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

Question

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

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, Mar 11 '12 at 13:59
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, Mar 11 '12 at 15:03
Run [SecurAble](http://www.grc.com/securable.htm) from Steve Gibson at grc.com. — bbfugitive, Mar 11 '12 at 14:17
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, Mar 11 '12 at 21:35
@David Schwartz That means every pc capable of running Windows 7(32 or 64 bit) has 64 capability. Please let me know. — Moshii, Mar 27 '18 at 15:32
@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, Apr 04 '18 at 02:35
Possible duplicate of [How to check (on Windows) if CPU is 64-bit compatible?](https://superuser.com/questions/143901/how-to-check-on-windows-if-cpu-is-64-bit-compatible) — StayOnTarget, May 02 '18 at 12:09
@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, Feb 21 '19 at 09:39

score 32 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 27 '11 at 15:58

32

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

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answered Feb 27 '11 at 15:58

Moab

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Both good answers, but I love Securable for its simplicity for the given task. And large font. ;) – Kara Marfia Feb 27 '11 at 18:09
grc. Still out and about , even in the current year. Haven't use that site in decades! – kellogs Feb 18 '17 at 11:05
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But that's for Windows. Do they do a Linux version? – Peter Flynn Jun 10 '17 at 16:36
Grc only has Windows utlities, check over here under Unix...https://unix.stackexchange.com/ ... or here...https://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/ – Moab Jun 17 '17 at 16:07
"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 Jul 16 '17 at 11:47
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 Feb 21 '19 at 09:24
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 Feb 21 '19 at 09:34
You can click on each of the three and get additional details. – Moab Feb 21 '19 at 14:22

score 29 · Answer 2 · edited Jul 03 '17 at 15:33

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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

edited Jul 03 '17 at 15:33

Stevoisiak

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answered Mar 11 '12 at 15:42

user1055604

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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?](http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/find-out-32-or-64-bit) – user1055604 Nov 20 '12 at 13:57
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That tells you if you're **running** 32-bit or 64-bit Windows. Not if you *can* run 64-bit Windows. – Ian Boyd Jan 25 '14 at 15:51
thanks... that's right... the link in the comment does not server the intended purpose... the answer stands correct... – user1055604 Jan 26 '14 at 09:40
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It was hoping the web-site would describe a way to see if my machine is *64-bit capable*. – Ian Boyd Jan 26 '14 at 13:56
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Answer not valid for Windows XP. – Sopalajo de Arrierez May 11 '16 at 09:00
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If your PC's *Windows Experience Index* has [not yet been established](https://i.stack.imgur.com/BMw8f.png), this method will require Administrator Rights. – Stevoisiak Jul 03 '17 at 15:30
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 Feb 21 '19 at 09:25

Stevoisiak · Answer 3 · 2018-06-21T20:01:23.947

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

score 4 · Answer 4 · edited Mar 20 '17 at 10:17

4

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.

edited Mar 20 '17 at 10:17

Community

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answered Feb 27 '11 at 13:59

Olli

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score 4 · Answer 5 · edited Oct 15 '12 at 18:18

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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".

edited Oct 15 '12 at 18:18

Indrek

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answered Oct 15 '12 at 18:02

Yousuf Alsaiari

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`reg query "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DESCRIPTION\SYSTEM\CentralProcessor\0"` from Command Prompt when access to `regedit.exe` has been disabled. – deizel. Sep 11 '13 at 10:05
Mine says `x86 Family 6 Model 26 Stepping 5` – Sridhar Sarnobat Sep 25 '21 at 20:34

score 3 · Answer 6 · edited Aug 25 '18 at 07:45

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.

score 1 · Answer 7 · edited Oct 13 '19 at 20:06

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...