Windows 7 32 Bit and 64 Bit Computing

32-Bit and 64-Bit Computing

Microsoft introduced 64-bit computing with Windows XP in 2001. Thankfully, 64-bit computing has changed substantially in terms of hardware support since then. In Windows 7, 64-bit versions run faster and more secure than their equivalent 32-bit edition. All editions except for Windows 7 Starter are available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. To run the 64-bit version of Windows 7, 64-bit capable hardware is required. If the hardware is present, then 64-bit is the better choice. The quick reason for this is that 32-bit processors and operating system versions do not know how to manage more than 4 gigabytes (GB) of RAM. The latest computers include 4 GB or more of memory and therefore should run 64-bit versions of Windows 7. Even if there is less than 4 GB of memory, a 64-bit architecture and operating system have many advantages including more security. However, there are also limitations to be considered:

16-bit applications will not run on 64-bit Windows versions. These include MS-DOS and Windows 3.x and 9x applications. Windows XP Mode can be used to run these applications, however.
Hardware drivers must be 64-bit. This means that you need to pay extra attention to the planning and preparing stage of the deployment to ensure all hardware components have 64-bit drivers.

64-bit Explained

The terms 32-bit and 64-bit refer to the way a computer's processor handles information. The amount of bits stands for integers, memory addresses, registers, address buses, or data buses of the respective size. Therefore, a 64-bit processor, or CPU, can handle much more memory than a 32-bit CPU does. A 32-bit processor and operating system cannot handle more than 4 GB of memory and therefore does not know how to manage it correctly. A 64-bit processor and Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate can handle up to 192 GB of memory efficiently.

The operating system is the first layer that needs to understand what to do with the 64-bit architecture, then the software. Even if the software is not designed for 64-bit, it will still work on a 64-bit version of Windows 7. It is worth noting that some 32-bit software might run quicker on a 32-bit version. Windows 7 64-bit editions support 32-bit applications using the Windows on Windows 64 (WOW64) x86 emulation layer.

This layer isolates the 32-bit application from 64-bit applications to prevent issues with the file system and/or registry. There is interoperability across this boundary with the Component Object Model (COM) for basic operations such as cut, copy, and paste using the Clipboard. However, 64-bit processes cannot load 32-bit DLLs and vice-versa.

64-bit Architectures

There are two different types of 64-bit architectures an administrator might encounter: x64 and IA64. The most used is x64. This is an extension of the x86 instruction set designed by AMD and licensed to Intel. It is the most common as most new CPUs in the home and business use this architecture. The IA64 or Intel Itanium architecture as it is now known was developed by Intel and HP and marketed for use in enterprise servers and high-performance systems.

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