I want to install new software that has these two versions, and I need to know which one to install.
How can I tell the 32 or 64 bit capabilities of my Mac?
MacOS – How to check whether the Intel-based Mac is 32-bit or 64-bit
64-bitmacmacos
Related Question
- MacOS – Unsupported hack or workaround to get 64-bit OS X to install on a MacBook Pro having only 32-bit EFI
- IMac – How to boot an Intel Core i7 iMac in 64-bit mode
- MacOS – What are the differences between Dreamweaver_14_LS20.dmg and Dreamweaver_13_LS20.dmg
- IOS – How to tell if certain pre-2015 app is 64 bit
- Mac – How to install a 64-bit OS on a 2006 Mac Pro with 32-bit EFI
- Mac – How to find out if an App in the Mac App Store is 64 bit
Best Answer
To tell if you are running the 32-bit or 64-bit kernel (which matters for some device drivers), launch System Profiler and click on the Software heading in the Contents section.
The line 64-bit Kernel and Extensions will say Yes if you are running the 64-bit kernel and No if you are running the 32-bit kernel.
Note: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard is the last release that a 32-bit Intel Mac can run, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and up are, by default, 64-bit. Additionally, System Profiler was renamed to System Information in OS X 10.7.