I tried, I really did. I figured that with brand-new dual-core 64-bit hardware, I might as well take more advantage of the machine by putting on a 64-bit version of Windows XP.

And I suppose it's fine if you're only using Microsoft's own applications — Internet Explorer, Outlook/Outlook Express, Office, and so forth — but I do too many things that rely on 32 bits (foremost among them SONAR). Sure, SONAR comes in a 64-bit version as well, but all of my plugins — instrument libraries, convolution reverbs, audio and MIDI FX — are 32-bit, and SONAR won't use them (not to mention that there are only beta drivers available for my audio hardware).

And many other programs are markedly more unstable under 64-bit Windows than 32-bit. I've struggled for four days to get things running — including contacting tech support at Cakewalk — and I'm just going to have to throw in the towel and reformat, install 32-bit XP Professional, and reinstall all the applications again. Which is not a pleasant prospect, but it's better than bashing my head against this particular wall any longer.

I will just note that I haven't had anywhere near this much trouble running 32-bit Linux apps on my 64-bit Debian Etch machine — just a problem with GTK apps not displaying any text, which I assume is a configuration issue which I haven't been arsed to track down yet.