[ Thanks to Gary
Sims for this article. ]
I use Linux everyday, it is the main operating system on my PC
and I use it for everything. I have a 64-bit Athlon machine and I
run SUSE 10.1 64 bit. Recently someone bought be a copy of Windows
XP Professional x64 Edition and I thought I would give it a try.
This is what happened.
Having backed up all my data and made notes of how my hard disks
were partitioned I slipped the Windows XP disk into the CD drive
and rebooted. Up came the Windows installation procedure and
everything went painlessly. Good I thought, Windows XP x64 looks
and installs just like the 32-bit edition. After the installation
was complete the desktop appeared and all looked well.
First to configure the display driver. 800×600 isn’t really good
enough. But here came my first shock. Opening the display
properties told me that I had only a standard VGA card. What I
actually have is an nVidia GeForce 4 Ti. No problem, I was wise
enough to download the 64 bit nVidia drivers before I installed. So
I run the driver installation which politely, but firmly, told me
my card wasn’t supported.
I went back to their web site and what I discovered is that the
slower, poorer GeForce 4 MX is supported but the faster, better Ti
isn’t. So Windows XP x64 has fallen at the first hurdle. Needless
to say that under Linux the 4 Ti is supported natively and by
nVidia. As a work around I forced Windows to use the Microsoft
driver for a GeForce 4 MX. Now I could change the color depth at
least!
Next to the network card, I have two network cards in my
machine, an nVidia card incorporated in the motherboard and a
Belkin Gigabit PCI card. Both work flawlessly under 64-bit Linux.
Windows by default didn’t recognize either. My motherboard came
with a CD which claimed to have Window XP x64 drivers but after
installing them no new hardware was recognized. Off to the nVidia
site again and this time I download the latest drivers and now the
audio and the network work. The Belkin is a different story, no
driver on their site, no driver in Windows, so the Belkin remains
dead under Windows XP x64.
So with some network connectivity and a semi decent display I
was able to connect to the network storage I have on my LAN and
start to install some software. I started with FFDShow the
DivX/Xvid codec and a player. They seemed to install OK but when I
tried to play a video clip I got sound only and no picture. This
might not be the fault of the codec or player, it could be the lack
of correct video driver as these players tend to use video overlays
which need the graphics card working fully.
Thankfully Firefox works which you would expected as it is open
source, cross platform software. Then I tried to install Media
Player 10. No success. Media Player 10 isn’t supported on this
platform. At this point I stopped as I knew I had a battle on my
hands and I really didn’t have the energy to start that battle
today.
The initial result of all this is that Windows XP x64 is next to
useless for me. The question is this, why is there better driver
support in 64-bit Linux than in 64-bit Windows XP? The answer is
simple. Linux is open source and Windows is closed source and
proprietary. In the open source world the drivers are available for
everyone to see, use, change and improve. If I need a 64-bit driver
I can take the 32-bit one and change it to work in the 64-bit
environment. If I don’t have the skills to do that myself I can
find someone who has. But in the closed source world I have no
choice and no freedom. I am powerless.
When I made the switch from 32-bit Linux to 64-bit Linux it was
painless. Everything that worked in the 32-bit environment also
worked in the 64-bit one. The same can not be said for Windows.
One of the reasons I don’t use Microsoft is because I can’t
afford it. Every couple of years they ask me to spend hundreds of
dollars upgrading to the next version of their OS. When XP came out
I made the permanent switch to Linux. The reason this copy of
Windows arrived in my hands was because the person who bought it
couldn’t get the drivers for his hardware… Now I understand what
he meant.
In the free world of Linux I have a working, usable, fast and
stable 64-bit operating system. In the secret world of Microsoft I
will have to return to using the 32-bit version. But the question
is will I? I think I will stick with Linux. It looks like I need to
go back on my hands and knees and beg forgiveness from my SUSE 10.1
system for every doubting it and for my unfaithful fling with
Microsoft.
Gary Sims has a degree in Business Information Systems from
a British university. He worked for 10 years as a software engineer
and is now a freelance Linux writer and consultant. He can be
contacted at http://www.hungrypenguin.net