The Registry is so essential to the functioning of a Windows PC that anyone who uses a PC regularly should at least have a general idea of what the Registry does. Just a little knowledge will remove some of the fear and loathing from the subject. Everyone should also know how to back it up and restore it. A little learning here can save big headaches with computer problems. The backup and restore process is neither difficult nor lengthy and is easily mastered by the greenest of computer newcomers.

What is the Registry?

The Windows Registry is a central database containing all the varied assortment of information needed for the computer to run both the hardware and the software. The Registry is in constant use and almost anything that you do on a Windows PC will access the Registry for information. The information is divided among a number of hidden system binary files. Only highly expert professionals will ever need to access these files directly. If desired, viewing the contents of some parts of the Registry is done with the Registry Editor accessory (Regedit), which combines certain components and displays them in a readable unified text form.

Isn't it dangerous to do anything with the Registry?

Because it is involved in everything, damage to the Registry can stop a PC from functioning. For that reason Microsoft has gone out of its way to make the Registry mysterious and fearsome sounding. It is reasonable that Microsoft does not want to have to deal with service calls from ignorant people who have tried to edit the Registry but I think the constant warnings about the Registry that you see everywhere on the Internet are overdone. They are a form of CYA arising in part from our overly litigious society. Yes, you can create a lot of problems if you mess up the Registry but you can also cause problems if you go around deleting things from the Windows or Program folders. You can do stupid things with almost anything. And yes, mistakes do occur. I once misplaced a comma while editing a Windows 95 Registry and found that my computer wouldn't boot. But I had a backup and it took only a minute or two to fix the problem. Actually, the Registry has become increasingly robust with each version of Windows. It is very much harder to make the system unbootable than in the days of Windows 95.

Why does Windows need a Registry? Other operating systems don't have one

All operating systems need a way to store information about the system. There is more than one way to do this and Apple and Linux use a different method. Originally, Windows kept information in a large number of separate INI files scattered throughout the system. Then, beginning with Windows 95, Microsoft decided to centralize the information. It is true that there are a number of computer scientists who think the Registry is not the optimal way to store system information but the Registry method also has its proponents.

How to back up and restore the Registry

If there is one thing about the Registry that everyone should know, it is how to back it up, Every time you make system change- installing software, attaching new hardware or whatever- a backup should be made of the Registry. Fortunately, this is not difficult.

Backing up is often already done for you by System Restore.  Depending on how often you turn your computer off, the default setting is for System Restore to back up certain system components, including the Registry, approximately every 24 hours. However, you can also manually create a restore point whenever you wish and it's a good idea to do so whenever you make a system change. Some quick ways to make System Restore points are at this link. Those who make frequent changes to their system may wish to create a shortcut to System Restore or download one of the little scripts mentioned in the preceding reference. Put the script file on the desktop and making a restore point is just a double-click away.

One drawback to System Restore is that it doesn't provide a convenient way to back up just the Registry or parts of the Registry. Another is that the restore points cannot be placed on an external drive. A possible solution is the free program Erunt, which is included in the Best Free Security Softwarelist.  Another method is to use the export function ofRegedit, which I discuss in another article.

Cleaning the Registry

There are many programs that claim to do wonderful things by "cleaning" the Registry. That is, they prune out dead or corrupted entries. Some are better than others. However, some are actually dangerous and none that I have seen actually has any statistical evidence to back its claims. Registry cleaning can be dangerous without taking proper care. Many average PC users do not have the background knowledge to use a Registry cleaner safely. It is very easy to "clean" some Registry entry that should not be removed. I see too many posts on the Internet about Registry cleaning gone awry. Even highly rated programs that I have tried have offered to clean something that I knew should not be touched.

Back in the days of Windows 95, I was an advocate of regular housekeeping for the Registry. My own experience and anecdotal evidence indicated better performance when the Registry was occasionally cleaned.  However, the Registry in Windows XP and later is far more robust and much less prone to corruption. Those who install and uninstall a lot of software and/or those who tweak the Registry a lot may find it worthwhile to do regular Registry maintenance. For ordinary PC users, I feel that the Registry needs this type of maintenance very rarely. Windows Vista and Windows 7 Registries are even less susceptible to corruption than XP with added protective measures such as Registry virtualization. I almost never use Registry cleaners and then only on heavily used old XP systems with problems. For more about Registry cleaners see this reference.

