Find out if your PC runs a 32-bit or a 64-bit version of Windows

We’ll start with Windows XP. Click the Start button and choose Control Panel. When the window opens, click the Performance and Maintenance link followed by System (or, if viewing in Classic View, double-click the System icon). Make sure the General tab is selected and look in the System section. If the details there say Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition or Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition then you have the 32-bit version of Windows. If the system description includes the words 64-bit or x64, then you’re using the 64-bit edition.

Users of Windows Vista take a slightly different route and the resulting information is more clearly presented. Click the Start button and choose Control Panel from the menu. When the window appears, find and click the System and Maintenance heading. At the next screen, click the System heading and then find the section in the main window headed System. In there you’ll see a System type sub-heading and next to it, Vista will show whether the PC is using the 32-bit or 64-bit version of the operating system.

If using Windows 7, then it works like this. Click the Start button to open the menu and choose Control Panel. When the window opens, click the System and Security heading and then at the next screen click the System heading. When that window opens, find the section in the middle of the main window headed System and look for the System type and next to that heading you’ll find the version of Windows labelled as either ‘32-bit Operating System’ or ‘64-bit Operating System’.