VFP is the only program I always install in its own subdirectory directly under the root, meaning c:\vfp9.

>Well, one bummer in using VFP on a 64-bit Win 7 machine, is that the VFP app is installed in a folder named
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>C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual FoxPro 9\
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>(Notice that little (x86) part...
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>So, that means if you work on a Project file from one machine that is Win 7 64-bit, and another that is not, (like my desktop and my laptop), then the project may reference some resources by a path that is not on the other machine.
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>For instance, after installing WIn 7 64-bit, I opened my main project file, but it could not find a FCC classlib that was referred to by the path "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual FoxPro 9\Ffc".
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>I suppose I could copy the FFC folder out of the VFP install dir, and copy it under the folder where I keep all my custom VCX's and other custom resources so that I do not reference a VFP path. In the past, I have never copied the FFC stuff out of the VFP dir.
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>>>>It'll use the entire 4 Gig RAM. Performance should be better.
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>>>>>Why?
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>>>If RAM will make a big difference, then I will easily and gladly go to 6GB or 8GB. In the big scheme, it's a small price. I had my last XP box for 5 years. Plan to have this one that long too, and I won't skimp over a few hundred bucks on something that will bring me daily (hourly) benefit. I work on this machine 80% of my work day.
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>>The biggest bottleneck in modern computers is mass storage. Unless you're running specialized applications such as video editing that can directly benefit from lots of RAM, you'll probably see more improvement to the performance of your system if you invest in one or more fast disk devices. This could be a fast single magnetic disk like the WD Raptor/VelociRaptor, an array of magnetic disks, or one or more solid-state drives (SSDs). If you run with write-behind disk caching disabled, it's even more important to have a fast mass storage subsystem.
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>>As for RAM, take a look in Task Manager at RAM usage (Commit Charge) while running a maximum app load. If it's 2GB or less, you're not likely to see a lot of performance improvement going to 64-bit.
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>>Windows will use any RAM not directly used by apps for a disk cache. If we take your current 4GB machine as an example, and suppose your app load peaks at 2GB RAM use:
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>>- 32-bit Windows can actually use somewhere between 3.0 and 3.5GB of RAM, depending on your hardware. Worst-case scenario, on your machine it can use 3.0GB, meaning it has a 1.0GB disk cache
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>>- 64-bit Windows will use the full 4GB (or more, if your motherboard supports it and you upgrade). This would give Windows a 2GB disk cache in the above scenario
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>>You may say, well, the disk cache has doubled, that's going to improve performance a lot. That's not really the case - a cache is a good example of Pareto's Law, you get most of the benefit with not too many resources applied. For example, a 1GB cache may give 80% of the performance improvement you'd get with a 2GB cache.
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>>***************
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>>While I'm on my soapbox I'll make a few remarks about something I think is often neglected, and that's ergonomics:
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>>- many people treat the keyboard/mouse as a cheap afterthought. Most professional programmers have already settled on ones that work well for them. If you haven't, I'd urge trying out some ergo keyboards/mice. I personally love the Microsoft Natural split keyboards. They take about an hour to get used to, but you never want to go back.
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>>I've known several people who have lost significant time due to RSI; one fellow had to quit the IT business entirely.
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>>- a quiet computer case can make a big difference. I recently spec'd an Antec P183 case ( http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MTgwOA== ) for a client putting together a video/image capture machine. It has 8 internal (conventional) hard drives in 3 arrays and is amazingly quiet - you have to put your ear less than a foot from the case to be able to tell it's running at all.
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>>I'm renovating my house, ripping out all the wall-to-wall and putting in hardwood flooring. Carpeting soaks up a lot of noise, I'm noticing the noise of my own main system a lot more. I'll be going with a quiet machine for my next purchase.