A description of the differences between 32-bit versions of Windows Vista and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista

Architecture	Windows Vista, 32-bit versions	Windows Vista, 64-bit versions
System requirements	1-gigahertz (GHz) 32-bit (x86) processor or 64-bit (x64) processor, 512 MB of RAM	1-GHz 64-bit (x64) processor, 1 GB of RAM (4 GB recommended)
Memory access	A 32-bit version of Windows Vista can access up to 4 GB of RAM.	A 64-bit version of Windows Vista can access from 1 GB of RAM to more than 128 GB of RAM.
Memory access per edition	All 32-bit versions of Windows Vista can access up to 4 GB of RAM.	Windows Vista Home Basic - 8 GB of RAM Windows Vista Home Premium - 16 GB of RAM Windows Vista Business - 128 GB of RAM or more Windows Vista Enterprise - 128 GB of RAM or more Windows Vista Ultimate - 128 GB of RAM or more
DEP	32-bit versions of Windows Vista use a software-based version of DEP.	64-bit versions of Windows Vista support hardware-backed DEP.
Kernel Patch Protection (PatchGuard)	This feature is not available in 32-bit versions of Windows Vista.	This feature is available in 64-bit versions of Windows Vista. Kernel Patch Protection helps prevent a malicious program from updating the Windows Vista kernel. This feature works by helping to prevent a kernel-mode driver from extending or replacing other kernel services. Also, this feature helps prevent third-party programs from updating (patching) any part of the kernel.
Driver signing	Unsigned drivers may be used with 32-bit versions of Windows Vista.	64-bit versions of Windows Vista require that all device drivers be digitally signed by the developer.
32-bit driver support	32-bit versions of Windows Vista support 32-bit drivers that are designed for Windows Vista.	64-bit versions of Windows Vista do not support 32-bit device drivers.
16-bit program support	32-bit versions of Windows Vista support 16-bit programs, in part.	64-bit versions of Windows Vista do not support 16-bit programs.

Backup your Datas after Windows Crash?

Normally we install Microsoft Windows on Drive C, and when Windows is crashed we start clamoring for how to get our files that stored on our desktop or other locations on C drive such as my documents … etc, and even if the operating system installed on other partition rather than C.


 Note: I’m mentioning the Windows partition because some times when Windows is crashed because of a virus or registry errors and cannot be repaired we do a clean Windows installation which requires formatting the partition that the current operating system is already installed in resulting of loosing all our files on that partition.

To be on safe side, by default you may not store your important files on desktop or other locations on C drive, and thats why I mentioned in one of my old tutorials “How to partition the Hard Disk Drive” that partitioning the Hard Disk Drive is important and has lots of benefits which has already been listed in that tutorial, and also you may change the My Documents folder location from the C drive into other drive in order to store your files on other drive..

So, in case if you haven’t done that before and you searched google and found this page because you have experienced the Windows Crash and want to know how to backup your files to other partition I found a very simple and useful tool that is called Puppy Linux, this tool will operate your computer from a CD or flash drive using Linux Operating system interface so you can deal with all your backups easily … don’t say I don’t know Linux, it is so simple interface and so close to the Windows GUI, This software is very easy to use even your grandmother could set it up and use it.

How Puppy Linux Works?

It simply boots from a CD/DVD disc to which its ISO file has been written/burned, or from USB flash drive, It is not installed on your computer’s hard disk drive and records nothing on that drive unless you ask it to be installed there (as Windows itself is). It runs in the computer’s RAM memory and gives you the whole operating system interface from there.


Puppy Linux Download

You can download the Puppy Linux tool from the below button which will get the downloaded file directly from its developer http://puppylinux.org/.

Puppy Linux external Download link 

Hard Disk Bad sectors & Disk Crash

How do I know if i have bad sectors?

If you discover that some of your files are missing, corrupted, unreadable, or some of your folders are not anymore accessible, this is mostly because ofBad Sectors.

Bad Sectors can be discovered also by the Operating System itself by showing you error messages telling that your Hard Drive might have Bad sectors, the messages might flagged as CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Error).

Why Bad Sectors Might Occur ?

There are two main reasons for Bad Sectors:

• Logical Errors.
• Physical Errors or damages.

For the Logical Errors, while the Hard Disk is storing data it performs parity bits storing with the data itself, the parity bit used for the validation and integrity of the written data, so when parity bits corrupted due to abrupt power shutdowns or errors while transferring data or other reasons, it will result Bad Sectors Errors. Normally this kind of Bad Sectors can be restored and fix without loosing of the existing data by using some tools.

For the Physical Errors, there are many reasons behind them, either there would be a magnetic weakening on the Hard Disk which might increased over time, physical shocks to the Hard Disk, Head crash, sudden power shutdowns, disruptions during read/write operations… etc.

Hard Disk Crash

Hard Disks have a limited life time which is normally between 3 to 5 years; this life time might get decreased in case if you’re using your Computer every day heavily, in other words the possibility of having a Hard Disk crash is increased.

Now let me tell you, if one day you hear banging/scrapping sounds from your Hard Drive or your PC performance sucks, sometimes if you get some messages from the System telling you that a bad sector found, in this case you have to backup your files immediately to another Hard Disk Drive, because the mentioned symptoms means your Hard Disk about to reach a breakdown.

How to take Precautions?

1. Always back up your files regularly to another media or Hard Drive.
2. Always have a antivirus program installed on your system and always keep it updated.
3. Prevent from turning your PC off from the power plug directly without shutting down the Windows first.
4. Put your PC on a good fixed table that doesn’t shake to prevent sudden quakes.
5. If you have a laptop, prevent of drawing liquids on it by mistake and when moving it from one place to another be sure to treat it smoothly.