Personally, I believe that a good uninstaller program is a better way to keep the Registry clean. The major source of unnecessary Registry entries is poorly uninstalled programs. Many programs leave behind a great deal of junk in the Registry when uninstalled. See the list of free uninstaller programs and use one of them.

Conclusion

In summary, the Registry is just a database, albeit an unusual and very important database. It’s no more mysterious than much else in Windows (and less than some things). 

Want to be safe on the Internet? Here is a collection of articles that will help you understand the tricks and tactics used by malware writers and that explain how to set up some powerful computer defenses. Read these and you will be well prepared to protect your computer against hackers and cyber criminals.

1. What is two-step authentication?
With databases being broken into and passwords stolen all the time, complex passwords are no longer a sufficient security measure. An additional defense is “two-step authentication”. This helps protect your account from unauthorized access if someone manages to steal your password. This article explains how it works.

2. Ad injection and you - how adware gets on your computer
Microsoft discussion of how you get tricked into downloading adware or worse.

3. Different Kinds of Malware Explained 
Malware is a commonly used catch-all term for any type of harmful software but there are many different kinds. Viruses, worms, Trojan horses and a variety of other bad stuff are explained in this article.

4. Buffer Overflow Basics
The most common type of security weakness is something called “buffer overflow”. A major portion of malware attacks target this weakness. This article explains what buffer overflows are and how malware uses them.

5. What is a DDoS attack? 
We constantly hear about some website being attacked and taken off the air by hackers using DDoS. If you ever wondered what a DDos attack involves, this article explains.

6. How to protect your Windows XP system after April 2014 
There are still many users of Windows XP. What to do when Microsoft discontinues security updates? This article gives some answers. One excellent security measure to consider is also discussed in link 11 given below.

7. Free Network Sniffers, Analyzers and Stumblers
A collection of free software for analyzing who’s doing what on your network. Programs for Windows, Mac, Linux, and even Android.

And let’s not forget the formidable assembly of security information right here at Gizmo’s. Pay attention to what is said in the articles linked below and you will be well armed against attempts to invade your computer. Here are just a few from the outstanding selection of security articles that are available on our site.

8. How to Tell If A Website Is Dangerous
These days you never know what might be on a website. This article gives clear and detailed explanations of how to check out a website.

9. How to Stay Safe While Online
Step-by-step procedures for making your computer safe

10. What Else Have You Just Downloaded?
It’s all too common these days – downloads are bundled with stuff you don’t want or try to install things you didn’t ask for. This article tells you what to watch out for.

11. An Introduction and a Quick Guide to Sandboxie
Over the years, I have recommended Sandboxie to many people. A typical reaction is, “It sounds very interesting but it’s too complicated for me.”  This article removes that excuse. With the clear explanations that are given there, almost anybody can set up the really powerful defense provided by Sandboxie.  I especially recommend Sandboxie  to those who wish to continue using Windows XP.

12. Safe Computing in Under an Hour
A quick way to get your PC ready for the dangerous world out there.

And there you have it - use the information in these articles and you’ll be much safer on the Internet.

• "Cannot delete file: Access is denied"
• "There has been a sharing violation"
• "The source or destination file may be in use"
• "The file is in use by another program or user".
• "Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use"

One of the best ways to handle locked files or folders is to use the free Microsoft program Process Explorer. The program has been described in another article and here is how to use it to find out what program, DLL, or handle is using a file or folder. You will need to run as administrator.

How to find out what program is using a file

In Windows 7 or 8, the system message may tell you what program is using the file. If it doesn’t or if you are using Windows XP, there is a simple way to find the program:

1. Open Process Explorer, running as administrator.
2. On the toolbar, find the gunsight icon on the right (shown highlighted in the figure shown below).
3. Drag the icon and drop it on the open file or folder that is locked.
4. The executable that is using the file will be highlighted in the Process Explorer main display list.

