How to find out the system bit of Windows 7. How to find out the system bit

When Windows is installed on your computer, it can be installed as a 32-bit version or a 64-bit version of the OS. For most people, whether the operating system is 32-bit or 64-bit does not matter. However, it is important to know whether you are running a 64-bit or 32-bit version of Windows when performing certain tasks on your computer. You should know how to determine the bit depth of Windows 7.

For example, if you are installing new hardware or updating existing hardware drivers, then you must clearly know which version of Windows you are using so that you can download the appropriate and correct drivers for your newly installed hardware. In this article I will try to show how you can determine how to determine the bit depth of Windows 7 or 32 bit or 64 bit version.

In order for you to easily determine the bit depth of Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP, you need to follow a few simple steps. And so let's get started.

Step 1. Click on the button Start, in the menu that opens, right-click on Computer (My Computer), and then Properties.

If you have a My Computer shortcut on your desktop, then you can right-click on it and select the item in the context menu Properties

A window with system settings will open. In this window you will see various information about your computer and Windows.

The item highlighted in red from the system information provided is the bit depth, or in other words, bit depth, and will contain information regarding whether you are using a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows. In order to determine the bit depth in Windows XP, you can see information only if Windows XP is 64-bit, otherwise you will not see the system bit depth, this means that the operating system is 32-bit.

The operating system bit capacity is the number of bits (bits) simultaneously processed in one clock cycle of processor time. For example, Windows XP can be 32-bit (denoted x32 or x86) or 64-bit (denoted x64).

The main distinguishing feature of a 32-bit system from a 64-bit system is the inability to work with RAM exceeding 4 Gigabytes (i.e. if a computer with a 32-bit system has 8 Gigabytes of RAM installed, the computer will still detect only 3 .5 GB, and a 64-bit system can work with up to 192 GB of RAM). To find out the bit capacity of a Windows XP system before purchasing additional memory sticks, you can use several methods built into the system.

Quick navigation through the article

Definition of bit depth

Knowing the system bit depth helps when installing software, device drivers, and new games. The easiest way to determine the bit depth in Windows XP is:

• Right-click on the “My Computer” icon;
• Select the “Properties” item in the context menu;
• If a 64-bit system is installed, then on the “General” tab there will be a corresponding inscription (Microsoft Windows XP 64-Bit Edition);
• For a 32-bit system, the “bit” is not specified (Microsoft Windows XP Professional version 2002 Service Pack 3).

System Properties Window

Similar inscriptions indicating or lacking information about the “bit capacity” of the system can be seen by following these steps:

• Click the “Start” button -> “Run”;
• Type “sysdm.cpl” -> “OK”;
• Open the General tab and view system information.

Viewing system information

Another way to determine the bit depth is to find out the “bit” of the processor: if it is 32-bit, then it will be impossible to install a 64-bit system on your computer. To find out the processor bit size, you need to:

• Click the “Start” button -> “Run”;
• Type the command “winmsd.exe”;
• In the “System Information” window that opens, in the “Element” column, find “Processor”;
• If the processor name starts with x86, then 32-bit Windows XP is installed, and if not, then 64-bit.

Indirect signs of a 64-bit system

Viewing the contents of the root drive or processes in Task Manager can help determine the system bitness. For example:

• You need to open the folder “My Computer” -> “C:/”. When installing 64-bit Windows XP, on drive C: there will be two “Program Files” folders, in one of which programs running in 64-bit mode are installed, and in the other, named “Program Files (x86)”, programs that run in 64-bit mode are installed. requiring 32-bit operating mode;
• Press the “Ctrl+Alt+Delete” keys and in the task manager window that opens, on the “Processes” tab, look at the running processes. If among them there are processes marked *32, then a 64-bit system is used.

Nowadays, when the transition to 64-bit operating systems and programs for them is gradually taking place, more and more often on forums on the Internet you can find the question of how to find out how many bits the system is installed on the computer. All major modern operating systems (Windows, Mac and Linux) exist in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

The need to switch to 64-bit versions of operating systems arose due to the inability to address more than 4 gigabytes of RAM in 32-bit systems. This is well known to everyone who has expanded the amount of RAM on 32-bit systems to 4 GB. Of the installed 4 GB, the computer in this case could only use 3.2-3.7 GB.
With the transition to 64-bit systems, the limit of the theoretically supported size of RAM expanded significantly and amounted to 2x64 = 16 Exabytes, which, translated into more familiar values, will amount to 16 billion gigabytes. Thus, the reserve for increasing RAM after computers switch to 64-bit is simply enormous.

In order for a computer to work in 64-bit mode, of course, it needs to support x64 architecture. All modern processors have support for 64-bit instructions, which allows them to work with both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems.

You can find out how many bit systems are installed on your computer in the following ways.

On Windows Vista and Windows 7
Click the “Start” button and select “Control Panel” from the menu that appears. In Control Panel, launch the “System” component. In the window that opens, look for the line “System type” opposite which the bitness of the operating system should be indicated. In our example, the operating system turned out to be 32-bit.

On Windows XP
If you are using Windows XP Home Edition, then this operating system is 32-bit. Windows XP Professional Edition was released in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. To see how many bits your system is, right-click on the “My Computer” desktop icon and select “Properties” from the context menu that appears. See what is indicated in the window that appears. The 64-bit version will be designated Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. Otherwise, you are using a 32-bit operating system.

