Windows 7/64-bit systems
feddx
Posts: 183
I know the company line from AMX is there is no support for the software we use (NetLinx Studio, TPDesign 4, IR Edit, etc.) to do our job on a 64-bit system. Also while people are using the software on Windows 7 machines, AMX states that if there are problems support may not be able to help us. They are sticking pretty firmly to the 32-bit Windows XP architecture for their software.
But I'm sure people are using Windows 7 in XP compatibility mode. And there has to be someone that has tried to use a 64-bit box.
So, because this could affect the purchase of a new laptop, I'm looking for few notes from people that are straying outside the norm and are giving 64-bit and/or Windows 7 a whirl with the software.
Thanks in advance.
But I'm sure people are using Windows 7 in XP compatibility mode. And there has to be someone that has tried to use a 64-bit box.
So, because this could affect the purchase of a new laptop, I'm looking for few notes from people that are straying outside the norm and are giving 64-bit and/or Windows 7 a whirl with the software.
Thanks in advance.
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I too am interested in this. This issue is going to come to a head soon as RAM requirements are quickly hitting the 32-bit threshold.
I currently have a nice 3.2Ghz Quad core here at work. However, to get above the 3Gig RAM limit, I'm going to have to go with the 64-bit windows if I go to Win7.
I plan on doing this and seeing how it goes. If it just causes problems I'll just create a VM on my machine with good ole WIN XP Pro and call it good.
I was thinking the same thing. My only concern being the usb->serial adapters required for a new laptop and it's ability to work flawlessly in the VM.
And can you run a 32-bit XP Pro VM on a 64-bit machine? Sorry for my ignorance on this, but I'm just trying to foresee all the issues I may have.
I've not run into any issues on the latter question.
As far as the serial via USB... That's been kinda hit and miss. Oddly enough it works fine on my Mac Mini. For some reason, the USB handshake from the VM to the real box seems to work better on the Mac. ???
I've not tried it myself on a PC but have heard others say it was a problem.
Another thing to be aware of if you plan on trying the VM thiing: RAM is definitely an issue. You can kinda figure on the VM using almost twice as much real RAM per unit of VM RAM. (slightly less than twice, but not much)
Jeff
Not bad. Interesting note on the Mac's ability to handle the VM to actual hardware control.
But the whole idea with going for the 64-bit system is to get 12 gig of RAM. So hopefully that won't be an issue.
Thanks for your take on this.
We have NS and TP4 on a 64 bit win 7 desktop. It is not used much but NS seems to work fine.
I use window xp64 bit. I can run most of the programs from AMX but the touch panel emulator program and some of the keypad program. For those I use 32 bit machine. It is not a big deal. It helps me do the job faster on my desktop and transfer everything to my 32 bit laptop on th job site. I have not tried the 64bit windows 7 yet. I think both uses the same kernel so I am assuming there going to have same issues. I liike to know more since I will be buying a high powered windows 7 laptop.
I have been using W7-64 for a couple of months without any major issues. If a program doesn't want to install just have Windows troubleshoot compatibility and accept the default (usually XP sp2) suggestion. The G4 Panel Preview does not like to run consistently from within TPD4 but it works fine standalone. My Keyspan USB-Serial adapter works great. I have had no problems with IREdit or the IRIS. On my Windows Vista 64 computer I had not been able to reliably use NS3 and AMX wanted to blame Windows but since they released the latest update I have had no problems on my latest computer.
The only thing I haven't resolved is that telnet is not enabled by default. There are easy steps to enable it but it seems that since the 1st time I enabled it it has since stopped working but I haven't messed with it since then, I just use PuTTY instead.
The laptop I'm using has a card slot for a serial adapter and it has worked perfectly from the first time I tried using it.
When I began to set up the computer I was anticipating problems and having to use workarounds or doing without, maybe having to drag out the old XP box for certain tasks but that has definately not been the case.
Which adaptor are you using? dose it provide a port at standard address (3F8)?
I still have a need for AXCESSX & TPDESIGN 1. Sad but true.
