Deploying and Supporting Applications on 64-bit Windows

Deploying and Supporting Applications on 64-bit Windows

Windows 7 has made 64-bit Windows the corporate desktop standard! Windows 2008 R2 has made 64-bit the standard for Remote Desktop Services.<br /> <br />Most 32-bit applications run smoothly on both of these 64-bit editions, however, there are a multitude of little gotchas when installing and maintaining them. <br /><br />You can spend months discovering these trip wires yourself, or you can read this book.<br /><br />Make sure to check out the value-added eClass Add-on Bundle on the book homepage!<br /><br />This book is for technical professionals and developers who want a quick study in the numerous idiosyncrasies of supporting applications running on 64-bit Windows.<br /><br />Here are just a few of the questions this book will answer for you:<br /><br />•How does Windows trick 32-bit applications into unwittingly running on 64-bit Windows?<br />•What kinds of interactions between 32-bit and 64-bit binaries (EXEs, DLLs, OCXs and other compiled files that contain code) are allowable?<br />•Why do I keep finding Wow6432Node in various places in the registry?<br />•How can I determine if running processes and compiled binaries are 32 or 64-bit?<br />•Why do some .NET applications start having errors when they run on 64-bit Windows?<br />•Why are some 32-bit applications very slow when printing?<br />•Will a 32-bit or 64-bit execution occur when launching items from background services (like the software distribution service)?<br />•When do scripts run as 32-bit and when do they run as 64-bit? Is there anything I can do to force a script to execute as 32 or 64-bit?<br />•How are MSIs containing 32-bit software processed by the Windows Installer Service (which is always 64-bit)?<br />•Should the 32 or 64-bit version of IE be the primary one?<br />•Should Microsoft Office be installed as 32 or 64-bit?<br />•What differences are there if I use Compatibility Administrator to create compatibility shims?<br />•How should in-house software developers be guided in regard to the 64-bit Windows platform?<br />•How should App-V packages be sequenced in a mixed 32 and 64-bit environment?