How to find out which handle or DLL is using a file

1. Open Process Explorer, running as administrator.
2. Enter the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F. Altenatively, click the “Find” menu and select “Find a Handle or DLL”.
3. A search dialog box will open.
4. Type in the name of the locked file or other file of interest. Partial names are usually sufficient.
5. Click the button “Search”,
6. A list will be generated. There may be a number of entries.
7. An individual handle in the list can be killed by selecting it and pressing the delete key. However, care is necessary when deleting handles, as instabilities may occur. Often, just rebooting will free a locked file.

Process Explorer can be

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There's no doubt that Internet Explorer has been a prime target of attack for spyware merchants and other ill-intentioned goons. That's why many folks have turned to alternate browsers for their web surfing.

If you are using another browser and don't use Internet Explorer anymore, there's a case to be made that you should remove it from your system. It is, after all, a potential security threat so, if you don't need it, why not get rid of it?

Except, getting rid of IE is not that easy. In fact, with later versions of Windows there's no satisfactory way of removing it completely without risking crippling Windows itself.

That hasn't stopped folks from trying to remove IE, however, and you can find several techniques documented on various web sites. Instead of removing IE I favor the simple and safer approach of disabling it. Sure, it may not provide the same degree of security as complete removal but that's a small price to pay compared to the cost of potentially de-stabilizing Windows.

There are several disabling techniques but I suggest the method below as it's simple, easy to reverse and doesn't interfere with the operation of the Windows Update service. Furthermore it should work with any modern version of IE.

Step 1. From IE select Tools/Internet Options/Connections/LAN Settings.

 

Step 3. Type in "0.0.0.0" in the address box and "80" in the Port box. Don't type in the quote marks of course, just what's inside them.

Step 4. Click OK.

What you've done is set up a dummy proxy server 0.0.0.0 that goes nowhere. With these setting IE cannot make an HTML connection to the internet and vice versa. You have simply and effectively disabled IE.

There's no magic in the 0.0.0.0 address, any dead proxy address would work just as well. I've used that particular address to keep things simple.

If you ever need to re-enable Internet Explorer start it up and select Tools/Internet Options/Connections/LAN Settings from the toolbar and un-check the box "Use a Proxy Server for your LAN ...”

If you really want to remove IE more completely then you can check out these resources but, as I said, I don't recommend it.

From a human point of view it's a good solution; what you can't see, you don't know you want.

Encrypting a folder can have the opposite effect. The folder is visible and if access is attempted, the need to enter a password positively shouts the message that someone is trying to hide something.

This probably explains why there are so many commercial utilities that claim they can securely hide folders.

I use the word "claim" deliberately. It's actually quite difficult to securely hide a folder in Windows without risking creating problems in the operating system itself.

And there can be all sorts of practical problems. For example, what happens to the hidden folder when you delete a visible folder above it in the folder tree? Will the hidden folder be backed up? Will it be scanned by your AV program? Can the files in the folder be recovered in an emergency such as a system crash?

These are not theoretical problems; they are real and need to be seriously considered.

I've used a number of commercial folder hiding programs over the years and have ended up un-installing them all. They were simply not worth the trouble.

Instead of using complicated and expensive security utilities, I suggest you stealth your folders using a far simpler method using the Windows "hidden" attribute. And once you have hidden your folders you can then protect them using free open source encryption programs.

The Windows hidden attribute works similarly to the more familiar "read only" attribute. It's a property of every file and folder that can be turned on or off. Let's try it.

Create a folder in My Documents and call it "test." Now copy a couple of unimportant files to the folder.

To turn on the hidden attribute right click on the folder icon, select Properties, then the General Tab and check the Hidden box.

The folder should disappear from My Documents. If it doesn't then you have Windows Explorer configured to display hidden files.

To change this, select Tools / Folder options / View then check the "Do not show hidden files and folders" box. Now the test folder should disappear. To make it re-appear select the "Show hidden files and folders" option.

So now you have a way of hiding a folder and revealing it again using your folder settings. Now I'll show you a simple trick that allows you access your hidden folder without constantly changing the folder settings. However, before I can demonstrate this we have to make the folder hidden but the files within it not-hidden.

Go to My Documents and make sure your folder "test" is visible. Open "test" and select all the files by using Control A. Now right click anywhere on the selected files and select Properties / General and uncheck the Hidden attribute. Now your folder is hidden but the files are not.

