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No iPhone For 64-Bit Windows

Posted by kdawson on from the very-fine-print dept.

Mizled writes "After buying a new iPhone yesterday and bringing it home to sync and activate it, I found out that Windows 64-bit is not supported. Neither XP 64-bit nor Vista 64-bit works with the iPhone. I called the Apple support line and the rep said I needed to downgrade my computer from a 64-bit operating system. I also posted about my concerns on the Apple iPhone discussion forums, but my post was quickly removed."

5 of 762 comments (clear)

  1. No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Dogtanian · · Score: 5, Informative

    Come on, who'd buy a first-gen iPod without checking to see if it would work with their XP box? Or a Newton without checking to see if it could data transfer with Windows 3.1? That's a poor and downright misleading comparison. The listed product requirements mention XP and Vista, but didn't (and at the time of writing still don't) mention anything about incompatibility with 64-bit versions.

    It's reasonable to assume that- unless otherwise stated- the requirements in Apple's list would be both necessary and sufficient. It's not like it says "see this obscure Apple doc for more details". Apple probably kept that on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard'... ;-)
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    1. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      No, it is not. Microsoft's own documentation is clear on what the name of its products are. Just go to their website and you will see that when 64-bit is not specified, the version of Windows being discussed is a 32-bit one. Microsoft's names for the 64-bit versions of its operating systems:

              Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit Edition
              Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition
              Windows Vista Business 64-bit Edition
              Windows Vista Enterprise 64-bit Edition
              Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit Edition
              Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

      This is not a raw deal. Until Apple offers to support its products on 64-bit editions of Windows, no such contract as you describe exists.

    2. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Wordsmith · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actually, it says "Beware of the 64-bit Windows." It should work just fine with Leopard.

  2. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not that it is useful to respond to an inarticulate troll, but whatever I'm bored.

    There are plenty of reasons to install a 64-bit OS, even if you don't have >4GB of RAM. One would simply be to support larger amounts of memory in the future. If you've just got a new computer, why not be prepared? Seems rather silly to install an OS that you know you can hit a limit on and have to reinstall later.

    Another would be that 4GB isn't the real 32-bit limit. There are two limits you hit first. One is the 2GB per process limit. In Windows, virtual address space is divided right down the centre, with 2GB of kernel, 2GB for user (64-bit Windows does the same just with larger limits). This means that no single process can access more than 2GB of memory, since that is all the virtual address space it is given. So having more memory is fine for multiple programs, but if you have a single program that wants more it doesn't do you any good. Another is the 3.somthing GB limit from PCI devices. PCI devices grab memory ranges to use for getting data to and from them. Not a problem when your memory isn't near the limit of the address space, but when you get above 3GB, you run in to it. At work we have a DVR system with 4GB of memory but only 3.4GB is actually addressable, the rest of the address space is eaten up by the PCI devices.

    So really if you have more than 2GB of memory, and especially if you have more than 3GB, a 64-bit OS is the way to go.

    However there are other reasons too. In 64-bit mode, the processor has some features it doesn't in 32-bit mode. The most notable are extra registers and 64-bit integers. The extra registers are useful for optimising certain complex, but tight calculation loops (like encryption and such). 64-bit integers are useful any time you have a counter that needs to go past 4.some billion. In 32-bit mode, those numbers must be split in to 32-bit parts with a math library and that is rather slow. In 64-bit mode, they can be operated on natively.

    What it really comes down to is that 64-bit is the future. We are rapidly approaching 4GB in normal systems, and the need to move over is well recognised. Even Apple is releasing their OS as 64-bit soon.

    Perhaps in the future you'll take a bit more time to educate yourself before posting.

  3. Requirements omit to mention Windows 3.1 by Scrameustache · · Score: 5, Informative

    Come on, who'd buy a first-gen iPod without checking to see if it would work with their XP box? Or a Newton without checking to see if it could data transfer with Windows 3.1? That's a poor and downright misleading comparison. The listed product requirements mention XP and Vista, but didn't (and at the time of writing still don't) mention anything about incompatibility with 64-bit versions. So they list the ones they support, and don't list the ones they don't support?

    What a shocker.

    The official name of the 64 bit product is Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.
    That name is not listed on the iPhone page, don't expect it to be supported.
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