BB devices / desktop app & Windows 64 bit OS compatibility?

[Sword1]

I've searched the forums, and I can't seem to find any threads that specifically address this question.....

After weeks of consideration, I'm sitting on the fence -- just about to pull the trigger on purchasing a new 8900. However, there's one final matter that I'm curious about: does the BB desktop software, as well as the device itself (8900 in this case) get along with 64 bit Windows -- both XP Pro 64 and Vista 64?

I have a dual-boot desktop PC with XP 64 & XP 32 -- plus a laptop with Vista 64. I do a lot of work with memory-intensive 3D & CAD applications, so the 64 bit OS's are necessary for me. The only reason that I even retain a 32 bit partition on my desktop has to do with the occasional device / software that's incompatible with 64 bit. Which fortunately isn't a problem that I run into very often.

So......can anyone tell me if the 8900 is OK for syncing with a 64 bit Windows OS?

Thanks!

[xliderider]

It is good that you have a desktop that can dual-boot into XP 32 because I haven't been able to do everything on my Vista 64-bit PC.

Desktop Manager: Everything works (Backup/Restore, OS loading/upgrading), I used 4.6 and now 5.0 with no problems.

JL Commander: Unable to wipe, even using the command line interface. Screen capture function also doesn't work.

CrackMem: Unable to wipe, also unable to use Desktop Manager launched from CrackMem because the PIN is not detected on my 8330. I am able to use CrackMem to remove files from my OS prior to loading through the loader.exe program though.

Conclusion: JL Commander and CrackMem functions of Javaloader.exe don't seem to work with Vista 64 bit. If anyone else has had success, I'd like to know how to get this working. It's a pain to have to go downstairs to my other desktop running XP SP2.

[Sword1]

Thank you for that helpful & detailed reply. It sounds like an 8900 will likely work with a 64 bit OS, but with some built-in limitations.

One issue for me is that I have Outlook installed (along with most everything else) on the 64 bit side of my PC. So any email / contact listing / calendar syncing that I do needs to work under 64 bit.

Frankly, I think that it's strange 64 bit is taking as long as it is to become accepted as the PC "standard". I understand the reasons why 32 bit is lingering on -- such as expensive equipment upgrades for companies, etc.: and a catch-22 situation where software developers need a 64 bit customer base before they start cranking out profitable 64 bit software, while the user base needs 64 bit apps in order to justify purchasing 64 bit hardware for themselves. But still: the advantages of 64 bit over 32 bit are obvious.

Currently, I have my trusty Palm TX PDA that I've been using for several years now......and one of the reasons why I feel that the time has come to 'graduate' to something else has to do with the fact that I can't sync the old Palm device under 64 bit. It's annoying to have to reboot under 32 bit just to sync that device. Plus I'm now needing a mobile email & messaging solution -- and it looks like the BB is tops in that area.

But can the BB 8900 handle 64 bit? It should be able to, IMHO. If it can't, then RIM needs to make it so that it can.

[xliderider]

As mentioned, as far as I can tell, all functions in Desktop Manager work on my Vista 64 bit system. TBH, I haven't synced with Outlook (Express) as that was on my XP machine, not on my Vista 64 bit machine.