I am a Windows XP "refugee" and I am late... Before downloading Linux Mint I have a choice of either 32-bit or 64-bit CPU. How on earth I can tell what is my system CPU?
Thanks
Paul the Canadian

so you do not know what type and kind of computer you bought , that had XP installed to it .

nor do you know if you have been using the 32 bit xp or the 64 bit xp
that means you do not know what you bought

what did the xp boot screen say?
--- 32 bit ---
windows Home ? ( or Windows XP Starter Edition) ?
windows Professional ?
Windows XP Media Center Edition ?
--- 64 bit ----
Windows XP 64-Bit Edition?
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition?


what is on that xp reinstall cd you got when you bought this computer ?
and just how old is it ?

as in is it from 2001 ?
or from 2007 as a "Vista ready" computer

How much ram dose this computer have ?
if it is from 2001
it might have 256 meg of ram
if it is from 2007 and a "vista ready" it might have 1 gig ram

Go to System information and check your processor make and model, it is probably also listed in the BIOS settings screen. Then post it here or check online to see if it supports 64-bit.

nice trial-and-error method:

1st: if it has 1 cpu, it is most probably 32bit, if it has more, it is most probably 64bit.
i said "most probably" so please don't quote me on that.
2nd: a 32bit linux will run on a 64bit machine
3rd: just try the 64bit install. if it boots, jackpot! tadaa, you have a 64bit machine.

of course you can also try to get proof on the interwebz first.

Trial and error would be more time-consuming that simply looking up the processor IMO.

Burn a live 32 bit CD and enter the following command:-Sample output:-(Yes - an old machine, still going strong).
[If your machine is 64 bit, either accept 32 bit or burn a 64 bit CD]

Burn a cd/dvd and let it boot. Open a terminal and type

If your CPU is 64 bit, I recommend using a 64 bit distro to take advantage of performance and to use higher system memory of 4GB or more. 64 bit distros have gotten better over time and more packages are being ported to use 64 bit systems.

Does 'getconf' work under Windoze ? I'm betting not.

I don't know as I don't use windows. The info I gave is for linux. Not sure if windows has a getconf command.

Before downloading a whole installation medium or live-CD just to check the CPU type it would be much easier and less time consuming to install a free version of tools like Aida32 and install it on Windows to have a look at the hardware information.

I doubt it can hurt to use the 32 bit at first. Basically the 64 bit won't install if you have a 32 bit. There is very little difference to the newbie user I'd think between the two choices.

If you boot it up and or know the ram amount it might be a clue. If you have over 4 gig then it almost certainly a 64 bit system.

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Unless you have limited bandwidth or are on a dial-up connection. Why waste time when it is so easy to first find out which CPU you run, it is not that it is impossible with Windows.

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Check out this site http://www.cpuid.com/

There you can download a program which will tell you everything about your PC. The name of the program is CPU-Z.

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Post the amount of ram you have in it. We may need to suggest a different solution.

Totally forgot about CPU-Z, though I have installed it on my Windows system for overclocking purposes.