The second release of Windows XP 64-Bit Edition which calls itself Version 2003 was released on 28 March 2003. Only Service Pack 1 was released for this edition of Windows XP, despite Service Pack 2 for Windows XP x86 being released before the announcement to end support for the IA-64 editions. However compared to natively compiled software, this decoder was deemed to be extremely slow compared to IA-64 binaries and was later replaced with a faster software translation layer.

This compatibility layer used an on-chip decoder integrated into the Itanium processor. It was notable for lack of certain features, unlike in the x86 edition, such as Windows Media Player, NetMeeting, visual styles, and support for 16-bit applications.Ī compatibility layer called WoW64 allowed the execution of applications compiled for x86 versions of Windows. The initial release of the 64-Bit Edition shipped on 25 October 2001 simultaneously with Windows XP for x86 machines. In 2000, Microsoft canceled the IA-64 port of Windows 2000 in favor of Whistler.

Upon the first IA-64 machines were available, development shifted to such machines. To receive a first glimpse of the 64-bit experience, initial development of 64-bit Windows was done on the Alpha AXP64 architecture. Plans to port Windows to a 64-bit processor date back to the late 1990s, where Microsoft planned to port Windows 2000 to the upcoming Intel Itanium architecture.

Windows xp black edition 64 bit