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How can I find out if my computer (running XP Pro) is running 32-bit or 64-bit?

32-Bit vs. 64-Bit Operating Systems

Windows operating systems come in many versions such as Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7. Each of those versions has different editions such as Home, Professional, or Ultimate. To add to the confusion, the operating systems are offered as either 32-bit or 64-bit versions. While the differences between XP, Vista, and Windows 7 and their various editions include interface differences and features, the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems has to do with the way the central processing unit processes and manages information.

A 32-bit system can process 32 bits worth of information at a time while a 64-bit system can handle twice as much. This means that a 64-bit system is well suited for handling more complex calculations and processes. A 64-bit system isn’t necessarily faster for all processes because other factors are involved including the processor’s speed.

The Importance of Knowing Your Operating System’s Specifics

It’s important to know your operating system’s specifics because software and device drivers are often operating system specific. In other words, software designed for the 32-bit version of Windows may not work on the 64-bit version and vice versa. Similarly, device drivers designed for Windows 32-bit may not work on Windows 64-bit.

How to Tell if Windows XP is 32-Bit or 64-Bit

So, how can you tell if Windows XP is 32-bit or 64-bit? Most Windows XP machines are 32-bit systems. Back when 64-bit versions where introduced, the systems were labeled “Windows XP x64 Professional” or “Windows XP 64bit Edition Version 2002/2003.”

To check your version, go to the Control Panel and find the System icon. You should see the version information in the General tab. If it says “Windows XP Professional Version (year),” you have the 32-bit version. If it says “Windows XP Professional x64 Edition,” you have the 64-bit version.

How to Tell if Windows Vista or Windows 7 is 32-Bit or 64-Bit

For those users running Windows Vista or Windows 7, the process is similar. Either go to Control Panel > System or type “System” into the Search bar and click the System icon when it appears. You’ll see a screen with information about your system including a section labeled “System Type.” Here you’ll see either “32-bit Operating System” or “64-bit Operating System.”

Whenever I turn my Acer Aspire 5515 on, Windows Error Recovery pops up. It gives me two options: Launch Startup Repair (Recommended) or Start Windows Normally. I’ve tried both. When I launch Startup Repair, a black screen appears with the Microsoft corporation logo appearing. Nothing else happens. When I select start Windows normally, the screen jumps, then brings me back to the Windows error recovery. Any idea of how to fix this?

The Windows Error Recovery message can appear for several reasons- an improper shutdown, new software, new hardware, etc. Since trying both options that you are given doesn’t work, you need to troubleshoot the Windows startup error. If you have recently added new hardware, disconnecting or removing it could solve the problem for you as it might be creating some type of incompatibility.

Troubleshooting Windows Error Recovery: Last Known Good Configuration

You can attempt to boot up in Safe Mode and select Last Known Good Configuration and see if that works to resolve the Windows startup error. Turn the computer on and immediately begin to press the “F8″ key. If this does not work, you might need to press the “F2,” “F10,” or “F12″ key. Once you see the prompt screen, select “Last Known Good Configuration.”

Troubleshooting Windows Error Recovery: Booting up from the Installation Disk

If that did not work, try booting up the laptop using the Windows installation disk - provided you still have it. If so, follow these steps:

1)   Turn the power button to your laptop on.

2)   Immediately insert the Windows installation disk that belongs to the laptop.

3)   When you see the option for “Check System,” press the “ESC” key. Next, press the “F1″ key. Your laptop should now boot up.

4)   You can now use the “System Restore” feature to allow your laptop to return to a previous setting when it was functioning properly. This might mean selecting “R” for recovery.

Troubleshooting Windows Error Recovery: Disable Automatic Restart

If you are still having trouble starting up Windows, you can disable the automatic restart option for system failure so that you can see what type of error is occurring. Once you know this, you can then fix the Windows startup error by correcting the core problem.

1)   Turn on the laptop power.

2)   Press the “F8″ key.

3)   Select “Disable Automatic Restart on System Failure.”

4)   Press Enter.

5)   Press “F8.”

6)   Select “Last Known Good Configuration.”

7)   Press Enter.

8)   Select the operating system and enter.

9)   Before Windows actually begins to load, press the pause key on your keyboard and copy down any of the error messages that appear on your screen so that you can use them to continue troubleshooting your windows startup error.

