What is the latest news on XP 64-Bit and DAWs?

I've just put together a new system and currently have XP 64-bit installed on it. What is the latest on 64-bit, Sonar, plug-ins, bitbridges (a new term I learned about this morning) and things like BFD2, BBE D82 Sonic Maximizer, soft synths (Dim Pro, Z3ta+, Emulator X2, etc) M-Audio, etc...

Am I going to have problems getting them to work?
Will they work at all?
Am I going to run into stability issues?

TIA,
John G.

I am running XP64 on my system. Depending on the audio card you have, it may or may not be recognized by the OS. And, if it is, it might not be recognized by SONAR when you launch it. That's been my experience in XP64 with Sonar 64 bit version in version 7, but NOT in version 6. 6 recognized most things, since it was made for XP64. Cakewalk doesn't support 7 on the XP64 platform, so you're basically on your own there. Lots of plugins don't work well in the XP64 platform, either, but I found a workaround for that. I first installed the 32 bit version of XP, then all the Sonar versions I wanted to use the vst's from. Then I loaded the XP64 install onto the SAME partition into a Windows folder called Win64. When I boot, it asks me if I want XP Pro or XP 64. I can tell you that XP64 runs rings around the 32 bit version, and SONAR flies on it. The plugins in question won't show up until you tell them to go to the folder that has the 32 bit versions installed. Then they show up with no problems, just like you were running them on a 32 bit machine.

Unfortunately, I have one of those aforementioned sound cards, so I loaded the 32 bit version of SONAR on my XP64 bit install. Seems dumb, huh, but it really works well and is very smooth.

But I don't use this machine for mastering. Believe it or not, I have a Vista Ultimate 64 dual core AMD laptop loaded with RAM and I loaded SONAR 64 on that and all the 64 bit plugins. I run out of my desktop machine via fiber connectors to the laptop via an EMU 1616M <highly recommended if you have a laptop> and I use the laptop purely for mastering and/or remote recording or sampling.

In any case, using dedicated machines for dedicated purposes is a really good idea. Don't use antivirus or any other resource hogs on your production machines and use a Mac or some other machine for your internet surfing. I only connect when I download patches or programs, then disconnect.

Ok, I admit it. I'm a computer professional and I don't mind reconfiguring everything if I have to, just to see if it's better or worse. But it has helped me get the best out of my setup.

I am NOT a RICH computer professional, so some things are beyond my budget, but I AM real-world and this advice is for free, so take it for what it's worth!

Good luck!