On Mac OS X
You can find out in which mode the kernel of the Mac OX X operating system operates by clicking on the Apple logo () in the upper left corner and selecting “About This Computer”. In the window that appears, click the “Details” button. In the left column titled “Content”, select the “Software” section. On the right in the window called “Software Review”, find the line “64-bit kernel and extensions” and see what value is opposite - yes or no.

On Linux
On all UNIX-like systems, including Mac OS, the bitness of the operating system can be determined with the uname -a command entered in the terminal.
The use of a 64-bit system will be indicated by the presence of the x86_64 value in the system response. If i686 is present, then the operating system is 32-bit.

In addition to supporting more RAM, 64-bit operating systems are more powerful, can handle larger files, are less CPU intensive in many operations, and have better security and resistance to hacker attacks.

To switch to 64-bit, as a rule, you need to update or completely reinstall the operating system from the distribution kit of the appropriate bitness.

Hello, dear readers! Today I will tell you how to quickly find out the bitness of your Windows system (32 or 64 bits). Why might this be needed? For example, you needed to download a certain program, but the site offers two versions: for 32-bit Windows and for 64-bit. And you have a logical question: which version should I download? You will find the answer in my short note.

Let's define the accepted designations for the bit depth of the system. For 32-bit systems, you may see different abbreviations: x86, 32-bit, 32-bit, 32bit. But the main name, most often, is x86. For 64-bit systems, the designation is used x64(x64-bit, 64bit, 64-bit, 64-bit). Now let's get down to business and find out the bit depth;)

How to find out the bit depth of Windows Vista/7/8/10?

For all versions of Windows from Vista to 10, you can find out the bit depth in the system properties. Access to these properties may vary slightly on different systems, but in general you can simply right-click on the icon. My computer on the desktop and select Properties.

I’ll show you using Windows 10 as an example. There are two options to go to system properties. The first is to right-click on the icon This computer on the desktop (if this icon is not there, then it is) and select Properties. The second is to right-click on the button Start in the lower left corner of the screen and select System.

There is another universal way - using the Win + Pause/Break hotkey combination. This combo immediately opens a window with system properties in different versions of Windows. And in the section System -> System type you can find out the bitness of your Windows system.

How to find out the bitness of Windows XP?

Right-click on the icon My computer and press Properties.

In the properties on the General tab, in the System section, we see the inscription Microsoft Windows XP Professional version 2002 Service Pack 3. This means that the system is 32-bit, since for the 64-bit version of XP the bitness is indicated explicitly next to the name. It looks something like this: 64-Bit Edition, x64 Edition. If this inscription is not present, your version of XP is 32-bit.

There is also a quick way to open the system properties window using hotkeys Win+Pause/Break. The Win key is located in the lower left (sometimes also in the right) row of the keyboard, and the Windows logo is drawn on it.

Quite a common question - How do I find out what bit capacity my computer or system has? In this article I will briefly describe what it is and how to find out how many bits the system has. Using Windows XP, 7 and 8 as examples. Those. on those about which articles are contained on this site.

What is bit depth?

In computer science, the capacity of an electronic device or bus is the number of bits (bits) simultaneously processed by this device or transmitted by this bus.
To put it simply, bit capacity is the ability to simultaneously process a certain number of bits.

You can often also come across such concepts as x32, x64 or x86. And some even get confused. If we take Windows 7 as an example, then
Windows 7 32-bit (or x86 - equivalent designations)
Windows 7 64-bit (or x64 - equivalent designations)
That is, 32 and 86 are the same thing (of course, this is for ease of understanding).

What are the differences between x32 and x64?
Probably the second most popular question after they find out what bit depth is and what it is like.

So, the main difference is that a 32-bit operating system can address (that is, it can use or “see”) no more than 4 GB of RAM. If the computer has, for example, 2 GB of RAM, then a 32-bit operating system works normally with this amount. If you install 4 GB of memory and run a 32-bit OS, it simply will not see such a volume. All she will be able to use is approximately 3.5 GB of the 4 GB. Well, if you install 8 GB of memory in your computer, for example, and at the same time remain on a 32-bit system, then it will also not see more than 3.5 GB of the total installed volume.

A 64-bit system can see up to 192GB (for Windows 7) of RAM, therefore, if you have more than 4 GB of memory, it is recommended to install an OS of this exact bit capacity, or 32x, but only 3.5 GB will be used.
A 64-bit system can be used and run on programs designed for x32. Which gives her an advantage that is, in principle, obvious.

How to find out the processor bit size?
This is also an important question that for some reason many people forget about after the first two. Nevertheless, you need to know how many bit processors you have to install a particular version of Windows.
Unfortunately, standard capabilities do not allow you to find out about the processor. A much better option would be to find out through the most popular program in this area - CPU-Z. It is free and understandable even for a beginner. You can download it from.
After installation and launch, in the tab CPU in field Specialization and there will be the capacity of your processor.

You don’t need to know anything else regarding this article.
If you like the program, you can read about it on the Internet.

How to find out the bitness of the Windows operating system?
Now we have probably come to the most important question. Well, I won't bore you. Begin.

For all versions of windows (namely, we are considering XP, 7 and 8 (vista, by the way, is also suitable)) you need to select a shortcut My computer(no matter where - on the desktop, in the Start menu, when opening the same My Computer), right-click on it and select from the menu Properties.
I show using Windows 7 as an example for better understanding.
1 - When selected from Start

2 - If the shortcut is on the desktop

3 - While in My Computer

A window will open with information about your system. There in the "section" System in field System type and your bit depth will be indicated.