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HowWindows64bitSupports32bitApplications
SubmittedbyRemah|Lastupdateon2ndMay,20155:52am

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Introduction
ThisarticleprovidesanoverviewoftheWindowsonWindows64(WOW64)subsystemandassociatedtechniquesthatsupport32bitapplicationsunderWindows
64bit.

Discussion

Windows32bitonWindows64(WOW64)

WOW64emulates32bitWindows
UnderWindows64bit,32bitapplicationsrunontopofanemulationofa32bitoperatingsystemthatiscalledWindows32
bitonWindows64bit,orWOW64forshort.WOW64interceptsalloperatingsystemcallsmadebya32bitapplication.

Foreachoperatingsystemcallmade,WOW64generatesnative64bitsystemcalls,converting32bitdatastructuresinto64bit
alignedstructures.Theappropriatenative64bitsystemcallispassedtotheoperatingsystemkernel,andanyoutputdatafrom
the64bitsystemcallisconvertedintoaformatappropriateforthecallingapplicationbeforebeingpassedback.

Like32bitapplications,WOW64runsinusermodesoanyerrorsthatoccurintranslatinganoperatingsystemcallwillonly
occuratthatlevel.The64bitoperatingsystemkernelcannotbeaffected.

SinceWOW64runsinusermode,all32bitapplicationcodemustalsoruninusermode.Thisexplainswhy32bitkernelmodedevicedriversandapplicationsthat
relyonthem,willnotworkunderWindows64bit.

TheWOW64emulatorconsistsofthefollowingDLLs,theonly64bitDLLSthatcanbeloadedintoa32bitprocess:

Wow64.dllthecoreemulationinfrastructureandthelinkstotheNtoskrnl.exeentrypointfunctions.
Wow64Win.dllthelinkstotheWin32k.sysentrypointfunctions.
Wow64Cpu.dllswitchestheprocessorfrom32bitto64bitmode.
Ntdll.dll64bitversion.

Wow64.dllloadsthe32bitversion(x86)ofNtdll.dllandallnecessary32bitDLLswhicharemostlyunmodified32bitbinaries..However,someoftheseDLLshave
beenmodifiedtobehavedifferentlyonWOW64thantheydoon32bitWindows.Thisisusuallybecausetheysharememorywith64bitsystemcomponents.

WOW64managesfileandregistrysettings
Inadditiontohandlingoperatingsystemcalls,theWOW64interfaceneedstoensurethatfilesandregistrysettingsfor32bitapplicationsarekeptapartfromthosefor
64bitapplications.Toachievethistwomechanismsareused,FileandRegistryRedirectionandKeyReflection.Redirectionmaintainslogicalviewsofthedataasifit
werein32bitWindowsandmapsittothecorrectphysicallocation.Reflectionensuresthat32bitand64bitsettingswillbeconsistentwherethatisrequired.

FileRedirection
Fileredirectionensuresthatthereareseparatefoldersforprogramandoperatingsystemfilesfor32and64bitapplications.

32bitapplicationsfilesareinstalledinto

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3/21/2017 HowWindows64bitSupports32bitApplications|Gizmo'sFreeware
C:\Program Files(x86)

32bitsystemfilesareinstalledinto

C:\WINDOWS\SysWOW64

For64bitapplications,filesareinstalledto:

C:\Program Files
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32

TheWOW64fileredirectorensuresthatrequestsfrom32bitapplicationstoopenfilesinC:\ProgramFilesorC:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32areredirectedtothe
appropriate32bitdirectories.

Thereisoneissuewithfileredirectionthatusersanddevelopersshouldbeawareof.

