Welcome to the forums, Alexander! Hope you had a good Christmas. First, as long as your system is 64 bit capable, then you can install a 64 bit OS with no problem. Your system MUST be capable of running it. Some printers, such as mine, there's no 64 bit drivers for, so I print using my 32 bit laptop. But if you can afford the cost of Windows 7 Pro, a $39 to $69 printer shouldn't be a problem. As far as your programs are concerned, to be honest, some (or a lot) of your programs will still be only available in 32 bit, but you can run them. My desktop is a 64 bit, but the majority of programs on it are 32 bit. But as time passes, more and more 64 bit programs will emerge, and someday it will be the norm. And since you're getting Win 7 Pro, you can download Microsoft's Virtual PC, which will allow you to run many programs in XP Mode. However, your hardware must support the Virtual PC option in order to do this. You mentioned transferring your files and programs. You need to back them up before you remove XP Pro, either on an external drive, or CD's/DVD's. Then there's the option called Windows Easy Transfer to help you with this. And one other thing, and keep in mind that this is my opinion. If you have unlimited internet access, and not a lot of programs, you can redownload a lot of your programs. That way, you have the latest versions, and less to transfer. This way worked best for me a couple of years ago when my laptop went down, and my backup was a little old. That's why I said to backup before doing anything. Alexander, I hope this helps you, there will probably be other responses as well on your post. Good luck to you.
