Question about Windows 9x..?

Question

Is it purely 32-bit code?

Answer 1

Windows 95, 98 and ME are primarilly designed around 16 bits, but have a 32 bit subsystem. Windows NT, 2000 and XP are built around a 32 bit core, with backward compatibility. That is what makes NT/2000/XP so much better than the 9x series.

Windows Vista comes in a 32 bit and 64 bit flavor core.

If you have a 64 bit system, you should consider upgrading to Windows Vista 64. You can get the 64 bit disk for under $10 from Microsoft if you have a proper 32 bit flavor license.

The wave of the future is with Windows Vista. But if your system did not come with Windows Vista, then you probably should not upgrade to it. Within 3 years, most computers will be running Vista; so within 5 years, you will start to fall behind.

Good luck and Happy Computing!

Answer 2

It's a 32 bit extension
of a 16 bit upgrade
to an 8 bit operating system
built to run on a 4 bit processor
by a two bit company
that can't stand 1 bit of competition

Answer 3

It can only use the limited set of integer registers up to 32 bits wide but there are 64 bit double precision instructions.

Answer 4

no, it is NOT pure 32bit code. Even windows 2000 is not "pure" 32bit. Once you limit the OS to 32bit you drop support for 16bit code and there's a ton of it still out there.

Answer 5

No, it is 32 bit, but can also run older 16 bit applications.

Answer 6

Nope. Appears to be hybrid 16/32bit for backward compatibility w/ 16bit apps. It says here that GUI components were 16bit only:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows#Hybrid_16.2F32-bit_operating_environments

Answer 7

Mostly. But you may still have DOS stuff available to use (16 bit).

Answer 8

Depends entirely on the version you get. Specifically, it will say "64" somewhere if it is designed for 64-bit processors.