Many64bitapplicationsstilluse32bitinstallationroutines.Toensurethatanapplicationisinstalledcorrectly,i.e.toC:\ProgramFiles,theinstallationroutineshould
makeanoperatingsystemcalltotemporarilysuspendtheWOW64fileredirector.Afterinstallationanotheroperatingsystemcallneedstobemadetoreenablethe
redirector.IfthisapproachisnotfollowedthentheapplicationwillbeinstalledtoC:\ProgramFiles(x86).Aclassicexampleofthisisthe64bitdevelopmentversion
ofFirefox3.5,codenamedShiretoko,whichisinstalledtoC:\ProgramFiles(x86)\Shiretoko.Firefoxstillfunctionscorrectly,theonlythingyoucan'tdoischangethe
iconfortheapplication.

RegistryRedirection
Registrykeysspecificto32bitapplicationsareredirectedfrom:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software

to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\WOW6432Node

YoumayalsooccasionallyseeRegistryentrieselsewherealthoughthisisunusual

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\WOW6432Node

Thisapproachallowsboththe32bitand64bitversionsofanapplicationtobeinstalledsidebysidewithoutoverwritingeachotherssettings.

Registryreflection
Someredirectedkeysand/orvaluesarealsoreflected.Thismeansthatifa32bitapplicationmakesachangetotheredirectedsectionoftheregistry,thatchangeis
alsomadetothe64bitpartoftheregistry,andviceversa.Keyreflectionusesapolicyoflastwriterwins.Forexample,ifIinstallthreeapplicationswiththesamefile
extensionthenthelastonetobeinstalledwillbeassociatedwiththatextension.

1.Installa32bitapplicationthatassociatesitselfwiththefileextensionXYZ.

2.Installthe64bitversionofthisapplicationthatassociatesitselfwiththefileextensionXYZ.

3.Installanother32bitapplicationthatassociatesitselfwiththefileextensionXYZ.

DoubleclickingonafilewiththeextensionXYZinExplorerwouldloadtheapplicationinstalledinstep3,asitwasthelastonetoassociateitselfwiththis
extension.

Allofthisisdonetransparentlyfor32bitapplicationsbyWOW64,which,ininterceptingcallstotheoperatingsystem,detectsreferencestofilepathsandregistry
keysandmapsthemaccordingly.

WOW64hasseverallimitations
Somebutnotall64bitfeaturesareavailableto32bitapplications

WOW64provides32bitapplicationswithaccesstosomefeaturesof64bitsystems.Forexample,applicationscanhavemorememoryupto4GBwiththecorrect
setting..Otherfeaturesaremorelimitedduetooverheadsandrestrictions.Forexample,64bitWindowswillsupportlogical64processorsbut32bitapplicationsare
restrictedtotheusual32logicalprocessors.

CodeInjectioncannotmixbetween32bitand64bit

Under64bitWindowsitisnotpossibletoinject32bitcodeintoa64bitprocess,norisitpossibletoinject64bitcodeintoa32bitprocess.Applicationsthatrelyon
codeinjectiontoaddfunctionalitytoexistingapplicationswillusuallynotwork.

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Thisexplainswhymost32bitshellextensionsdonotworkunderWindows64bit.Themajorityofshellextensionsrelyoncodeinjectiontoaddthemselvesto
WindowsExplorer.

WOW64doesnotsupport16bitinstallers
WOW64providessupportforMicrosoft's16bitinstallerbysubstitutingacompatible32bitinstallerbutdoesnotextendthissupporttothirdpartyproducts.

Furtheroptionsforrunning32bitapplicationswithWindows64bit

WindowsVirtualPC
WindowsVirtualPCisfreesoftwarethatprovidesanenvironmentthatwillsupportlegacyhardwareandsoftwarethatwillnotworkunderWindows7.Guest
operatingsystems(OS)canruninavirtualmachinewhichmeanstheyarenotawarethattheyarerunningunderanotheroperatingsystem.

ThesystemrequirementsandfeaturesvarysignificantlybetweenversionsofVirtualPCandversionsofWindowssocheckbeforeyoutryVirtualPC.Thelatest
versionis,perhaps,themostlimitedwithnosupportforoperatingsystemsbeforethecurrentsupportedversionofWindowsXPwhichisServicePack3.

