Determine whether your computer is running a 32-bit version or 64-bit version of the Windows operating system

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When you install Microsoft Lync 2010 communications software, depending on your computer’s operating system you will need to choose between a 32-bit version or a 64-bit version installer.

The minimum operating system requirements for Lync 2010 is Window 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 3 (SP3). For more information about system requirements, see Lync Online and Online Meeting Add-in for Microsoft Lync 2010 System Requirements.

Determine the operating system bit count

Windows 7 or Windows Vista

If you have Windows Vista or Windows 7, there are two methods to determine whether you are running a 32-bit or a 64-bit version. If one does not work, try the other.

Method 1: View System window in Control Panel

Click Start, type system in the search box, and then click System in the Control Panel list.

The operating system is displayed as follows:

For a 64-bit version operating system: 64-bit Operating System appears for the System type under System.

For a 32-bit version operating system: 32-bit Operating System appears for the System type under System.

Method 2: View System Information window

Click Start, type system in the search box, and then click System Information in the Programs list.

When System Summary is selected in the navigation pane, the operating system is displayed as follows:

For a 64-bit version operating system: X64-based PC appears for the System Type under Item.

For a 32-bit version operating system: X86-based PC appears for the System Type under Item.

Windows XP Professional

If you have Windows XP, there are two methods to determine whether you are running a 32-bit or a 64-bit version. If one does not work, try the other.

Method 1: View System Properties in Control Panel

Click Start, and then click Run.

Type sysdm.cpl, and then click OK.

Click the General tab. The operating system is displayed as follows:

For a 64-bit version operating system: Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Version appears under System.

For a 32-bit version operating system: Windows XP Professional Version appears under System.

Method 2: View System Information window

Click Start, and then click Run.

Type winmsd.exe, and then click OK.

When System Summary is selected in the navigation pane, locate Processor under Item in the details pane. Note the value.

If the value that corresponds to Processor starts with x86, the computer is running a 32-bit version of Windows.

If the value that corresponds to Processor starts with ia64 or AMD64, the computer is running a 64-bit version of Windows.

How to determine if you have a 32-bit or 64-bit CPU

The steps to determine whether your computer has a 32-bit or 64-bit processor (CPU) depend on the type of operating system installed. Below are the steps to determine the processor type for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Windows 8 and 10

To determine your CPU type in Windows 8 and Windows 10:

• In the Windows search box, type system information and select the System Information icon.

Or, if you do not have a search box (because you have disabled it):

1. Open a File Explorer window by pressing Windows key + E .
2. On the left, right-click This PC.
3. In the context menu, select Properties. The System Properties window opens.

1. In the System Properties window, find your System type, which lists your operating system and CPU type.

Earlier versions of Windows

If you are using an earlier version of Windows, follow these steps.

• Open the Start menu >All Programs. Open the Accessories folder, then the System Tools folder. In the System Tools folder, select the System Information option.

On the right side of System Information, look for the System Type option under the Item column. The associated value, in the Value column, will tell you which type of CPU the computer has in it. If the System Type value includes «x86» in it, the CPU is 32-bit. If the System Type value includes «x64» in it, the CPU is 64-bit.

Determine if using 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows

Microsoft Windows is available in 64-bit and 32-bit. 32-bit processors can only run 32-bit versions of Windows. However, 64-bit processors can run either the 64-bit or 32-bit versions.

To determine if the version of Windows on your computer is 32-bit or 64-bit, choose your version and follow the steps.

Determine if Windows Vista, 7, 8 and 10 is 32-bit or 64-bit

1. Press and hold the Windows key and the Pause key.
2. In the System window, next to System type, it lists 32-bit Operating System for a 32-bit version of Windows, and 64-bit Operating System if you’re running the 64-bit version. Below is a picture and an example of this window.

Determine if Windows XP is 32-bit or 64-bit

1. Press and hold the Windows key and the Pause key, or open the System icon in the Control Panel.
2. On the General tab of the System Properties window, if it has the text Windows XP, the computer is running the 32-bit version of Windows XP. If it has the text Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, the computer is running the 64-bit version of Windows XP.

Determine if Windows 2000 and prior is 32-bit or 64-bit

Windows operating systems, from Windows 95 to Windows 2000, are all 32-bit. There are no 64-bit versions of these operating systems.

Apple macOS

On the macOS, click the Apple icon in the menu bar. Select the About This Mac option in the Apple menu. On the About This Mac window, click the More Info option. Open the Hardware section and find the Processor Name attribute. Once listed, perform an Internet search, using that CPU’s processor name as a keyword, to determine if it’s a 32-bit or 64-bit CPU.

