When choosing software for a computer, you need to know the type of system, or its bit depth. In particular, the system can be 32 or 64 bit. These terms mainly refer to the way the data is processed by the central processing unit. However, software for a 32-bit system may be incompatible with a 64-bit one, and vice versa. You can find out the type of system from the documentation. If there is no documentation, follow these steps.
Necessary
Computer running a Windows operating system (XP, Vista, Windows 7) or Server 2003
Instructions
Step 1
In order to determine the bitness of the system in the operating system Windows XP or Server 2003, open the information window "System Properties" (tab in the "System" application). This application is located in the Control Panel folder in the Start menu (you can also open the Run dialog from the Start menu, type sysdm.cpl and press Enter).
Step 2
In the application that opens, explore the System Properties tab. If you have a 32-bit OS, you won't find any mention of this. But on 64-bit systems, the bit depth is indicated. For example, your system name might look like this: MS XP Professional x64.
Step 3
If you want to make sure you have correctly identified your system type, open the Run window from the Start drop-down menu, type winmsd.exe and press Enter. On the right side of the application that will open after this, find the line "Processor". If the line before the processor name says "x86", you have a 32-bit OS. If the processor name starts with ia64 or AMD64, then your system is 64-bit.
Step 4
If you have Vista or Windows7 installed, then to determine the type of system in these OS, open and examine the "System" window, which is located in the "Control Panel" directory. Open the Start button menu. In "Start Search" write "system" and then click on "System" in the "Programs" list. In the window that opens, open "System Type". In the event that your OS is 32-bit, you will see the corresponding inscription beginning with the phrase "32-bit …". Accordingly, for a 64-bit system, the inscription will begin with "64-bit …".
Step 5
In addition, you can also explore the System Information information window. To do this, open the "Start" menu and search for "system". Then click on "System Information" in "Programs". In the window that opens, find "System Type" in the "Element" subsection. Here you can find out the type of system by the labels: "x86-based" (32-bit OS) or "x64-based" (64-bit OS).