WindowsXPMode(XPM)
WindowsXPModeisaspecificimplementationofWindowsVirtualPCthatcomeswithapreinstalled,licensedcopyofWindowsXPProfessionalwithService
Pack3.ItisonlyavailablewiththeEnterprise,UltimateandProfessionaleditionsofWindows764bitsoyouareexpectedtoupgradetotheseversionsifyouwantit.

ManywhohaveusedXPMadvisethatitshouldbeusedasalastresort.Itwillprovidelegacysupportifyouhavenootheroptionsbut,comparedtoother
virtualizationproducts,performanceisdisappointingandthedefaultconfigurationraisesanumberofsecurityissues.

DualbootWindows
YoucaninstallmorethanoneversionofWindowsonthesamecomputerbydualbooting.Forthepurposesofthisarticle,youwouldinstalla32bitversionanda64
bitversionalongsideeachother.Eachoperatingsystemisinstalledintoitsowndiskpartitionandabootmanagerisinstalledonthedefaultpartitiontoensurethatyou
canchoosewhichoperatingsystemyouwanttouseatstartup.

Althoughyoucannotusebothoperatingsystemsatthesametimeitisausefuloptionbecausetheentirecomputerisdedicatedtotherunningoperatingsystem.
Comparedwithvirtualmachines,therearenoissuesofcompatibilityandmuchlesscomplexityinbothinstallationandoperation.Youcanalsoretaintheabilitytorun
16bitapplicationsunderthe32bitversionofWindows.

Summary
Most32bitapplicationswillrunquitehappilyunderWindows64.Themainexceptionsare:

1.32bitdevicedrivers.
2.Applicationsthatcannotfunctionwithoutthe32bitdevicedriversthattheyuse.Primeexamplesareantivirus,antimalwareandfirewallapplications.
3.Applicationextensionsthatrelyoncodeinjectioninto,forexample,Explorer.

Someapplicationsmayworkwithreducedfunctionality.Theseincludeuninstallers,registrycleanersandtweakingprograms,amongstothers,sincetheyonlyhave
accesstothatpartoftheRegistrymadevisibletothembyWOW64.

Ifyoucannotrunyour32bitapplicationsthenconsidervirtualizationordualbootingwiththeoldandnewoperatingsystemsbothinstalled.

Whichrunsfaster32bitor64bitapplications?
ThisquestionisaskedalotandthereisnogeneralrulebecauseitdependsontheapplicationandwhichCPUfeaturestheyuse.

Ifwecompared32bitand64bitapplicationsintheirnativeenvironmentsthen32bitapplicationusuallyuselessmemorythantheequivalent64bitapplication
because64bitversionsuse64bitvaluessotheytakeuptwicethespace.Theextrasizeaffectstheapplicationstartupandshutdowntimesandotheractivitiesthat
involveaccessingthediskdrives.Usuallythismeansthatthe32bitapplicationwillrunfasterbut64bitapplicationscanaccessnewandfasterfeaturesinthe64bit
CPUspotentiallygivingimprovementsofupto25%inprocessingspeed.

Onceboth32bitand64bitversionsofaprogramarerunningon64bitWindowsyouhavetoignoreanyperformanceona32bitCPU.The32bitapplicationnow
requiresWOW64torunsothatshouldbeincludedinanyperformancecomparison.Thismeansyouneedtoincludealltheduplicatedresourcesusedtomapthe32bit
applicationtothe64bitenvironmentitrunsunder.Duplicatedresourcesareusedformemorymappingandredirectionoffileslocationsandregistryentries.Theresult
isthatthe32bitapplicationusesmorememoryandrunsslowerthanonanequivalent32bitCPUbutitmaystillbefasterthanthe64bitapplication.