Processor	32-bit or 64-bit
Intel Core Duo or Solo	32-bit
Intel Core 2 Duo	64-bit
Any Intel Xeon processor	64-bit
Intel Core i3	64-bit
Intel Core i5	64-bit
Intel Core i7	64-bit

As shown in the table above, all the most recent Mac computers are 64-bit processors.

Linux

On the Linux operating system, access the command line interface and enter the following command.

Look for «lm» in the command output. If lm is found in the output, then the CPU is 64-bit. If you don’t see lm or see i386, i486, i586, or i686 in the output, then the CPU is 32-bit. Below is an example output of the command above with lm in the information.

Determine if the Linux kernel is 32-bit or 64-bit

Using the uname command, you can determine if your Linux kernel is 32-bit or 64-bit by running the command below.

This command would give you output similar to the example output below.

If you see x86_64 in the output, this indicates it is x86 and that it is 64-bit.

Determine whether your computer is running a 32-bit version or 64-bit version of the Windows operating system

When you install Skype for Business, you need to choose between a 32-bit version installer and a 64-bit version installer. Use the 32-bit installer if you’re using a 32-bit version of Windows and the 64-bit installer with a 64-bit version of Windows. To determine which version of Windows you’re using, follow the steps in Method 1 or 2. If one method doesn’t work, try the other.

Method 1: View the System window in Control Panel

Click Start, type system in the search box, and, under Control Panel, click System.

Note: If System isn’t listed under Control Panel in the search results, click Control Panel to see more results.

Under System, look at the System type entry. It will say either 32-bit Operating System or 64-bit Operating System.

Method 2: View the System Information window

Click Start, type system in the search box, and, under Programs, click System Information.

Note: If System Information isn’t listed under Programs in the search results, click Programs to see more results.

In the right pane, look at the System Type entry. For a 32-bit version operating system, it will say X86-based PC. For a 64-bit version, you’ll see X64-based PC.

To choose the installer

When you know which version of Skype for Business you need, choose the Skype for Business installer, and then install Skype for Business.

Open the Office 365 portal, and sign in.

Under Get started with Office 365, click PC & Mac.

(Optional) In the Language list, select a different language.

Under Version, do one of the following:

If you’re running the 32-bit version of Windows, skip to Step 4.

If you’re running the 64-bit version of Windows, click Advanced, and then, in Version list, select 64-bit .

10 Ways to Determine if Application is Compiled for 32-bit or 64-bit

There are 2 different architectures for the Windows operating system which are the 32-bit or 64-bit, also known as x86 or x64. Although the rule of thumb for installing a 64-bit Windows applies mostly for computers with more than 4GB of memory, you will find that this is not the case today because branded computers such as Dell already pre-install Windows 10 64-bit onto a budget computer with 2GB of RAM. It is recommended to use the 64-bit applications in a 64-bit Windows operating system for better performance although the 32-bit will also work fine.

However do take note that attempting to run a 64-bit application on a 32-bit Windows will report a generic error saying “This app can’t run on your PC. To find a version for your PC, check with the software publisher”

Not all programs come with both 32-bit and 64-bit builds, so the availability of a 64-bit application would very much depend on the developer or a trusted third party to recompile the source code. From what we know, merely recompiling the source code for a 64-bit build doesn’t really help much in performance because the source code must register new hardware and instructions that aren’t available in 32-bit version of Windows.

If you’d like to determine if a particular application is a 32-bit or 64-bit build, here we have 10 ways to analyze the file with some methods that don’t even need to run the program.

PeStudio is actually a powerful tool to detect anomalies in an application that are commonly found in malicious software and has been in continuous development since 2009. It is also easy enough to use by simply loading a file into PeStudio for an automated analysis and as you can see from the screenshot below, you can easily tell if the analyzed executable file is a 32-bit or 64-bit application by looking at the CPU row.

An advantage in PeStudio is you can analyze any files without running the suspicious files in the first place, thus keeping your computer safe. It also comes with a built-in VirusTotal scanner. PeStudio is portable and free for private non-commercial use.

2. InspectExe

InspectExe works slightly differently to PeStudio that we’ve mentioned above by integrating directly into Windows. The additional information of the program can be viewed by checking the program’s property window from the right click menu. Right click on any executable file, select Properties and you’ll find a few additional tabs such as InspectExe, Manifest, Imports, Sections and Resources. To determine if the file is a 64-bit program, simply refer to the information from the InspectExe tab.

