Windows – Unable to open IE 10 in 32-bit mode

32-bit64-bitinternet explorerinternet-explorer-10windows 7

I need to run IE 10 in 32-bit mode on 64-bit Windows 7 Enterprise N.

When I run IE 10 from "C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer" I can see in task manager that I have only one process "iexplorer.exe" and no process "iexplorer.exe *32".

I have an application with an ActiveX that is supported only on 32-bit, and the application can't be loaded on 64-bit mode.

Is there a way I can force IE10 to run in 32-bit mode?

Best Answer

This occurs because the TabProcGrowth registry entry is set to 0, meaning tabs are set to run in the same process as the manager process (64-bit), rather than opening a new process for each tab (32-bit). You can fix this by changing the registry entry here:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\TabProcGrowth or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\TabProcGrowth

Set it to something greater than 0, restart IE, and you should see normal behavior resume (and your add-ons should work again). More info in this Microsoft KB article.

Related Solutions

Windows – Quick way to tell if an installed application is 64-bit or 32-bit

If you run the application, in Task Manager it should have a *32 beside it to indicate it's 32-bit. I'm pretty sure they had this implemented in Server 2003, not positive though, hopefully someone can clarify.

You could also run it through PEiD. PEiD does not support 64-bit PEs, so it will choke if it's 64-bit.

There is also the famous GNU file for Windows. It will tell you all sorts of information about an executable.

Example:

$ file winrar-x64-392b1.exe
winrar-x64-392b1.exe: PE32+ executable for MS Windows (GUI)

$ file display.exe
display.exe: PE32 executable for MS Windows (GUI) Intel 80386 32-bit</pre>

As you can see, the 64-bit WinRAR installer is classified as PE32+, which signifies a 64-bit executable. The 32-bit application is simply PE32, a 32-bit executable.

Windows – iTunes 9 (64-bit version) installs on “\Program Files (x86)” on Windows 7: is this normal

I searched on my own (well, I should have done that earlier) in the Apple Support Communities and I found this and this thread. It seems that there is no 64-bit version. The simplest explanation is:

There is no 64 bit iTunes. The 64 bit installer installs 64 bit drivers but 32 bit itunes.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Windows – Quick way to tell if an installed application is 64-bit or 32-bit

Windows – iTunes 9 (64-bit version) installs on “\Program Files (x86)” on Windows 7: is this normal

Related Question