Today, there are three popular operating systems, namely: Windows, Linux and MacOS, and all of them are divided by bit into two types: 32-bit and 64-bit.
Let's consider the main differences between these two systems, and also try to find out whether x86 or x64-bit system is installed on the computer.
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We look at the bit depth on Windows
To find out the bit depth in Windows XP, you need to do the following (in Windows 7, you can find out the bit depth of the operating system in the same way, only in the first paragraph, 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 the "OK" button. This program invokes the so-called diagnostic tool. If it is run for the first time, you will need to confirm the first run, 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 bit depth in Linux
To find out the bitness of the *nix system, just open a terminal window and type: uname -a (if i686 - then 32 bits, if x86_64 - then 64).
System difference
The main difference between 64-bit systems is that they can access memory whose size is 2 to the power of 64 (hence the name 64-bit operating system).
In turn, 32-bit systems access memory, the size of which is 2 to the 32nd power. That is 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 (respectively, more stable system operation).
32-bit systems can offer a wider range of different software. On the operating system Microsoft Windows the difference in the bitness 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.
Before installing a driver or program, be sure to know which bitness operating system Windows installed on your computer: 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64). Windows x86 or 32-bit system supports up to 4 GB random access memory, while the 64-bit one is larger than 4 GB. For example, Windows 7 Home Premium in 64-bit version supports up to 16 GB of RAM. More advanced Windows editions, such as Professional and Ultimate, support up to 192 GB of RAM! To determine which Windows version installed on your computer, follow these steps.
Windows 8 bit depth
There are 2 ways to determine Windows bit depth 8. If one method doesn't work, try another.
Method 1: Viewing the System Window of Control Panel
- Type "System" in the search box and then tap or click Options.
- Click the System icon.
- If you have a 64-bit version of Windows 8 installed, the System type field in the system section will show 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
- Move your cursor near the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search. Or, if you're using a mouse, point to the lower right corner of the screen and click the Find button.
- In the search field, enter "system information".
- Click on "System", and then click on the "System Information" button.
- The box under the item heading will say System Type Windows 8 64-bit. Or under the System Type heading, it will say Windows 8 32-bit.
Windows 7 bit depth
In the window that opens, find the item System type
Windows Vista bit depth
- Windows x64 - System Type will say "64-bit operating system"
- Windows x86 - System type will say "32-bit operating system"
Bit depth Windows XP
I note that the vast majority uses a 32-bit operating system.
Method 1
In the window that opens, find the item System
- if you are using a 64-bit version of the operating system, the System entry will read: Microsoft Windows XP version x64
- if you are using a 32-bit version of the operating system, the System entry will read: Microsoft Windows XP version x32
Method 2
- Press "Start"
- Select "Run"
- Enter the "CMD" command in the window that appears, i.e. call command line
- Enter the command "winver"
- Press "Start"
- Select "All Programs"
- "Standard"
- Item "Service"
- Click on "System Information"
Method 3
With this method, you will get full information about the system. Usually the question arises where it is written about the bit depth, and 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 ways) or is there no “System” item?
Answer: Because Windows XP SP3 (the 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 bit capacity works.
At present, 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 a 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 up 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 has expanded significantly and amounted to 2x64 = 16 exabytes, which, translated into more familiar values, will be 16 billion gigabytes. Thus, the margin for increasing RAM after the transition of computers to 64-bit capacity is simply huge.
In order for the computer to work in 64-bit mode, of course, you need one that supports 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 system is installed in your computer in the following ways.
IN Windows Vista and Windows 7
Click the "Start" button and select "Control Panel" from the menu that appears. Launch the "System" component in the control panel. In the window that opens, look for the line "System Type" opposite which the bit depth of the operating system should be indicated. In our example, the operating system turned out to be 32-bit.
In 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 bit system you have, click right click mouse on the icon from the desktop "My Computer" and in the appeared context menu select "Properties". See what will be indicated in the window that appears. The 64-bit edition will be referred to as Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. Otherwise, you are using a 32-bit operating system.
On Mac OS X
You can find out what mode the Mac OX X operating system kernel is in 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 with the name "Contents" select the section "Software". On the right in the window with the name "Software Overview" find the line "64-bit kernel and extensions" and see what value is opposite - yes or no.
On Linux
In 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 faster, can handle large 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 a distribution kit of the appropriate bit depth.
This week I decided to continue talking about the technologies used in Mac OS X, and "frankly" talk about the very 64-bit mode that Phil Schiller boasted on. Let's try to figure out what is good and what is bad, how to this moment running OSX and what awaits us in the near future. I will try to write in an accessible and understandable way 🙂
hybrid core
It should be understood that the information written on the site about the full support of the 64-bit mode by the system is a small marketing ploy. In fact, such a phrase means this: almost all standard applications were rewritten with support for 64-bit instructions, and if other programmers want to ensure compatibility with this architecture when developing software, and they will have to do this sooner or later, then everything will work correctly and correctly.
