Re: LilyPond-2.22.2 does not work on Windows XP

[Aaron Hill]

On 2022-10-14 12:18 am, J Martin Rushton wrote:
> For some reason best known to Microsoft Windows held
> systems down in 32-bit node for years after they were internally 64-
> bit.

Microsoft did not "hold systems down".  In the era of XP, Windows came 
in a 64-bit version, colloquially known as XP64.  The main issue was 
that most consumers at that time only had access to 32-bit hardware, so 
it was not a priority to market 64-bit support.

Over time, computer manufacturers have made 64-bit hardware the norm; 
but as anyone with IT experience knows: clients are rarely eager to 
spend money upgrading when things are not completely broken.  (And even 
then when the office is on fire, some are still stingy.)  So 
notwithstanding the average home user facing rising costs of new 
computers, Microsoft has many business, educational, and government 
customers that would all have to get aboard the 64-bit train.

As I recall, Windows 10 was supposed to launch as 64-bit only; yet even 
it still has an installation option to run on 32-bit processors.  It is 
looking like Windows 11 will be the first release to draw the line in 
the sand and cut off old hardware.


-- Aaron Hill