Today there are three popular operating systems, namely: Windows, Linux and MacOS, and all of them are divided into two types by bitness: 32-bit and 64-bit.
Let's look at the main differences between these two systems, and also try to find out whether the x86 or x64-bit system is installed on the computer.
Quick navigation through the article
We look at the bit depth on Windows
To find out the bitness in Windows XP, you need to do the following (in Windows 7 you can find out the bitness of the operating system in the same way, only in the first step, the “Run” button is located in the “Standard” folder):
- Open the Start menu;
- Find and click the item in the "Run" menu;
- After opening the window for launching applications, enter dxdiag into it and click "OK". This program calls the so-called diagnostic tool. If it is running for the first time, you will need to confirm the first launch, which lasts for a minute.
- In the “System” tab there is a column “Operating system”, there you will see the bit depth of your OS (it is written after the full name of the operating system, for example: Windows XP Home Edition 32 bit. In this case, the bit is equal to the bit value).
We look at the bit depth in Linux
To find out the bit depth of a *nix system, just open a terminal window and type: uname -a (if i686 - then 32 bits, if x86_64 - then 64).
Difference between systems
The main difference between 64-bit systems is that they can access memory whose size is 2 to the 64th power (hence the name 64-bit operating system).
In turn, 32-bit systems access memory, the size of which is 2 to the 32nd power. This is actually why operating systems with 32 bits cannot support RAM, the size of which will exceed 4 gigabytes.
64-bit operating systems guarantee the end user high performance and a reliable firewall (and therefore more stable system operation).
32-bit systems can offer a wider range of different software. On the Microsoft Windows operating system, the difference in the bit depth of operating systems is especially noticeable.
In addition, not any processor is suitable for a 64-bit operating system, but only one whose architecture supports 64-bit operations.
Apple intends to stop supporting 32-bit applications in the iOS and macOS operating systems. Such software will not work in the iOS 11 software platform this fall, while macOS will stop supporting them starting next year. But it’s worth preparing for this now.
In June, Apple officially announced that macOS High Sierra will be the last version of the OS to fully support 32-bit software:
“New apps in the Mac App Store must support 64-bit architecture starting in January 2018, and updates and existing apps starting in June 2018.”
If you find a 32-bit app on macOS, you can contact the developer to find out if an update is planned. If not, you should start looking for an alternative solution.
How to view a list of 32-bit applications on Mac:
Step 1: Click on the Apple logo in the upper left corner.
Step 2: Click on the About This Mac section.
Step 3: In the window that opens, click on “System Report”.
Step 5: On the left side of the window, find “Software”, and then “Programs”. Wait a while until the system displays a list of all installed applications.
Step 6: Once the list is complete, scroll to the right until the “64 bit (Intel)” column appears.
All 32-bit and 64-bit applications will be marked here. Many programs will belong to Apple - they will definitely receive the necessary update. In this case, you need to look at applications from third-party developers.
Today, users are increasingly faced with the concept that determines the bit depth of a system. Everyone knows that the same Windows operating systems are designated as 32 or 64 bit versions. Sometimes this designation can be expressed in the form of abbreviations like x86 and x64. What is this and how to find out how many bits the system is installed on a stationary terminal or laptop, we will now look at it.
Main differences between x86 and x64 systems
Before we begin to solve the question of how to find out how many bits a system is installed on a computer terminal or laptop, let’s see what the differences are between the most common architectures.
The very first and most important thing is that systems with 32-bit architecture do not support working with RAM strips of more than 4 GB and do not run applications designed for more than 3 GB of RAM during operation.
For this purpose, 64-bit systems were created in which RAM support is practically unlimited in size. Today, the largest value is considered to be 192 GB, although in the future this is not the limit. But let's return to the question of determining the bit depth of any OS.
How to find out how many bits the system is on Windows?
First, let's look at the Windows operating system. To access this parameter in Vista, Seven or Eight, you can use the standard Control Panel, in which you select the “System” menu, and then view the “System Type” line.
If you figure out how to find out how many bits the system is on XP, you can right-click on the “My Computer” icon and then select properties. In the window that opens, all the data on the bit depth of the installed operating system will be shown (of course, along with all other basic parameters).
By the way, this method is also suitable for versions of Vista, 7, 8 and 10. It is standard and seemingly unified.
System bit parameters on Macs
Now let's see how to find out how many bits the system is installed on the corresponding terminal when using Mac OS X.
To do this, you need to apply almost the same algorithm as in Windows, although the path will be longer. Click on the logo at the top left of the screen and select the “About this computer” option. Next, you will have to step by step through the “More details” sections, then “Software”, and then in the overview menu find the 64-bit kernel and extensions option. If the opposite is “Yes”, the system has a 64-bit architecture, “No” - 32-bit.
System bit size in Linux
The problematic question of how to find out how many bits of a Linux system a user has, in this case can only be solved using a command method using the so-called terminal (UNIX-like systems, including “Apple operating systems”).
Here it all comes down to using the uname -a command in the terminal field, after which you should pay attention to the system recall. If a message containing the value x86_64 appears on the screen, this indicates the presence of a 64-bit operating system installed. If you answer with the value i686, as is already clear, you can determine that the system has a 32-bit architecture.
Bottom line
As you can see, there is, in fact, nothing complicated in the above-described solutions to the issue of determining the bit depth of the operating system. Another thing is that in most cases, users use Windows of various modifications. The simplest option is to use computer properties.
