determining 'arch' -- was: blank

[R P Herrold]

On Fri, 25 Nov 2011, Michael Havens wrote:

> how do I tell if I have a 32 bit system or a 64 bit?

Functional test:

test booting with a live CD of each type --- a 32 bit only 
capable processor will 'choke' on the 64 bit CD -- the 64 will 
handle either.  SO .. a 32 bit CD will boot on either type of 
hardware


'Read the label' test

Once the unit is up with a 32 bit CD, inspect the processor 
strings and verify at the vendor's

 	cat /proc/cpuinfo


If it is a unit with a vendor provided 'build sheet' it may 
call out the specific processor and stepping, but be wary here 
--- some hardware manufacturer's disable capabilities the 
processor has ...   Laptops particularly may have a 
virtualizaion capable processor, but such is disabled often

-- Russ herrold