Go back to My Documents and hide the folder by changing the folder settings. Your test folder should disappear from My Documents.

Now here's the trick. Windows allows you to navigate to a hidden folder. So while in the My Documents folder, type into the address bar "\test" immediately after "My Documents" with no spaces between and hit enter.

Voila you are now in your secret "test" folder and all your documents are visible!

Of course locating your private folder in My Documents is not a great idea as it will be immediately revealed should another user enable the display of hidden files. Better to stash your folder in some obscure location well away from prying eyes but easy to navigate to. Additionally, name the folder to be as uninteresting as possible.

Hiding your folder like this is fine if you only want to keep information from prying eyes but if you really want to properly protect your hidden folder you should encrypt it.

Luckily that's easy; simply use the free open source program AxCrypt:
http://axcrypt.axantum.com/

Using AxCrypt is dead simple so I won't explain how. AxCrypt is also near-unbreakable so make sure you don't forget your password. If you do, your data is lost forever.

Using this technique you can hide and protect your folders without spending a cent and, unlike commercial folder hiding utilities, this technique is not going to potentially create a whole set of other problems.

Introduction

Used properly, bittorrent is one of the safest ways to transfer content.  The torrent file contains metadata (hash) about the files to be shared and the bittorrent client checks content received against this metadata.  If there is any difference, the content received will be discarded.  This means that malware cannot be added to a torrent after it is active and that any data that is damaged in transmission will be discarded and re-downloaded.

This article is part of a series of articles on bittorrent here at Gizmo's Freeware.  If you are not familiar with bittorrent, then before using this article you should read this:

• How To Use Torrents

This article is about finding the content you want.  There is a great deal of content available in bittorrent.  Over 25 PetaBytes of content is available in over 20 million active torrents.  These sites will help you narrow the results from all those torrents to find the clean, real and healthy (bittorrent-wise) torrent for the content you are looking for.

Public vs Private Torrent Search Sites

This article lists public torrent search sites, which do not require registration.  There are many private torrent search sites and it would be impossible to fairly rank them here as one would have to be a member to fully evaluate.

Many people prefer private torrent sites for the privacy (only members active on torrent), clean torrents and speed (ratio enforcement ensures a well seeded torrent).   The downside is that there are rules and regulations and sometimes overzealous administrators. 

If you are interested in a private site take a look atGetting In To Private Torrent Sites.

Scam Links, Toolbars and Ads

Unfortunately, even the best public torrent search sites have ads, scam links and toolbar downloads.

I strongly suggest that you use a web browser that has ad blocking capability as that will make all the ads, toolbar download and scam links disappear.

I use Firefox with the AdBlockPlus  andAddBlockPlus PopUp add ons and most all scams, fake downloads and ads were invisible.   Another popular option is Chrome with the AdBlock For Chrome extension.  My check of Chrome with the  AdBlock addon  was that it removed ads and scam links as effectively as Firefox with its ad blocking addon.  Other browsers may have a similar feature and may be more to your liking.  There is an excellent review of the Best Free Web Browser here at Gizmo's Freeware.

SCAM LINKS Many bittorrent search sites, and some of these, have advertisers that offer "High Speed download" "Trusted Download" "Direct Download"  "Sponsored Links" or similar terms.   These should all be avoided.

TOOLBAR DOWNLOADS  Some sites deceptively put a "Download" button near the "Download Torrent" button.  Many times I have seen a new bittorrent user end up with a toolbar instead of the torrent. 

ADS Some torrent search sites have a large number of ads through the pages.  Many of these are ads for questionable site and all ads should be avoided.

Again, if you use a web browser that has ad blocking capability, all the ads, toolbar download and scam links disappear.  See Best Free Web Browser here at Gizmo's Freeware.