Before installing a driver or program, you must know which bitness of the Windows operating system installed on your computer: 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64). Windows x86 or 32-bit system supports no more than 4 GB of RAM, while a 64-bit system supports more than 4 GB. For example, Windows 7 Home Premium in the 64-bit version supports up to 16 GB of RAM. More advanced editions of Windows, such as Professional and Ultimate, support up to 192 GB of RAM! To determine which version of Windows is installed on your computer, follow these steps.
Windows 8 bit depth
There are 2 ways to determine the bitness of Windows 8. If one method does not work, try another.
Method 1: View the System window in Control Panel
- Type "System" in the search field and then tap or click Settings.
- Click the System icon.
- If you have a 64-bit version of Windows 8 installed, the System type field in the System section will indicate this. And if you have a 32-bit version of Windows 8, it will indicate: 32-bit operating system.
Method 2: Open the System Information window
- Drag your cursor near the right edge of the screen, then tap Search. Or, if you're using a mouse, move your pointer to the bottom right corner of the screen and click Find.
- In the search field, enter “system information.”
- Click on "System", and then click on the "System Information" button.
- The box under the item title will say System Type Windows 8 64-bit. Or the System Type box will say Windows 8 32-bit.
Windows 7 bit depth
In the window that opens, find the System type item
Windows Vista bit depth
- Windows x64 - in the System type item it will be indicated: “64-bit operating system”
- Windows x86 - in the System type item it will be indicated: “32-bit operating system”
Windows XP bit depth
I note that the vast majority use a 32-bit operating system.
Method 1
In the window that opens, find the System item
- if you are using a 64-bit version of the operating system, the System item will indicate: Microsoft Windows XP version x64
- if you are using a 32-bit version of the operating system, the System item will indicate: Microsoft Windows XP version x32
Method 2
- Click "Start"
- Select "Run"
- Enter the “CMD” command in the window that appears, i.e. call command line
- Enter the command "winver"
- Click "Start"
- Select "All Programs"
- "Standard"
- Item "Service"
- Click on “System Information”
Method 3
Thanks to this method you will receive complete information about the system. Usually the question arises where it is written about the bit depth, so if the text “x86 Family” is present, then the system is 32-bit.
Question: Why is it not always possible to see the necessary information in Windows XP (in the first two methods) or why is there no “System” item?
Answer: Because Windows XP SP3 (third fix pack) has a large number of assemblies and the first two options are not relevant in all assemblies, for example, in some assemblies only the 3rd method of checking the system bitness works.
In our previous instructions for novice iPhone and iPad users, we succeeded, after which we examined in detail, found out that this program is distributed free of charge, but forgot about one very important point - the bitness of the PC operating system, which affects compatibility with.
Some users were unable to install iTunes and asked in emails - Why won't iTunes install? Other users had iTunes installed on their computer, but for some reason it wouldn’t launch. One of the reasons for such problems may be that the version of iTunes does not match the bitness of the computer's operating system.
Users of the Mac OS X operating system may not read further, but Windows owners should know that Windows operating systems come in 64-bit and 32-bit (64 bit and 32 bit). Therefore, you need to download iTunes corresponding to the bitness of the PC OS. In the first part of the material, I propose to learn how to determine the bit depth of your computer operating system and find out whether it is 32-bit or 64-bit. And in the second part we will learn how to choose the right iTunes for the operating system.
Windows 7 bit depth
Today, many people use Windows 7 on their computers; to determine the bit depth, we do the following:
1. Click the “Start” button in the lower left corner and enter the word in the search column - System. You will see this very System in the search results above, click on it. If that doesn't work, you can alternatively right-click on the My Computer icon and select Properties.
2. As a result, a window should appear to view basic information about the computer, where in the System section you can look at the System type and see the bitness of Windows 7. In the example above, we see a 64-bit operating system. If you have a 32-bit one, then instead of the number 64 the computer will display 32.
Windows XP bit depth
With XP everything is pretty much the same, but there are some peculiarities.
You can, as in the case of 7, right-click on the My Computer icon and select System Information Properties in the General tab. If there are no bit numbers there, but simply says Windows XP, this means that the system is 32-bit. In 64-bit versions of XP there is a number - 64.
1. Additionally, you can verify the bitness of XP as follows: Start – All Programs – Accessories – System Tools – System Information.
There is another, shorter way: Start – Run – enter in English letters winmsd.exe and click OK.
2. A window with information about the system opens, look at the Processor column; if it starts with X86, the operating system is 32-bit. In the case of a 64-bit version of the OS, the Processor section will start with the inscription IA-64, or other abbreviations containing the number 64.
It seems that we have sorted out the bit depth of operating systems, now you need to download the appropriate iTunes for your OS. By default, the 32-bit version is available for download on the iTunes download page on Apple's website, as it is more common among users. To download 64-bit iTunes, you can go to the Google search engine page and use the query - iTunes 64, find the 64-bit version.
The iTunes installation file for 32-bit systems looks like this: iTunesSetup.exe
The iTunes installation file for 64-bit systems looks like this: iTunes64Setup.exe
We hope that now you will be able to install iTunes for any operating system. Users of the Mac OS X operating system, install iTunes for Mac, as far as I know you have no problems with bit depth.
