How to Determine if Running 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) Architecture of Windows 10
The terms 32-bit and 64-bit refer to the way a computer's processor (also called a CPU), handles information. The benefits of using a 64-bit operating system are most apparent when you have a large amount of random access memory (RAM) installed on your computer, typically 4 GB of RAM or more. The 64-bit version of Windows handles large amounts of random access memory (RAM) more effectively than a 32-bit system. To run a 64-bit version of Windows, your computer must have a 64-bit-capable processor.
This tutorial will show you how to determine if you are running a 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) architecture of Windows 10 or Windows 10 ARM on your PC.
You cannot upgrade from a 32-bit to 64-bit Windows or 64-bit to 32-bit Windows. Instead you must do a clean install since you can only upgrade from 32-bit to 32-bit or 64-bit to 64-bit.
Contents
- Option One: To Determine 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 10 System Type in Settings
- Option Two: To Determine 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 10 System Type in System
- Option Three: To Determine 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 10 System Type in System Information
- Option Four: To Determine 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 10 System Type using systeminfo Command
1 Open Settings, and click/tap on the System icon.
2 Click/tap on About on the left side. Under Device specifications on the right side, look to see if your System type is either a 64-bit operating system or a 32-bit operating system.
This option is no longer available starting with Windows 10 build 20161 and higher.
1 Do step 2, step 3, or step 4 below for how you would like to open the System window.
2 Press the Win + Pause/Break keys, and go to step 5 below.
3 Open the Control Panel (icons view), click/tap on the System icon, and go to step 5 below.
4 Open the Win+X power quick link menu, click/tap on System, and go to step 5 below.
5 Look to see if your System type is either a 64-bit Operating System or a 32-bit Operating System.
1 Open the Start menu , type msinfo32 into the search box, and press Enter.
2 In System Summary on the left side, look to see if your System Type on the right side is either a x64-based PC or a x86-based PC.
1 Open a command prompt.
2 Typesysteminfo
into the command prompt, and press Enter.
3 Look to see if your System Type is either a x64-based PC or a x86-based PC.
That's it,
Shawn Brink
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