Is Windows XP 64bit the best / most stable for audio work?

[alphaproject]

Well, it's not like a virus would damage a CPU.... even if the HDD is full of viruses you just format it and start over.

[ivansc]

Used to run XP64 pro. now run Win764 Pro.

Very little difference apart from XP was a little less resource hungry but W7 seems to be a little snappier.

No super duper PC either.

AMD 1055T with 8gb ram and some fast SATA 3 hard drives is all.
RME HDSP9652 card.

Silly low latency and zero problems in either 32bit or 64bit DAW.
But it is Reaper, which is pretty ell behaved anyway.

[diogo_c]

Short answer: big NO. XP had its days - they're gone. Use Win7.

[Beyersound]

Originally Posted by Lights

I don't think I'd plug in a potentially infected hard disk into a brand new clean system. Are these files really worth the risk?

I would recommend putting the old HD in an outboard USB or eSata box, and at least fully scan it from another computer for security/virus/malware issues before using anything that is on it again.

Win 7 Pro and Ultimate blow away any XP version. I spent a while on 7 Pro32, and recently switched to 7 Pro64 on a new SSD. Fastest, most trouble free, and stable system ever. Even got DDR2 Ram use below 650mb at idle. There's just no reason to be on XP anymore.........