I have to turn on my laptop everytime I need to use IREDIT or update an R4.
I think it has been long enough!
Yes, Wins 7 seems to be a stable OS and MS is pushing it.
It's this one:
http://www.startech.com/item/EC1S950-1-Port-16C950-ExpressCard-Serial-Adapter.aspx
It shows up as COM4 on my machine but does not have a hardware address of 3F8.
I've used it to talk to Netlinx programming ports and Lutron P4 processors.
IREdit is working on my machine. Had to run the installer in a compatability mode (don't remember which one) and also had to install the support files in compatability mode. I've opened files with, used it to transfer files and to actuate codes from the master.
I don't believe I've had to deal with an R4 since I upgraded so I can't comment on that.
It's not without precedent. I seem to recall similar issues when Windows XP (or was it ME?) became common. Oddly enough, I don't recall any at all with Vista ... maybe because I migrated to it late in the game.
I don,t have the time to jump thru hoops to get work done. We need to have the best tools available, this I why we use AMX!
I have Windows 7, 64 and previously had Vista 64. I have been able to use all AMX applications successfully. They have all been installed using XP compatibility mode.
I don't have a problem with AMX not supporting 64 bit "at this time" but I wish they would give us some indication that they are working on compatibility and maybe a rough idea of when they think it would be implemented.
I believe we will see things like that with the new software that's coming out with the 9000i update.
http://www.pcauthority.com.au/News/219399,windows-finally-achieving-64-bit-success.aspx
The key word is compatibility mode... It,s windows 7 not XP!
http://www.amxforums.com/showthread.php?5026-OT-Windows-7-amp-AMX-Programs
--John
My work issued Gateway laptop is on its last leg. My newly issued work laptop is a Dell running Windows 7 Professional,64 bit with 8GB of RAM and an Intel Duo Core processor. I have only had it over the weekend, so my play time with it has been limited. Other than the fact that it zeroized my iPhone, most of my issues stem from coming from an XP environment. What I have learned so far, IREdit complained about not having Windows XP SP1 or higher. What I figured out, I needed to download and install (free from Microsoft) the Virtual Windows XP software. It sort of seems like I now have 2 laptops in one. Just to keep everything together, I launch all of the AMX applications from within that virtual machine. Haven't had to transfer any code yet, so I am wondering how well that works. One thing I have noticed though, when I am in NS (via the virtual machine), if I use the pointer and grab the grey box inside the scroll bars, I can rapidly zip up and down lines of code. If I place the pointer on the down arrow of the scroll bar and hold the mouse button down, it will go down a few lines, pause, go down a bunch of lines, pause, go down a few more lines, over and over. Kind of annoying, sort of like it is downloading a document from the web and I can only scroll down as much as has been downloaded. Maybe that is a side effect of using a virtual machine? TP4 seems to be working fine, although I haven't had to design a new TP or push a TP to a master. IREdit seems to be working fine.
I think once I get comfortable with the operations of Windows 7 when coming from an XP environment, I might like it better. For now, I miss my XP laptop...
I haven't found any AMX tools yet that i haven't been able to run in my Windows 7 Professional 64bit environment.
Always right click your install file and choose "run as administrator." If you encounter any problems, most of the time they can be solved by running the installer in WinXP SP3 compatability mode.
I installed Windows 7 64 bit in my Laptop, Dell Inspiron 6400. I have not had any issues with it so far with netlinx or TPD4, the only thing that does not install by default is telnet. You can add it just by going into Turn Windows Features on or off.
I forgot to mention IRE edit does not work correctly, I just added virtual machine from Microsoft, if you need to download let me now.
I remember when they didn't support XP, only ME (gasp). They were behind the curve on getting on the band wagon, but did eventually. I suspect the issue here is that they don't want to have to support several branches, and the migration to 64b is far from universal. If everyone was using 64b, it would be a different story.
I've used IREdit to edit ir files,
Transfer IR files to masters,
Actuate codes in real time,
soo.... it is possible for it to work correctly in Win7 64.