No 64 bit DVDs in Home Premium, WTF?

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I bought a full boxed version of Vista Home Premium today and got it home to
discover that it doesn't ship with the 64 bit version in the box. I'm livid
about this - the version comparison page on Vista says that Home Premium
allows for 64 bit installs and I've only discovered in retrospect that buried
away at the bottom of the page a couple of clicks away is the information
that you have to send off for the DVD separately. I paid nearly $350 CAD for
this software, how much extra would it have cost Microsoft to include another
DVD in the box? Instead I have to fill out a bunch of information on their
website, pay another $15 and wait up to 10 days for delivery of the install
disk that should have been included in the box.

It's bad enough that they've set back the PC industry 5 years by even
releasing a 32 bit version of Vista. At least if 64 bit DVDs shipped as
standard there'd be a chance there might be a reasonable number of 64 bit
installs, with this retarded bit of cost cutting most people are just going
to opt for 32 bit versions. I wonder how long before people start realising
that with the new driver model they won't be able to run a lot of games if
they have a DX10 video card with more than 512MB of RAM because half their
address space is used up by mapped video memory? I thought Vista was supposed
to be good for games...
 
I bought a full boxed version of Vista Home Premium today and got it home
to
discover that it doesn't ship with the 64 bit version in the box. I'm
livid
about this - the version comparison page on Vista says that Home Premium
allows for 64 bit installs and I've only discovered in retrospect that
buried
away at the bottom of the page a couple of clicks away is the information
that you have to send off for the DVD separately. I paid nearly $350 CAD
for
this software, how much extra would it have cost Microsoft to include
another
DVD in the box? Instead I have to fill out a bunch of information on their
website, pay another $15 and wait up to 10 days for delivery of the
install
disk that should have been included in the box.

It's bad enough that they've set back the PC industry 5 years by even
releasing a 32 bit version of Vista. At least if 64 bit DVDs shipped as
standard there'd be a chance there might be a reasonable number of 64 bit
installs, with this retarded bit of cost cutting most people are just
going
to opt for 32 bit versions. I wonder how long before people start
realising
that with the new driver model they won't be able to run a lot of games if
they have a DX10 video card with more than 512MB of RAM because half their
address space is used up by mapped video memory? I thought Vista was
supposed
to be good for games...
Click to expand...

Only the Ultimate version comes with both DVDs in the box. It was one way
to differentiate Ultimate from the others.
 
Matt

If you would have read the comparison page correctly then you would have seen that Yes the Home Edition Allows for 64 bit install AND that the Ultimate version is the one that comes with both 32 and 64 bit DVD's packaged.

Basically it was printed in Black and White and there is no reason for you to be Upset on others but only at yourself.
 
It's surprisingly hard to find a clear comparison of what you actually get in
the different versions, I spent longer than I felt I should have to trying
and still didn't get a clear answer. Going to www.microsoft.com/vista and
following links trying to find some answers led me to this page:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/homepremium/default.mspx
- all it says there is "Note: If your system features a 64-bit processor, you
can take advantage of its advanced design in this edition of Windows Vista.
<Read more.>". I thought that answered my question. I assumed 'read more' was
an invitation to find out more about the benefits of 64 bit, only on
subsequent investigation did I find at the bottom of that page, after a few
paragraphs extolling the benefits of 64 bit, the invitation "If you bought
Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, or Business as a retail, packaged
product, and you would like a DVD of 64-bit software media to install on your
PC, please choose your language". The page reached by following the "Compare
Editions" link certainly doesn't mention the fact that you have to pay extra
to get 64 bit for Home Premium.

Rock claims that the presence of the 64 bit version in box was supposed to
be a differentiator for Ultimate. If that's the case then someone in
marketing needs to be fired because I'd have probably bought Ultimate if I'd
been aware of that 'differentiator' - I was considering it to get Remote
Desktop and if I'd known about the 64 bit media situation I'd have probably
gone with Ultimate. The betas always offered both versions for download and I
assumed that both would be in the box in the retail version given the lack of
indication to the contrary.
 
Hi Matt,

The decision to include the x64 disk with Ultimate only was made as a cost
saving measure (keep in mind that we're talking hundreds of thousands of
disks), as most users will not be installing that version. You do, at least,
have the option of getting it if you want to. Also, if you know someone that
has purchase Ultimate you can just use their disk (or a copy of it) with
your key, as the code is the same. It is the key that unlocks the features
available to each user.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
Hi Matt,

The decision to include the x64 disk with Ultimate only was made as a cost
saving measure (keep in mind that we're talking hundreds of thousands of
disks), as most users will not be installing that version. You do, at least,
have the option of getting it if you want to. Also, if you know someone that
has purchase Ultimate you can just use their disk (or a copy of it) with
your key, as the code is the same. It is the key that unlocks the features
available to each user.
Click to expand...

They probably should have produced some 64bit only boxes for retail or
just charged a bit more for boxes with both discs. Oh well, it's only a
week or two more after all these millennia.
 
They could have at least made the iso available for download so you could
burn your own DVD. Maybe there are piracy concerns with that but I'd have
thought that shouldn't be a problem with activation and all the Windows
Genuine Advantage stuff.
 
Agreed. Any pirate who can\will defeat activation will certainly be able to
find a copy of the Media to load. As time goes on, this will become a bigger
issue as more people want to install x64 from the start. Your idea about a
location to download from would be an easy fix that wouldn't affect the
already produced retail copies. If access to the media is truly thought of
as an anti-piracy measure, it could be an FTP server and you would have to
login with your PK to access.
 
I agree with you. On the package it states for 32bit or 64 bit systems. I
think that is a false advertisement. I am going to contact the Washinton
Attorney Generals office to find out if this is illegel. I personally think
the upgrade from 32 bit to 64 bit should be at Microsofts cost, not mine. If
they do not agree with this then there should be a class action lawsuit to
resolve this problem
 
I agree as well. I was at the store today looking at the boxes and may have
made the wrong buying decision if I had purchased a copy of Vista Home
Premium. It should be clearly labeled on the box that the x64 edition is not
included in the package and has to be ordered after purchase. Maybe some
e-tailer will offer a combo deal.
 
They could have at least made the iso available for download so you could
burn your own DVD. Maybe there are piracy concerns with that but I'd have
thought that shouldn't be a problem with activation and all the Windows
Genuine Advantage stuff.
Click to expand...

Well, I do see a few different x64 version torrents...
 
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