How do I check whether my hardware is 64-bit capable in Windows?

I'm using a 32-bit operating system. How can I check if my hardware supports 64-bit?

Louis Rhys

Posted 2011-02-27T13:51:48.970

Reputation: 1 543

@David Schwartz That means every pc capable of running Windows 7(32 or 64 bit) has 64 capability. Please let me know. – Moshii – 2018-03-27T15:32:42.500

@Moshii I was only talking about his machine, which we know has a Core 2 CPU. If a machine has a 32-bit CPU, it will not support 64-bit Windows 7. – David Schwartz – 2018-04-04T02:35:23.027

Possible duplicate of How to check (on Windows) if CPU is 64-bit compatible?

– UuDdLrLrSs – 2018-05-02T12:09:20.407

@DavidSchwartz, I have machine, Intel Core 2 Duo, it is confirmed that 64-bit capable and I can run Windows 7 on my machine. So, can I install Windows 7 64-bit or Linux Ubuntu on my machine? – AirCraft Lover – 2019-02-21T09:39:49.440

3yes, it would work fine. – andrew cooke – 2012-03-11T13:58:23.487

the first result of a search for "Q8200" is intel's data sheet - http://ark.intel.com/products/36547/Intel-Core2-Quad-Processor-Q8200-(4M-Cache-2_33-GHz-1333-MHz-FSB) - which includes "64 bit instruction set"

– andrew cooke – 2012-03-11T13:59:24.530

Your CPU supports the upgrade. Every Core 2 CPU is 64-bit capable. Whether the rest of your components do, we can't really know. (But if they support Windows 7, they'll support 64-bit Windows 7.) – David Schwartz – 2012-03-11T15:03:01.370

Run SecurAble from Steve Gibson at grc.com.

– bbfugitive – 2012-03-11T14:17:40.783

Anybody puzzled by the comments above should see http://superuser.com/questions/399482/how-to-know-whether-my-cpu-supports-a-64-bit-operating-system which was closed as a duplicate of this question. Looks like the comments from that question were automatically migrated to this one.

– Harry Johnston – 2012-03-11T21:35:20.803

Answers

Install and run Securable, it will tell you. If you get the 64 max bit length, then yes your processor supports it.

http://www.grc.com/securable.htm

. enter image description here

Moab

Posted 2011-02-27T13:51:48.970

Reputation: 54 203

grc. Still out and about , even in the current year. Haven't use that site in decades! – kellogs – 2017-02-18T11:05:50.803

1But that's for Windows. Do they do a Linux version? – Peter Flynn – 2017-06-10T16:36:21.500

Grc only has Windows utlities, check over here under Unix...https://unix.stackexchange.com/ ... or here...https://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/

– Moab – 2017-06-17T16:07:23.667

"64bit maximum bit length" is not a 64bit CPU. Support for over 4GB RAM is a 64bit CPU. . 64bit instructions don't help when a PageFile is needed to execute them.... – Robert Fischer – 2017-07-16T11:47:53.657

From Windows Performance index shown that mine is 64-bit capable. Is that mean that my processor (or probably the motherboard?) capable for 64-bit? – AirCraft Lover – 2019-02-21T09:24:49.513

I checked my machine using your software, and the result is as this:

Intel Core 2 Dua CPU / T7300@2000Hz --
64 Maximum Bit Length -- OFF Hardware D.E.P -- Locked ON Hardware Virtualization

What is that mean? Can I install Windows or Linux Ubuntu 64 bit on my machine? – AirCraft Lover – 2019-02-21T09:34:10.473

You can click on each of the three and get additional details. – Moab – 2019-02-21T14:22:19.740

Both good answers, but I love Securable for its simplicity for the given task. And large font. ;) – Kara Marfia – 2011-02-27T18:09:08.780

For Windows 7 and above

From https://support.microsoft.com/en-ph/help/15056/windows-7-32-64-bit-faq:

Open Performance Information and Tools: Clicking the Start button and then click Control Panel. In the search box (Ctrl + E), type Performance Information and Tools, and then, in the list of results, click Performance Information and Tools
Click View and print details
In the System section, you can see whether or not you can run a 64-bit version of Windows under 64-bit capable

Example: 64-bit capable

user1055604

Posted 2011-02-27T13:51:48.970

Reputation: 1 485

1Answer not valid for Windows XP. – Sopalajo de Arrierez – 2016-05-11T09:00:15.017

If your PC's Windows Experience Index has not yet been established, this method will require Administrator Rights.

