. But then you’d also probably want to install the 64 bit plugin versions as well.


Rev.

I made that transition a while ago and yes its a pain reinstalling everything but I think worth it. Do be aware that you may have problems with some 32 bit plugins. I had big problems until I bought JBridge which solved most (although not Jamstix).

For awhile at least, I think I’ll install both the 32 & 64 bit versions. Do the 2 versions share common configuration info? If, for example, I build a template or edit my key commands in one version, will they show up in the other version. Or if one version decides to block a plugin, will that block it for both?

One bit of advice to anyone going from 32 to 64. Before upgrading make sure to obtain a copy of your network’s 64-bit driver. Prior to upgrading you can easily tell who makes it and what they call it. After my upgrade I had an unknown network device, built by unknown, unknown, unknown.

After submitting this post I noticed I have my motherboard (needed to ID the right drivers) listed in my signature here.

That would have been easier :unamused:

I went from a 32-bit system to a 64-bit system and then eventually upgraded to a 64-bit Cubase to utilize all my available RAM from my 8GB of installed memory. The transition is DEFINITELY worth the hassle if you use huge VSTs such as EastWest’s libraries such as Symphonic Orchestra and Symphonic Choirs that require a TON of memory like I do but the trade off is you get very high quality instruments. The only real problem I experienced was some of my 32-bit VSTs immediately lost connection when I tried to load them in BitBridge but I had already purchased jBridge before I purchased Cubase 6 to prepare myself for the transition and it seems to have succeeded where BitBridge fails me.

There is no “upgrade” (i.e. with the one system) path for several reasons.

What I think is lost in a lot of people’s plans for the future, is that there is heavy pressure from many parts of the computer industry pushing to move to 64-bit as the de facto standard. With an implemented transition like that there will be a time when software houses inevitably has got chose if they can and want to support 32-bit architecture, at all. While it’s not difficult to compile an application into two separate installs, the interface factor between the two and other third party software certainly will have implications, e.g. the plug-in bridge mentioned, etc.

So I guess my point is that a fresh install and going 64-bit, though you might have issues with certain plug-ins, is well worth the effort now rather than a panic transition later (i.e. when 32-bit is no longer an option).