x86 is a 32-bit Processor architecture. x86_64 is the 64-bit Processor architecture. Software (including Linux kernel) designed for a 32-bit processor can run on both a 64-bit as well as a 32-bit processor, however software designed for 64-bit processor can't be executed on a 32-bit processor.

~Gaurav

On Sun, Dec 23, 2012 at 4:58 PM, Shraddha Kamat <sh2008ka@gmail.com> wrote:

I used x86 - bzImage to boot my machine and 'uname -a' shows this :-

Linux phx4 3.7.1 #3 SMP Sun Dec 23 16:28:20 IST 2012 x86_64 x86_64
x86_64 GNU/Linux

where I see x86_64 arch (and not x86_64) ???

What is the difference between arch/x86 and arch/x86_64 ?

-- Shraddha

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Gaurav Jain

Associate Software Engineer

VxVM Escalations Team, SAMG

Symantec Software India Pvt. Ltd.