Torrent Search Site Features

Your goal in a public torrent search is to find a clean, real and healthy torrent for the content you want.   Google will return the most results for your search, but has no tools to narrow the search towards your goal.   It is important for a torrent search site to have a large index of torrents, but the value of these torrent search sites are the tools they have to achieve this goal.  This goal is achieved through three features:

• Comments and Ratings - The first step is finding the torrent that has the clean and real content you want.  Some of these sites have torrents that have been "verified" to be clean and real.  Others have a rating system that achieves the same result.  Comments also help in this.  The rating system and comments need to have high user interaction at the site.  The "verified" rating uses a variety of confirming techniques.  Comments may also be helpful in determining the quality of the download.
• Search Filters - Features such as Categories and versions can help to filter the results closer to the one torrent you are seeking.
• Sorting - The ability to sort the results of a search is used primarily to find the healthiest torrent.   On occasion sorting may be needed to filter the results to exactly what you want.  Using age, name or size sort may help in this regard.

I have added information on those sites that offermagnet links as this will appeal to some users.  Sites with a  offer the alternative of a magnet link. (Thanks to Max for this suggestion).

Torrent Search Site Listings:  General and Unique

This listing is divided into two parts.  The General listing is of the sites that index all varieties of content.  They have large listings and will be the sites that most of you will use most of the time.  The sites listed in the General listing are also among the most popular torrent search sites.  The Unique sites are less popular and have smaller indexes, but have unique features that make them worth using in certain searches.

I am not going to consider or discuss the scams and ads much.  If you have read the above, you will be using an ad blocker at these sites and will not see these.

General Torrent Search Sites

These sites are among the most popular torrent search sites and offer large indexes of torrents and helpful features to verify, filter and sort among search results.  Any one of these sites will serve your goal of finding a clean, real and healthy torrent for the content you want.
Since these are public torrent sites and, for the most part, allow anyone to upload, fakes can make their way into the listings.   It is important to use comments and ratings to avoid these fakes. 

KAT   (https)  KATProxy  KAT Pirate Proxy Come In is the top pick here at Gizmo's due to its large index of torrents and verified torrents as well as the comment, filter and sort features that they offer.   They index over 9 million torrents, including over 1 million verified torrents.  Tabs on the torrent page allow viewing of the files, trackers and comments.  KAT offers many features to help in your search, they are responsive to user feature requests and are always improving. 

Comments and Ratings: Large listing of verified torrents.  Advanced search may be used to list only verified torrents.  Comments are very well used and are helpful in verifying as well as quality.  Number of comments and verified "crown" shown in search results.
Results may be filtered by categories and for videos further filtering is available by version.  Sort by size, date (age), files (number of), seeds and leeches.

Torrentz (68.71.55.20) is another comprehensive search engine that lists over 14.5 million torrents and has almost 3 million  torrents that have beenverified to be clean.  Torrentz also has the nice feature of listing all trackers for a torrent, not just the ones embedded in the torrent file, though this is not that important in torrents now.  One drawback is that they do not host the torrent files and one must go to other sites for the download.  Be careful with the sites you choose to go to.  Try to go to first to sites that are listed here.  Their large verfied listing is an attraction.

Comments and Ratings:  are well used.  Users can verify a torrent to be clean and real or tag it as fake, virus, password or low quality.  Large listing of verified torrents and results may be filtered to show verified only.
Torrents may be sorted by relevance, date created, size or number of  peers (seeds and peers/leeches combined).  No category filters.

BitSnoop  (46.19.137.82)This is a metasearch site that indexes over 17.8 million torrents from 369 trackers.  Although they do not list a number that I could find, they appear to have a large listing of verified torrents. This site is extremely fast at returning search results.   They also have a TV Finder which lists all shows alphabetically with links to all torrents for each show.  Their filter and sort features are not as good as the above, but they do have their followers.

Comments and Ratings: They have a good number of verified torrents.  They have a "no fakes" filter for search results.  Comments are not widely used.
Filtering by category is decent and they have the no fakes filter.  Sort by age, seeders, name, size and rating+health.  Their TV finder is useful.

Torlock  advertises that all the torrents there are verified to be clean and real.  Their listing now has over 500,000 verified torrents. A negative is the lack of comments or ratings for the quality of the content.  However, for newer users, this is a good site to start your searches to ensure a clean download.  Caution:  Only click on the word "torrent" on the download page.  The other links are scams.  Also do not choose a "sponsored" result. Thanks tofreestuffrocks for this site.