RelatedLinks
32bitand64bitexplained
BestFreeWindows64bitSoftware

http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/howwindows7vista64support32bitapplications.htm 3/8
3/21/2017 HowWindows64bitSupports32bitApplications|Gizmo'sFreeware
MicrosoftDeveloperNetworkDisablingtheWOW64FileSystemRedirector
MicrosoftDeveloperNetworkRunning32bitApplicationsunder64bitWindows

Editor
ThissoftwarecategoryismaintainedbyvolunteereditorRemah.

"IhaveusedTechSupportAlertandtheolderSupportAlertNewsletterforalmostadecadesoIhavesavedhundredsofhoursof
workandmanymoredollarsbyfollowingGizmo'sFreewarerecommendations.Thanksfortheopportunitytogivesomething
back."

Ifyouhavehadasimilarexperiencethenyoushouldconsiderbecomingareviewertoo.

Tags
WindowsonWindows64,WOW64,32Applicationsunder64bitWindows,64bitWindowsVista,64bitWindows7,WindowsVirtualPC,virtualization,dualboot,
Securable

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Comments
SubmittedbyMrBrianon15.May201516:47 (122196)

SomeadditionalWOW64issuesarecoveredatTheWOWEffect.

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Submittedbyjimmcconnellon11.November20141:54 (119564)

Thankyouforanenlighteningarticle.bringsunderstandingthatismuchappreciated.

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SubmittedbyEagle2289on16.May201414:14 (116247)

OkaysomaybethishasbeenansweredadozentimesalreadybutI'dstilllikethehelpanyway.Ihaveseveral32bitprogramsonmylaptop(whichisa64bitoperating
system)andIhaveWOW64(ithink)howeverwheneverItrytorunoneofthese32bitprogramsIgetanerrormessagesayingthatitcannotrun.IneedtoknowwhatI'm
doingwrong,howdoIgetWOW64towork?OristhereadifferentversionIneed?(forabitmoreinfoafewoftheprogramsareoldergames.)

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Submittedbysickneroon17.May20147:27 (116254)

WOW64shoulddoitsthingautomaticallywithoutyourneedingtodoanythingspecialyourselfbut,itdoesn'tworkforallx86software.

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3/21/2017 HowWindows64bitSupports32bitApplications|Gizmo'sFreeware

Submittedbydjperryboyon9.April201423:14 (115587)

IhaveaninstallfilethatIbelieveoriginallywasusedforWindowsNT3.1andsoIwonder,Isthereanypossibilitythatitcanbeusedin64bitWindows7.Thisisa
remakefora32bitwindowsXPithinkbutitseemstoworkforwindows732bitalso.IhavetriedtochangethecompabilityandalsoIusedtheautomaticcompability
windowsversionincludingonlinehelpbutitdidn'tsolvemyproblem.

ThemessageIgetiswhenIopentheprogram:"TheversionofthisfileisnotcompatiblewiththeWindowsversionyouhave.Checkthecomputerssysteminformation
ifyouneedax86orax64version(32bitor64bit)ofthisprogram.Thencontactthepublisherofthisprogram"(Translated).ThisisoneofmyfavoritegamessinceI
wasjustalittlekid.AndIreally,really,reallywantittowork.Anysuggestions?

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Submittedbysickneroon14.April201423:20 (115703)

AlsoyoucoulduseVirtualBoxtorunanx86versionofWindowsinsideyourx64O/S,oryoucouldasRemahsaysseeifit'sonlytheinstalleritselfthatiscausing
theproblem.Tryingunpackingtheinstallerwith7ziporUniversalExtractor,youmightgetluckyandfindthatyoucanrunitwithoutinstallingit.

Intheareaofinstallationmonitoring,youmightalsofindthisusefulhttp://www.techsupportalert.com/content/cameyoapplicationvirtualizatio...

I'vehadmixedresultswithitbutitwillattheveryleastshowyouexactlywhatfiles/foldersaninstallercreatesandthelocationsofthem,assumingyoucanfindapc
thatwillletyouruntheinstaller.