Once you manage to get your operating system to load, you might want to clean the registry and scan for malware just in case the problem is caused by a virus. Use a reliable anti-virus application such as Anti-Virus PLUS.

I cannot launch the Internet Explorer Browser from the icon on my computer’s desktop.

Broken Internet Explorer Shortcut

It sounds as though the shortcut on your desktop is broken. While it seems odd, desktop shortcuts can become corrupt. When this happens, the shortcut no longer works. Since it’s a single shortcut that is corrupt, the solution is to delete the damaged shortcut and replace it with a brand new one. Fortunately, this is relatively easy.

First, let’s make sure that the problem is indeed the shortcut and not a damaged Internet Explorer program file. We’ll do this by trying one of the other ways to open Internet Explorer.

Other Ways to Open Internet Explorer

Many computer users “pin” Internet Explorer to the Start button. If your Start button contains an icon for IE, click this icon and see if it works. If not, right-click the Start button and choose Explore (or Open Windows Explorer if you have Windows 7). Now, navigate to the Program Files folder and find Internet Explorer in the list. Find iexplore.exe and double-click it to launch your Web browser. Did it work?

If so, Internet Explorer itself is fine. Keep this folder open and return to the desktop. Find the broken icon, right-click it, and choose Delete. Confirm your decision if prompted.

Creating a New Internet Explorer Shortcut

Next, you’ll need to create a new shortcut. Go back to the Windows Explorer folder and right-click the iexplore.exe file. Choose either “Send to Desktop” (which automatically creates a new shortcut and places it on the desktop) or “Create Shortcut.” If you choose the Create Shortcut option, the shortcut will remain in the Internet Explorer folder until you drag and drop it into place on your desktop. The easiest way to drag and drop it is to minimize all other windows and then size your Windows Explorer window to a size where you can easily see the desktop beneath. Once sized in such a manner, drag and drop the shortcut into place.

No program will open in the Control Panel but the browser works fine. Help?

There are several things that can happen that damage or disable the Windows Control Panel. It is possible that you have inadvertently altered a configuration file that has disabled the Control Panel’s .CPL files. In this case you will need to make some adjustments to re-enable them. Or your computer might be suffering from a bug that has corrupted a .CPL file or a Management Console .MMC file and you will need to make some changes to take control of your computer.

Run Complete System Scans

Either way, as soon as you are able to access your system you should run a thorough virus, malware and spyware scan to make sure that there is not an infection that can cause more problems in the future. Update your security software and run complete scans repeatedly until they come back clean.

Corrupt Control Panel and Registry Errors

Problems like this affecting the Control Panel most often indicate a registry error. As you may know, making changes to the computer system’s registry is a delicate matter - and a mistake can result in disabling your computer completely. Before you attempt any manual registry changes you should be sure you are comfortable doing so and be very careful to follow accurate instructions.

Download a RegCure Program

If you don’t want to manually repair your registry, you can download and run a registry repair program like Paretologic’s RegCure, which will scan and attempt to fix any corrupt or disabled registry files. While this approach is less focused on your current issue, it is a good option for a thorough scan of the registry.

Manual Tweaks to the Registry

If you decide to do a manual repair, first you need to run the Registry Editor:

• Click Start, then Run
• Type regedit and press Enter
• Scroll to the entry HKEY_CURRENT_USER and double click
• Next scroll to and click twice on the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
• On the right side of the window you will see a list of several Binary Value Keys
• Find the keys called NoControlPanel and NoRestriction and delete them both
• Now, reboot your computer and your registry, computer and Control Panel should be back to good working order

Every time I turn off my laptop, it comes back on again a minute or so later. It never did this before. It just started doing it about a month ago for no reason that I can work out and has been doing it ever since. I have to wait for it to shut down now and pull the battery out the back and switch it off at the main. What a pain! Can anyone tell me why it does this and what I can do to remedy it?

Several reasons could lead to this type of problem. It will take a bit of trial-and-error to figure out the culprit. Before attempting any of the following strategies, check your CD/DVD drives and make sure they are empty. If you have an older model with a floppy drive, then check to make sure that is empty as well.