Comments and Ratings:  General ratings are not necessary as all torrents are verified to be clean and real.  Comments are not generally used.  No ratings as to quality.
Filtering by category is available on a search.  Sorting by name, size, date uploaded, seeds and peers are available after a search.

ThePirateBay   (194.71.107.27) ProxyBay.Info Come In is probably the most well known torrent search site.  They list about 3.7 million torrents.  TPB has an excellent filtering system and clean torrents can be found quickly in the search results by looking for a skull image next to the torrent.  The one drawback now is that they are switching to magnet links only and given the issues that some of the bittorrent clients have with magnet links, this is a negative.

Comments and Ratings:  PirateBay has a comments and ratings system.  They are fairly well used.  I find the comments often deteriorate into "please seed" requests, but for many torrents they are useful.  Their best feature is the use of colored skulls to show the uploader's status.  Basically any skull for an uploader is a good sign. 
Excellent filtering by categories, using Other allows very detailed filters.  Sort  by type (category), name, date uploaded, size, seeds and leeches (peers) and by uploader.

h33t     after some down time, this popular site is back.  It indexes over 5 million torrents and monitors the torrents that are uploaded through their site.  As long as you stick to the torrents that are h33t uploads, you are pretty safe.  The site looked to be ad free when I disabled ABP, but on one occasion I did get a couple popups and there is a scam download link.  All in all, it is pretty clean, but I would suggest keeping ABP enabled.  There is a lot of content uploaded through the site, so you do not need to go to the other torrents listed.  The link here is to a search for h33t only content.  There is a good amount of information and screenshots provided by the site on each upload.  Thanks toPhilphil for this suggestion.  Even though the site is just back up, there looks to be a lot of activity.

Comments and Ratings:  The h33t uploaded torrents are checked out by staff there.  Other torrents are not moderated and need to be checked for comments..  Comments are not generally used.  No ratings as to quality.
Filtering by category is available on a search.  Sorting by name, size, date uploaded, seeds and peers are available after a search.

Torrents.to is a search site that culls results from a large number of torrent search sites.  Nice feature is that you can choose the sites to include in the search (this is saved in the site cookie for future use).  The results show the pages at the sites and the sites can be togggled up top.  Not my personal preference for viewing results as I prefer to see all the results at once, but this type does appeal to some users.  As usual, caution needs to be taken at the sites from which results are shown.  Thanks toNero  for this site.

Comments and Ratings:  Not applicable as results are strictly from the sites chosen, where there may be comments/rating, filtering and sorting available, but there is none here.

ExtraTorrent    (195.144.21.228)has 1.5 million torrent in its listing.  It is not the largest listing, but they seem to have many of releases and no duplicates.  A good number of the torrents I checked were from a trusted or verified uploader.  Unfortunately, this is not shown  in the search results.  This site has gained popularity with a number of users on the web and is a good source.  Avoid the "Direct download" link.  As noted byChaosReigns there is a good amount of information put up with each video, including screenshots, which is helpful in determining video quality.

Comments and Ratings:  Comments are very well used here.  Many of the torrents are uploaded by verified or trusted uploader, but this is not shown in the search results, you hhave to look on the torrent page.
Filtering by category is available, but is pretty basic.  Sorting by size, seeds,leeches and number of comments is available only to VIP members.

Unique Torrent Search Sites

These sites cater to special niche interests and stand out for their attention to that niche and their clean offerings.

EZTV  (85.19.104.80) is the site for all things television.  It is the biggest and past and easiest to use for TV offerings.  In addition to torrents they have a countdown list as to when shows are to return to original broadcasts, a show list indicating the status of a TV show (ended; pending; airing etc.), TV news and a calendar of shows being broadcast.

Coda.fm (107.20.145.230)is a music albums bittorrent site.  There is a good deal of information on the artists and albums.  All listings are verified to be clean and real.  If you are looking for a public, music only, bittorrent site, then this is the place to look.  It is an ad free site.  The amount of listings is still quite small, being in the thousands.

Take.fm is the sister site to Coda.fm, specializing in movies.  It is similar to Coda in layout and all of its listings are also verified to be clean and real.  At this time there appears to be just shy of 2000 listings.  Hopefully the site listings will grow as time goes by as a clean movie search site is needed in bittorrent.

