The intricacies of computer architecture are rarely of burning interest among ordinary users. Indeed, in everyday work at a computer, knowledge from this area has to be applied infrequently. However, the unconditional exception to this rule is the increasingly frequent questions about how to determine the bitness of the operating system.
It is necessary
PC with an installed operating system of the Windows family
Instructions
Step 1
As a rule, the solution to this problem is required when installing most of the drivers - there are versions for both bit Windows. Today these are 32 and 64-bit systems. The most fundamental difference between them is the amount of supported RAM. For a 32-bit system, it is very limited and cannot exceed 3 GB. Such a system simply will not see the "extra" RAM and will not be able to use it in its work. Unlike the first, the operating system, which has a 64-bit platform, is much more flexible in this regard - it is capable of supporting up to 32 GB of RAM.
Step 2
It is not difficult to determine the bit capacity of your own system. If your computer is running Windows XP, your actions should be as follows: click on the start button and select Run. In the window that appears, enter sysdm.cpl, then click OK. A window will appear, and on the "General" tab for a 64-bit system, the inscription will look like this: Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and the year of release of the operating system. For a 32-bit system, the phrase will be different - Microsoft Windows XP Professional and the year it was released.
Step 3
There is also an alternative method for determining the bit depth in Windows XP. To do this, you need to do everything in the same sequence as in the example above, but instead of sysdm.cpl, enter winmsd.exe. A completely different window will appear, now you need to find the "type" item. In 32-bit systems, which are now the absolute majority, this item is labeled "x86-based computer". If it is a 64-bit platform, it will say “Itanium-based computer”.
Step 4
It is even easier to determine the bitness of the operating system if you have Windows Vista or Windows 7. You need to click start and write the word system in the search bar. In the list that appears, select "system", click on this word, after which all information about the installed Windows appears. Now all that remains is to find the item "system type", where its bit depth is indicated.
