Should I stick with 32 bit or go back to 64 bit?

[groze]

Mod, please move to correct forum if needed.

Should I stick with 32 bit or go back to 64 bit operating system? Since both can get root kits, My memory is only 4 GB can be upgraded though. I don't plan to upgrade memory. I found my 16 bit software works better in Lubuntu 64 bit with wine 32 installed. I don't use secure boot.

 

[pbcopter]

If you are not intending to add RAM, I would stick with 32 bit if you are asking about Windows.

64 bit Windows will not run 16 bit software.

 

[groze]

If you are not intending to add RAM, I would stick with 32 bit if you are asking about Windows.

64 bit Windows will not run 16 bit software.

I know that, however 64 bit Linux with wine 32 bit installed will run most windows 16 bit software. Windows 32 bit software is pot luck.

 

[Mark Phelps]

Windows 32 bit software is pot luck.

That is because Wine is NOT a Windows Emulator, but instead, a "hack" in which some Windows DLLs were rewritten to use Linux kernel calls instead of Windows kernel calls. The older Windows software relied extensively on these calls, so it tends to work well. The newer Windows software tends to rely more and more on other Windows middleware components, like .Net or Silverlight -- which don't work well, or don't work at all, in Wine.

 

[groze]

Windows 32 bit software is pot luck.

That is because Wine is NOT a Windows Emulator, but instead, a "hack" in which some Windows DLLs were rewritten to use Linux kernel calls instead of Windows kernel calls. The older Windows software relied extensively on these calls, so it tends to work well. The newer Windows software tends to rely more and more on other Windows middleware components, like .Net or Silverlight -- which don't work well, or don't work at all, in Wine.

I thought wine was built from scratch to avoid copyright infringement and DMCA. There is a debate if wine is now illegal do to DMCA in the United States but that another issue.

 

[LMiller7]

WINE was created without access to Windows source code, relying on only official and unofficial documentation plus whatever can be learned from experimentation. Source code is available to qualified individuals but it's use for such purposes is explicitly forbidden. That is one of the reasons why development is so difficult and why much software still won't run under it. And of course Microsoft isn't interested in helping.

Another problem is that WINE is reaching for a moving target. Development was begun in 1993 but Windows has changed a great deal since then.