Torrent Butler      this site was only carrying movie torrents, but recently added TV Shows.  There are a lot of verified torrents/magnets listed for each listing.  The verified torrents/magnets are indicated by a green checkmark next to the download link.   Each movie comes with a video trailer and information on the movie.  Movies are sortable by genre.  The TV shows are sortable by genre and all episodes available are included under each show's listing.  Again there is a a trailer for each show and information.  Be sure to have AdBlockPlus installed as there are a couple scam links that are not visible with ABP.  Nice site give the layout and large amount of verified torrents.

YTS (f/k/a YIFY Torrents) This is the site of a release group that has an excellent reputation for quality rips with small file size.  All torrents are those of the release group.  All the releases here should be clean and real.

NyaaTorrents is the site to check out for Anime.  The torrent links in blue are A+ in quality, meaning they are the best copy available.  The torrent links in green are from trusted uploaders. Thanks toCapcapper for this site.

All of these sites have received a green rating fromWOT (Web Of Trust) and only sites with a green rating from WOT will be listed here.

Will this 64-bit software run on my computer?

If you've asked these questions then this tutorial should help you to understand the concepts of 32-bit and 64-bit computing. We'll look at your computer system as three parts: the hardware, the operating system and the application programs. At the end we'll look at some of the common questions people have.

32-bit versus 64-bit

As the number of bits increases there are two important benefits.

• More bits means that data can be processed in larger chunks which also means more accurately.
• More bits means our system can point to or address a larger number of locations in physical memory.

32-bit systems were once desired because they could address (point to) 4 Gigabytes (GB) of memory in one go. Some modern applications require more than 4 GB of memory to complete their tasks so 64-bit systems are now becoming more attractive because they can potentially address up to 4 billion times that many locations.

Since 1995, when Windows 95 was introduced with support for 32-bit applications, most of the software and operating system code has been 32-bit compatible.

Here is the problem, while most of the software available today is 32-bit, the processors we buy are almost all 64-bit.

So how long will the transition from 32-bit to 64-bit systems take?

The main issue is that your computer works from the hardware such as the processor (or CPU, as it is called), through the operating system (OS), to the highest level which is your applications. So the computer hardware is designed first, the matching operating systems are developed, and finally the applications appear.

We can look back at the transition from 16-bit to 32-bit Windows on 32-bit processors. It took 10 years (from 1985 to 1995) to get a 32-bit operating system and even now, more than 15 years later, there are many people still using 16-bit Windows applications on older versions of Windows.

The hardware and software vendors learnt from the previous transition, so the new operating systems have been released at the same time as the new processors. The problem this time is that there haven't been enough 64-bit applications. Ten years after the PC's first 64-bit processors, installs of 64-bit Windows are only now exceeding those of 32-bit Windows. Further evidence of this inertia is that you are probably reading this tutorial because you are looking to install your first 64-bit software.

Your computer system in three parts

Now we'll look at those three components of your system. In simple terms they are three layers with the processor or CPU as the central or lowest layer and the application as the outermost or highest layer as shown below:

To run a 64-bit operating system you need support from the lower level: the 64-bit CPU.

To run a 64-bit application you need support from all lower levels: the 64-bit OS and the 64-bit CPU.

This simplification will be enough for us to look what happens when we mix the 32-bit and 64-bit parts. But if you want to understand the issue more deeply then you will also need to consider the hardware that supports the CPU and the device drivers that allow the OS and the applications to interface with the system hardware.

What 32-bit and 64-bit combinations are compatible and will work together?

This is where we get to the practicalities and can start answering common questions.

The general rule is that 32-bit will run on a lower level 64-bit component but 64-bit does not run on a lower level 32-bit component:

• A 32-bit OS will run on a 32-bit or 64-bit processor without any problem.
• A 32-bit application will run on a 32-bit or 64-bit OS without any problem.
• But a 64-bit application will only run on a 64-bit OS and a 64-bit OS will only run on a 64-bit processor.

