Identifying your system type is also important when upgrading. If you're running a 32-bit version of Windows, upgrading to 64-bit can help unlock the full potential of your computer.

A few editions of 64-bit Windows 7 provide a Windows XP Mode that solves some backward-compatibility problems, but it isn’t a universal panacea.

One of the common choices today is whether to run a 32-bit or 64-bit operating system on desktop machines. Since 32-bit operating systems have been in production for many years, 32-bit still seems ...

Windows 10 can run on both 32-bit and 64-bit processor architectures. If you have a computer with a 32-bit setup, you can upgrade to the 64-bit version without acquiring a new license.

You may not have noticed, but most Windows 8.1 tablets run in 32-bit mode despite having a 64-bit processor. That's about to change.

More and more frequently, users are installing the 64-bit version of their operating system of choice over the less capable 32-bit version.

VirtualBox is flexible enough to handle many types of 32-bit and 64-bit configurations. If you need to run a 32-bit version of XP in a 64-bit host, you can do that without any problems.