Troubleshooting Shutdown Error: Disable Automatically Restart

It is possible that the laptop is experiencing a problem that causes Windows to stop responding properly. If you have the Automatically Restart setting enabled, then the laptop might restart itself if Windows experienced a problem during shutdown. The best way to deal with this is to disable this setting, which would allow an error message to appear that you could use to solve the problem.

1)   Navigate to Start.

2)   Right click on My Computer and select Properties.

3)   Select the Advanced tab in the dialog box.

4)   Select Settings beneath the tab for Startup and Recovery.

5)   Look at the box in front of Automatically Restart. If it is selected, clear the box.

If Windows is experiencing a problem, you should receive an error message that will help to identify the cause.

Troubleshooting Shutdown Error: Reseat New RAM, Video Cards, Etc

If you have recently installed new RAM or a new video card, it could be that the hardware is loose. Disconnect the laptop from power and reseat your video card, RAM, or any newly installed device. See if this fixes the problem.

Troubleshooting Shutdown Error: Scan for Viruses

It is possible that a computer virus has infected your laptop, so you should scan it as soon as possible. If you need a reliable anti-virus program, I can recommend Antivirus Plus.

Troubleshooting Shutdown Error: Clean the Registry

It sounds as though you might have a problem with the registry. Download and install a good registry cleaner such as RegCure and run it to resolve errors occurring in the registry.

Troubleshooting Shutdown Error: Repair the Operating System

Use your installation disk and complete a repair installation of your operating system to fix the problem of your laptop restarting at Shutdown.

I was having problems downloading from the net. At the time my anti-virus software expired and I purchased new one. But I could not update it as I could not download. I kept getting a message that it was a Windows issue so, I tried reloading Windows XP. Now it locks up when registering components. So now I cannot even turn it on. Smart huh! Any suggestions on how I could fix it?

Fixing a problem when Windows XP failed to reinstall usually involves a bit of troubleshooting since you don’t know the exact reason behind the problem. Go through the list of suggestions here, starting with whichever one you are most comfortable with and you should be able to sort the problem out. Once you have your operating system up and running again, follow the tips for installing your anti-virus software.

Troubleshooting Windows Reinstall Error: Repair Windows XP Using the Startup Disc

If you have the start up disc that came with your computer, use it now to repair your XP installation. Follow these steps:

1)   Insert the Windows installation disc and power up the computer.

2)   As the “Welcome” page appears, press “Enter.”

3)   At this point, you need to read the licensing agreement.

4)   Scroll to the bottom and press “F8.”

5)   As the prompt appears, you need to press “R” in order to repair your Windows XP operating system.

Troubleshooting Windows Reinstall Error: Boot Up in Safe Mode

Generally, booting up the computer in Safe Mode allows you to bypass a few of the drivers and programs that the computer uses, making it more likely that the computer starts up properly. Follow these steps:

1)   Turn on the computer’s power button.

2)   Press the “F8″ key right away. Sometimes it is necessary to complete this task more than once before you accomplish it correctly.

3)   Select “Last Known Good Configuration.” This step should return your computer to a point when your operating system did work properly. Next time you start up your computer, it will start up in normal mode.

Troubleshooting Windows Reinstall Error: Undo the Reinstallation of XP

You might want to undo the reinstallation of Windows XP since that is where this latest problem of freezing up began. Boot up into Safe Mode using the directions and then complete this task:

1)   Navigate to “Start” in the lower left.

2)   Select “Programs.”

3)   Select the option “Accessories.”

4)   Select “System Tools.”

5)   Select the option “System Restore.”

6)   Select the option “Undo my last restoration.”

7)   At this point, if the computer works, free up some memory and try to download the anti-spyware software using the provided tips.

Troubleshooting Windows Reinstall Error: Hardware/Software Issues

If you recently installed new software or hardware, consider uninstalling them once you get the computer started up again. It is possible that you have an incompatibility issue. Check the paperwork that came with your new equipment or software regarding this issue.

Installing Anti-Virus Software

Installation of anti-virus software sometimes occurs because the computer does not have enough resources available. Use these tips:

1)   Check the memory on your computer and make sure that you have enough room to install the software.

2)   Delete the old anti-virus software application as it might cause incompatibility issues.

3)   Close out all other applications while you are installing the software.