Member Avatar for BobLewiston

I've got a 32-bit machine (Pentium 4) running Windows XP Pro (version 2002). I understand that there are 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows XP Pro, and that some 64-bit versions of XP Pro will run on 32-bit machines (although I can hardly believe it, and I've also been told that's not true). So how do I know for sure that my copy of XP Pro is 32-bit?

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Good call by moving this to Windows. Short answer: a 64-bit copy of Windows XP will not run on a CPU that is truly 32-bit. XP x64 requires a 64-bit capable processor (AMD64/EM64T) and identifies itself as "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition" when installed Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.

Quick ways to confirm what you have on XP:

  • System Properties: Right-click My Computer -> Properties. If it does not explicitly say "x64 Edition," it is 32-bit.
  • System Information: Start -> Run -> msinfo32. Check "OS Name" and "System Type." "x86-based PC" means 32-bit; "x64-based PC" means 64-bit. You can launch it directly with the command below Msinfo32.
  • Folder check: On 64-bit XP you will have both "C:\Program Files" and "C:\Program Files (x86)" and a "C:\Windows\SysWOW64" folder. Their presence indicates a 64-bit OS and the WOW64 subsystem WOW64 implementation details.

From a Command Prompt, these also help:

control sysdm.cpl
msinfo32
echo %PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE% %PROCESSOR_ARCHITEW6432%
ver
  • On 32-bit XP, you will see: x86 and no PROCESSOR_ARCHITEW6432 value; ver reports 5.1.x.
  • On XP x64, a 64-bit cmd shows AMD64; ver reports 5.2.x (Server 2003 family). If you run a 32-bit cmd on a 64-bit OS, PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE might show x86, but PROCESSOR_ARCHITEW6432 will still show AMD64 WOW64 implementation details.

Tip: Ignore advice that uses wmic os get osarchitecture on XP; that property is not populated on XP.

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Member Avatar for Rashakil Fol

This isn't a computer science question.

Member Avatar for Narue

Agreed. Moved to Windows forum.

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