Is your system 32-bit or 64-bit?

Many people are stumped when I ask them if their OS is 32-bit or 64-bit. The worst part is that some blindly choose one of the two (Hey, you gave me two choices, and since high school I’ve been trained to pick a random choice to have some chance of getting it right).

Let’s not dwell on those people. Rather, let’s focus on how to find out whether you have a 32-bit OS or a 64-bit OS. What your hardware is capable of supporting is a different question that usually isn’t of much relevance – except if you’re trying to figure out if you can install a 64-bit OS.

1. Start a command prompt
   • Press WinKey and R; type “cmd” and press enter
   • Or click on start, run and type “cmd” and press enter
2. Type set and press enter
   • “set” is a command to set environment variables. In case no parameter is passed, like now, it will list the environment variables that already exist. Here, we are going to use an environment variable that Windows has already set.
3. Look for a variable named PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE.
   • If it says x86, then your OS is 32-bit. If it says amd64, your OS is 64-bit.

If you are using Vista/Win7, use WinKey+Pause or WinKey+Break. Alternately, right click on your computer and choose properties. There, under System Type:, you can see the same information.

Remember, just because your OS is 32-bit, it doesn’t mean that your hardware can’t support 64-bit. Most of the processors available in today’s market are capable of supporting 64-bit anyway.

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