InspectExe is a free application but a full version that offers the additional functionality of previewing resources in an executable file is available for purchase at $12. If you find yourself very often checking the resources of executable files, InspectExe would be a very convenient tool.

3. MiTeC EXE Explorer

MiTeC EXE Explorer is a single portable program that reads and displays the loaded executable file’s properties and structures which includes information on header, sections, directories, exports, imports, resources, strings, load config, debug, exceptions and even a hex viewer. Once a file is loaded and analyzed, you can easily tell if the program is a 64-bit from the information below the menubar. At the Header tab, the Machine row also shows the architecture of the program.

MiTeC EXE Explorer is also a freeware and it runs on Windows 2000 up to the current Windows 10.

4. Sigcheck

Sigcheck by Sysinternals is a simple command line tool that displays the file version, signature and surprisingly together with the information if the file is a 32-bit or 64-bit program. Interestingly they’ve also included the functionality of checking the file’s status in VirusTotal.

There is a third party frontend GUI for Sigcheck called SigcheckGUI which is more user friendly for people who are not familiar with command prompt usage. You can easily add multiple files, folders and even running processes for scanning.

5. EXE 64bit Detector

EXE 64bit Detector is yet another free tool created by SecurityXploded, a group that has released over a hundred useful tools. It is a simple command line tool that is only used to tell if a particular executable file is 32-bit or 64-bit.

Initially we couldn’t get this tool to work and after further testing, we found that this tool must be called from a UAC elevated command prompt or else the program will be terminated without showing any information.

6. 7-Zip

Most people would recognize the 7-Zip software as a file archiver program to extract or compress multiple files into a single file. However what most people don’t realize is the command line version of 7-Zip (7z.exe) can extract and display the PE header information for an executable program using the (l) switch.

It is certainly very useful for 7-Zip to have this feature because 7-Zip is commonly found installed on Windows computers as it is one of the most popular archivers, if not the most popular. Otherwise, you can also download the standalone command line version of 7-Zip and carry it with you on a USB flash drive.

7. VirusTotal

VirusTotal is a popular online free service to scan uploaded files using over 50 different antivirus programs. If you explore further on the scan results, you’ll find a lot of other information on the analyzed program including if the program is made for 32-bit or 64-bit machine. All you need to do is go to the “File detail” tab and refer to the PE header basic information area.

As you can see from the screenshot above, VirusTotal shows that the uploaded program is a x64 application which is also equivalent to 64-bit. As for 32-bit, it will show as x86. This method may not be the best solution if the file size of the program that you want to analyze is big because VirusTotal has a maximum file size of 128MB.

8. Task Manager

For a program that is already running, you can actually check from the Task Manager if it is a 32-bit or 64-bit application. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys simultaneously to run Task Manager, click on the More Details button located at the bottom left. Go to Details tab, right click at the column header and choose “Select columns“. Scroll right to the bottom of the select columns window and tick the Platform checkbox followed by clicking the OK button. You will now see an additional Platform column where it displays if the running process is a 32-bit or 64-bit program.

Although this method doesn’t rely on any third party software or online services, it has a disadvantage whereby the program must be executed in order to show up in Task Manager. Obviously there are some risk if you’re trying to determine the build for an unknown program.

9. Notepad

Believe it or not, you can tell if the executable program is a 32-bit or 64-bit by loading it in Notepad. Run Notepad, drag and drop the program that you want to check into Notepad. You should see a lot of unknown and gibberish characters in Notepad which is normal. Now press Ctrl+F to bring up the Find dialog box in Notepad, type PE into the “find what” text box and click Find Next button. At the first result, take note of the first character after PE and some blank spaces. For a 32-bit program, you’ll see the letter L.

As for 64-bit program, it will show the letter d with a dagger †.

Before you try out this method, please be informed that loading a file that is huge in size will slow down your computer and possibly crash Notepad.

10. Referring Compatibility tab

Another interesting method to determine if an executable file is a 32-bit or 64-bit is by looking at the list of Windows operating systems available to select from the compatibility tab in the file properties window. First right click on the program that you want to analyze, select Properties and go to Compatibility tab. Tick the checkbox for “Run this program in compatibility mode for” and click at the drop down menu which will show you a list of Windows operating systems.

64-bit programs will only show Windows Vista and above.

While 32-bit programs will allow you to select back to Windows 95.

This option makes a lot of sense because although there is a 64-bit version for Windows XP, it wasn’t widely used. So Windows only allows you to run a 64-bit program in compatibility mode for Vista and above while 32-bit has been used since Windows 95.