Anotheralternativeistosearchtheinternetandseeifthere'sanotherversionofyourgameavailablemanyoldgameshavebeenrecreatedfornewerO/Ss,thereare
alsoemulatorslikeDosBoxandsomehavebeenrecreatedtobeplayedonlineinyourbrowser.

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SubmittedbyRemahon26.April20150:59 (115701)

Itsoundslikeyouhavea16bitinstallerorapplication.Ifthatiscorrectthenyoucanuseanyofthe"Furtheroptionsforrunning32bitapplicationswithWindows
64bit".

Ifitisonlythe16bitinstallerthatistheproblem,iethegameiscompletely32bit,thenyoumightbeabletocircumventthe16bitinstallation.Youwoulduse
softwarethatmonitorsthegameinstallationonanolderversionofWindowsandthenreplicatesthatconfigurationonWindows7.IhavenevertriedthissoI'm
unsurehowwellthiscouldworkasitdoeshavesomesignificantrisks.Ifyoudecidetotrythisthensomeoftheproductsinthefollowingarticleswillhelp:Best
FreeSoftwareUpdateMonitorBestFreeProgramUninstaller

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Submittedbyshriganeshon12.March20148:52 (114956)

AwowarticleonWow64!Thanks!

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Submittedbyhimadrisauon24.October20138:41 (111721)

iamusingwindows764bitsystembutIwanttoinstall32bitapplicationsunder64bitsystemofWindows7plzhelpme,,,,,,

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SubmittedbyRemahon24.October20139:50 (111723)
Youwillprobablyhavenoproblemsinstalling32bitapplicationunder64bitWindows.Readthesummaryagain:"Most32bitapplicationswillrunquitehappily
underWindows64".Thesummaryalsoliststhreereasonswhyasmallminorityofapplicationswillnotinstall.
Loginorregistertopostcomments

Submittedbyskl_2kon7.September20134:22 (110569)

Iwanttoinstall32bitapplicationsunder64bitsystemofWindows7O/S,buttheapplicationsarenotcompatible.HowcanIabletoinstallthoseapplicationsunder64
bitO/S?Pleasehelpme.

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SubmittedbyRemahon3.October20133:48 (111190)
Whichapplicationsareyouhavingproblemswithandwhatistheoperatingsystem?Most32bitWindowsapplicationsrunwithoutproblemsunder64bitWindows.

http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/howwindows7vista64support32bitapplications.htm 5/8
3/21/2017 HowWindows64bitSupports32bitApplications|Gizmo'sFreeware
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Submittedbyexus69on10.April20138:06 (106955)

Verynicelyexplained:)Onequickquestion:

IfIinstall32bitand64bitflavorofthesameapplicationona64bitWin7willthe64bitapplicationworkfasterthanits32bitcounterpartorwillitbethesame
accordingtotheapplicationsmemoryusagecapacity??

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SubmittedbyRemahon26.April20151:00 (106985)

The64bitversionsshouldrunfasteranduselessmemorybecauseall32bitcodewillbeemulatedbyWOW64in64bitWindows.Furtherexplanationfollows.

Ifwecompared32bitand64bitapplicationsintheirnativeenvironmentsthen32bitapplicationusuallyuselessmemoryandrunfasterthantheequivalent64bit
application.Butoncebothversionsarerunningon64bitWindowsitisnotsufficienttosimplycomparethetwoapplications.The32bitapplicationrequires
WOW64torunsothatshouldbeincludedinanyperformancecomparison.Thatmeansyouneedtoincludealltheduplicatedresourcesusedtomapthe32bit
applicationtothe64bitenvironmentitrunsunder.Duplicatedresourcesareusedformemorymappingandredirectionoffileslocationsandregistryentries.The
resultisthatthe32bitapplicationusesmorememoryandrunsslowertoo.

Loginorregistertopostcomments

Submittedbyexus69on1.July20137:07 (108869)

Thanksforthereply.Reallyappreciateyourdeepknowledgeonthetopic:)

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