Linux - Hardware This forum is for Hardware issues.
Having trouble installing a piece of hardware? Want to know if that peripheral is compatible with Linux? |
Notices |
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
Are you new to LinuxQuestions.org? Visit the following links:
Site Howto |
Site FAQ |
Sitemap |
Register Now
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
|
 |
05-26-2020, 05:08 PM
|
#1
|
Member
Registered: Apr 2005
Location: Austin, Texas
Distribution: Feather, Darn Small Linux
Posts: 514
Rep:
|
32 0r 64 bit Drivers
Is there any difference between a 64bit and 32bit driver. Will a 64bit one work on a 32bit system?
|
|
|
05-26-2020, 05:19 PM
|
#2
|
Senior Member
Registered: Jan 2007
Location: Wild West Wales, UK
Distribution: Linux Mint 22 MATE, Peppermint OS-Devuan, EndeavourOS
Posts: 4,287
|
borgward,
A 32 bit system needs a 32 bit driver.
32 bit and 64 bit drivers will work on a 64 bit system.
|
|
|
05-26-2020, 05:47 PM
|
#3
|
Member
Registered: Apr 2015
Distribution: Debian
Posts: 272
Rep: 
|
As a general rule, if you have a 64-bit system (not sure if you know, but we can probably find out), you may as well use 64-bit drivers unless you have a specific reason not to.
|
|
|
05-26-2020, 06:04 PM
|
#4
|
Member
Registered: Apr 2005
Location: Austin, Texas
Distribution: Feather, Darn Small Linux
Posts: 514
Original Poster
Rep:
|
what if you have a 32bit system but need to use a device (USB Dongle) that only has 64 bit (or unstated) driver.
|
|
|
05-26-2020, 06:31 PM
|
#5
|
Moderator
Registered: Mar 2008
Posts: 22,270
|
My guess is your usb dongle won't work if all you have is a 32 bit system and 64 bit drivers. (find it a bit hard to believe but it may be a very new device)
If you tell us what this device is we might have better guess.
Last edited by jefro; 05-27-2020 at 03:48 PM.
|
|
|
05-26-2020, 09:02 PM
|
#6
|
Senior Member
Registered: Jul 2007
Location: Delft, The Netherlands
Distribution: Slackware
Posts: 1,674
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by borgward
Is there any difference between a 64bit and 32bit driver.
Will a 64bit one work on a 32bit system?
|
Yes, a 64-bit driver will need to be called with 64-bits pointers.
And no, a 64-bit one will not work on a 32-bit system.
A driver (cq kernel module) has to be of the same architecture as the kernel itself as it has to be called BY that kernel.
Us 'uname -m' to see what arch your kernel is. If the answer is "x86_64" it is 64-bit and if "ix86" (with x a digit from 3 to 6) it is 32-bit.
Then do "file <driver>" to determine the same thing of the driver itself.
It should have "ELF xx-bit" in the answer, with xx being 32 or 64.
If those don't match the driver cannot be loaded.
|
|
1 members found this post helpful.
|
05-26-2020, 09:26 PM
|
#7
|
Member
Registered: Mar 2020
Location: NM
Distribution: antiX 19.2 | Slacko pup | Miyo
Posts: 104
Rep: 
|
@borgward -- this probably has nothing to do with drivers
BTW -- I like your handle! are you a driver of the car with that name? Haven't seen one in decades! LOL
Last edited by sp331yi; 05-26-2020 at 09:26 PM.
Reason: typo
|
|
|
05-27-2020, 09:59 AM
|
#8
|
Senior Member
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: Florida
Distribution: CentOS/Fedora/Pop!_OS
Posts: 2,983
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by borgward
what if you have a 32bit system but need to use a device (USB Dongle) that only has 64 bit (or unstated) driver.
|
then you will need to upgrade the system or the hardware to match the 64bit drivers.
think of it like this:
You are driving down a road that is 32 bits wide and you are trying to force a 64 bit truck down that road. Is it going to fit? Nope is the answer.
|
|
1 members found this post helpful.
|
06-08-2020, 01:01 PM
|
#9
|
Member
Registered: Feb 2020
Posts: 34
Rep: 
|
32-bit programs can run on a 64-bit system, but 64-bit programs will not run on a 32-bit system. This is because 64-bit applications include 64-bit instructions that will not be recognized by a 32-bit processor. In order to run a 64-bit program, your operating system must be 64-bit
|
|
|
06-08-2020, 01:53 PM
|
#10
|
Member
Registered: Apr 2005
Location: Austin, Texas
Distribution: Feather, Darn Small Linux
Posts: 514
Original Poster
Rep:
|
The laptop has 64bit processor. The chipset is a mix of 32 and 64bit, mostly 32bit. How does that fit into the sceme of things?
|
|
|
06-08-2020, 02:51 PM
|
#11
|
Moderator
Registered: Feb 2003
Location: Arizona, USA
Distribution: Debian, EndeavourOS, OpenSUSE, KDE Neon
Posts: 4,027
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by borgward
The laptop has 64bit processor. The chipset is a mix of 32 and 64bit, mostly 32bit. How does that fit into the sceme of things?
|
You mean like a core2? The CPU understands 64-bit instructions, so it'll work with 64-bit instructions. Might not be as fast as if everything were 64-bit, but it will indeed run 64-bit.
|
|
|
06-08-2020, 06:58 PM
|
#12
|
Member
Registered: Apr 2005
Location: Austin, Texas
Distribution: Feather, Darn Small Linux
Posts: 514
Original Poster
Rep:
|
It's a single core AMD Sempron 64bit CPU
|
|
|
06-08-2020, 07:20 PM
|
#13
|
Moderator
Registered: Feb 2003
Location: Arizona, USA
Distribution: Debian, EndeavourOS, OpenSUSE, KDE Neon
Posts: 4,027
|
If it is a 64-bit Sempron (and be sure it's 64-bit, since many Semprons has 64-bit disabled) then it'll work with 64-bit OS. Given other limitations (single core, ram limit), I wouldn't expect miracles with most modern OS's, but it should function.
|
|
|
06-09-2020, 03:44 PM
|
#14
|
LQ Guru
Registered: Jan 2006
Location: Ireland
Distribution: Slackware, Slarm64 & Android
Posts: 17,262
|
It was competition for the Celeron, which was 64/32 bit, = 64bit internals with 32bit bus. So it would read 64 bits in 2 chunks of 32bits each, and 128 bits in 4 chunks of 32 bits each. The idea was a budget system with 32bit memory, peripherals, etc, by using a half-assed 'bargain' motherboard & cpu.
Treat it as 64 bit, and it works.
I believe in 2005, they released their 1st 64/64 bit sempron model, and from 2006 they were all 64/64 bit. So your year and maybe your model matters only if you want to find out how badly it sucks. It IS a 64bit cpu throughout.
|
|
|
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:33 PM.
|
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.
|
Latest Threads
LQ News
|
|