– Stevoisiak – 2017-07-03T15:30:56.120

From Windows Performance index shown that mine is 64-bit capable. Is that mean that my processor (or probably the motherboard?) capable for 64-bit? Appreciated your response. – AirCraft Lover – 2019-02-21T09:25:33.030

since the last time i answered this question microsoft has provided a dedicated page for the same... Is my PC running the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows?

– user1055604 – 2012-11-20T13:57:09.353

8That tells you if you're running 32-bit or 64-bit Windows. Not if you can run 64-bit Windows. – Ian Boyd – 2014-01-25T15:51:46.687

thanks... that's right... the link in the comment does not server the intended purpose... the answer stands correct... – user1055604 – 2014-01-26T09:40:48.330

1It was hoping the web-site would describe a way to see if my machine is 64-bit capable. – Ian Boyd – 2014-01-26T13:56:16.677

You can see whether you have a 64-bit or 32-bit CPU in Windows by opening the System Information window.

If your System Type includes x86, you have a 32-bit CPU.
If your System Type includes x64, you have a 64-bit CPU.

_{(Note that having a 64-bit capable CPU is NOT the same as having a 64-bit version of Windows.)}

Windows 10/8

Right click the Start button, then choose Run.
Type msinfo32 and press Enter.

Windows 7/Vista/XP

Click the Start button, then choose Run.
Type msinfo32 and press Enter

Sources

Stevoisiak

Posted 2011-02-27T13:51:48.970

Reputation: 8 152

Another method to find out if your processor supports 32 or 64-bit:

Click on the Start menu
Click Run (or type run on Windows Vista/7 and press Enter)
Type regedit and press OK
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DESCRIPTION\SYSTEM\CENTERALPROCESSOR\0

Look at the Identifier, it should say contain "Intel64" or "Intel32".

Yousuf Alsaiari

Posted 2011-02-27T13:51:48.970

Reputation: 41

2reg query "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DESCRIPTION\SYSTEM\CentralProcessor\0" from Command Prompt when access to regedit.exe has been disabled. – deizel – 2013-09-11T10:05:23.897

Install CPU-Z, run and check out results. If you are unsure, post results (screenshot) to your question. There is no good way in Windows for determining that, except if your Windows is already 64bit. Check out for example this question.

Olli

Posted 2011-02-27T13:51:48.970

Reputation: 6 704

It does not matter what your current OS is - sysinfo, properties, etc., will only tell you what your current OS is. To find out whether your hardware is 64-bit capable, download and run Microsoft's Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor.

The "Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor" should give you a full report on whether your system can run 32-bit and/or 64-bit. Any drivers can be downloaded, no issue there. A new Windows 7 package should come with both Windows 7 32-bit disk and 64-bit disk as well.

Kiwi

Posted 2011-02-27T13:51:48.970

Reputation: 31

I would like to point out "64-bit instruction set" as defined by Intel doesn't guarantee a 64-bit CPU. It refers to Windows 64 compatibility, as I remember IA-32e is not supported after 8.1. due to the hardware NX bit requirement.

This is where confusion reigns because Technet (and MSDN to lesser extent) imply Windows 64 is required to use over 4 GB of RAM, omitting the part about hardware support. It's not clear to end users.

Intel ARK maximum memory specifications are nGB for all 64-bit processors, but for the IA-32 family the "nGB" is replaced with "nbits", e.g. 32-bit support...

One way to find out is look up chipset specifications on Intel ARK. CPU hardware DEP/NX should ensure full compatibility as well.

The "virtual + physical" can translate to pagefile + RAM...it pays to check...