With the advent of 64-bit processors, software developers began to release programs, including operating systems, "sharpened" for a specific CPU architecture. When choosing a version of an application, you need to know the bitness of the OS installed on the computer.
Instructions
Step 1
Windows Vista or Windows 7 Click the "Start" button on the taskbar, type the word "system" in the search field, and after the results are displayed, click "System" in the "Programs" list. In the window that appears, you can see information about the bitness of the OS in the "System Type" section.
Step 2
Another way to open the same window is to right-click on the "My Computer" icon located on the desktop and select the "Properties" command from the context menu.
Step 3
In some cases, the OS bit depth is not displayed in the "System" window, but there is another way to get this information without resorting to third-party software. Click the Start button, type system in the search box, and then click System Information.
Step 4
If the "System Summary" section is selected in the navigation pane, you will find information about the bit depth in the "System Type" item in the "Element" section.
Step 5
Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 Open the Start menu and click Run. Enter the sysdm.cpl command and press Enter. In the dialog box that opens, go to the "General" tab and under the "System" heading, read the information about the bitness of the installed OS.
Step 6
The same window with the data you need can be opened by right-clicking on the "My Computer" icon and selecting the "Properties" command from the context menu.
Step 7
Open the Run console from the Start menu, type winmsd.exe in the input field and press the Enter key or the OK button. Go to the Processor section if System Summary is selected in the navigation pane.
Step 8
The value of the Processor item will start with ia64 or AMD64 if the CPU architecture is 64-bit, and if it is 32-bit, then from x86.