Why is it good? But what:
- The standard 32-bit architecture was developed a long time ago. At that time, no one could even imagine that users would want to install 4 or more gigabytes of RAM on computers. The new architecture, in particular, corrects this shortcoming.
- Due to the support of 64-bit computing by processors that work tirelessly inside a wide variety of Apple computers, you can get a performance boost.
And now, a little more detail. In theory, any program adapted to run in 64-bit mode can use up to 16 exabytes (that's equal to 16 billion gigabytes, a fantastic figure in today's times). However, even in the Mac Pro, they do not put more than 32 GB of RAM now.
Intel processors (Core 2 Duo, Xeon, i5 or i7) support 64-bit computing and can perform two actions per clock, due to this, a performance increase is achieved. However, this does not mean at all that some work in reality will be done twice as fast. For example, JavaScript will be 50% faster in JavaScript, opening a large PDF file will be 20% faster, and running QuickTime will be 30% faster. Although, again, the numbers are quite relative and will differ significantly depending on the system configuration: processor, its clock frequency, volume, bus, RAM caches and even platter speed.
Also, 64-bit applications are more resistant to hackers and malware attacks. They have more sophisticated detection techniques built into them. malicious code. An important role is played by the hardware execution disable function for memory with unordered data storage (using enhanced checksums), which helps prevent attacks designed to damage memory.
The core itself is hybrid. Those. it allows any application to work in the same way, regardless of whether they are 32- or 64-bit. The only difference between a hybrid kernel and a full-fledged 64-bit one is the inability to use more than 32 GB of RAM in the system (again, remember about 🙂). Therefore, at the moment there is absolutely no difference between downloading in 32-bit and 64-bit modes. But in the future, the difference will definitely appear as RAM usage increases and new technologies emerge.
Unfortunately, all of the above does not apply to your Mac if it has Intel processor Core Solo or Intel Core duo.
64-bit EFI
For full "64-bit happiness" your computer must support 64-bit mode. Extensible Firmware Interface is an interface between firmware, hardware and computer operating system that replaced Open Firmware. It includes data tables containing information about the platform, boot and runtime services available to the operating system loader and the OS itself.
To find out if your computer's EFI supports 64-bit instructions, enter the following command in the Terminal:
ioreg -l -p IODeviceTree | grep firmware-abi
As a result, you will see "EFI32" or "EFI64":
I think it’s clear that in the first case, your computer, even with all the desire, will not be able to run a 64-bit kernel, and in the second, everything is fine, in the future you will not experience problems. However, thanks to the hybrid kernel, 64-bit applications will be able to run on both systems. The main thing is that you have a processor compatible with 64-bit architecture.
By the way, there are rumors on the net that Macs with 32-bit EFI will also be able to run a 64-bit kernel (it seems to be an Apple software “trick” that can be fixed with an EFI update), but I can’t say if this is true or rumors.
Selecting a mode before launching applications
You can see under which architecture the application is "sharpened" in Activity Monitor. In the column Kind (Type) the mode in which it is launched will be written. As you can see, other processes work with 64-bit instructions, and the kernel process (kernel_task) with 32-bit ones.
If you have problems with the stability of a 64-bit application, you can try running it in the old mode. To do this, in the Applications folder, select our desired program and select "Get info" from the context menu. The "Open in 32-bit mode" option will allow you to run the application in 32-bit mode next time.
And why do we have such problems?
It is difficult for me to answer this question, I would not even say that this is a problem - normal users do not suspect what kind of kernel works in their system and what instructions programs work with.
It's possible that Apple is just waiting for all kernel extensions (kexts) to be converted to 64-bit mode. A kind of reinsurance, the desire to test the technology on millions of Snow Leopard users and try to achieve perfection. And when Cupertino makes sure that everything works smoothly and without failures, they will release the next update of the operating system, which will automatically replace the 32-bit kernel with a 64-bit one.
And we won't even notice it.
Apple intends to stop supporting 32-bit applications in operating systems. iOS systems and macOS. In the program iOS platform 11 such software will not work this fall, while macOS will stop supporting them from next year. But it's worth getting ready for it now.
In June, Apple officially announced that macOS High Sierra will latest version OS that fully supports 32-bit software:
"New programs in Mac App Store should support 64-bit architecture from January 2018, updates and existing applications– since June 2018.
If you find a 32-bit app on macOS, you can contact the developer to see if an update is planned. If not, you should start looking for an alternative solution.
How to view a list of 32-bit apps on a Mac:
Step 1: Click on the Apple logo in the top 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 in it "Programs". Wait for 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 checked here. Many programs will belong to Apple - they will definitely receive the necessary update. In this case, you need to view applications from third-party developers.
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