These two tables illustrate the same rule:

Table 1 — What is compatible if I have a 32-bit CPU?
Processor (CPU)	32-bit	32-bit	32-bit	32-bit
Operating System (OS)	32-bit	32-bit	64-bit	64-bit
Application Program	32-bit	64-bit	32-bit	64-bit
	Yes	No	No	No

Table 2 — What is compatible if I have a 64-bit CPU?
Processor (CPU)	64-bit	64-bit	64-bit	64-bit
Operating System (OS)	64-bit	64-bit	32-bit	32-bit
Application Program	64-bit	32-bit	32-bit	64-bit
	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

The main reason that 32-bit will always run on 64-bit is that the 64-bit components have been designed to work that way. So the newer 64-bit systems are backward-compatible with the 32-bit systems (which is the main reason most of us haven't moved to 64-bit software).

An example of backward compatibility is Windows 64-bit. It has software called WOW64 that provides compatibility by emulating a 32-bit system. See the article How Windows 7 / Vista 64 Support 32-bit Applications if you want to know more. One important point that is made in that article is that it is not possible to install a 32-bit device driver on a 64-bit operating system. This is because device drivers run in parallel to the operating system. The emulation is done at the operating system level so it is available to the higher layer, the application, but it is not available to the device driver which runs on the same level.

Hardware virtualization is the exception to the rule

Another question many people have is whether a 32-bit system can run 64-bit software. As more people are looking to use 64-bit Windows they are wanting to try it out on their existing systems. So we are getting more questions about whether they can run it on their 32-bit processor or under their 32-bit OS.

Following the general rule, we would expect that you cannot run 64-bit software on a 32-bit system. Except that there is one exception called virtualization.

Virtualization creates a virtual system within the actual system. Virtualization can be achieved in hardware or software but it works best if the virtual machine is created in the system hardware. The guest operating system is not aware that there is a host operating system already running. This is the way that a 64-bit operating system can think that it is running on 64-bit hardware without being aware that there is a 32-bit operating system in the mix.

Tables 3 and 4 illustrate the result. Provided that the virtual machine can actually be created and isolated by the virtualizing software then the host OS is effectively removed from the equation, so I've grayed it out. We can now apply the general rules for a non-virtualized system to the three remaining layers.

Table 3 — What is compatible if I have a 32-bit CPU and software virtualization?
Processor (CPU)	32-bit	32-bit	32-bit	32-bit
Host Operating System	32-bit	32-bit	32-bit	32-bit
Guest Operating System	32-bit	32-bit	64-bit	64-bit
Application Program	32-bit	64-bit	32-bit	64-bit
	Yes	No	No	No

Table 4 — What is compatible if I have a 64-bit CPU and software virtualization?
Processor (CPU)	64-bit	64-bit	64-bit	64-bit
Host Operating System	32/64-bit	32/64-bit	32/64-bit	32/64-bit
Guest Operating System	64-bit	64-bit	32-bit	32-bit
Application Program	64-bit	32-bit	32-bit	64-bit
	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

Before you hurry away to try running 64-bit in a virtual machine, you must check that your computer BIOS supports hardware virtualization. If it does not then hardware virtualization will not work even if the CPU does support it.

Emulation of the 64-bit CPU is not an option

All the feasible configurations that we have looked at so far have the processors (CPUs) running software that use the instruction set that is native to that processor. Running 64-bit software on a 32-bit processor doesn't work because the 64-bit instructions are not native to a 32-bit processor. But what if I could emulate a 64-bit processor using 32-bit software?

It is theoretically possible but practically impossible to emulate a 64-bit processor while running software on a 32-bit processor. Even if you can get non-native 64-bit emulation to work, the virtual machine that duplicates a 64-bit CPU would run very slowly because every 64-bit instruction has to be trapped and handled by the emulator. 64-bit memory pointers also have to be converted to work within the 32-bit address space.

Furthermore, my understanding is that the x86 (32-bit) processors used in PCs and Apple Macs are not able to completely emulate the x64 (64-bit) instruction set. Some 64-bit instructions cannot be trapped by the emulator. This causes the system to crash when the x86 processor tried to run those x64 instructions.

 

Answers to common questions about 32-bit and 64-bit systems

Will a 64-bit CPU run a 32-bit program on a 64-bit version of an OS?

Yes it will. 64-bit systems are backward-compatible with their 32-bit counterparts.

Will a 64-bit OS run a 32-bit application on a 64-bit processor?

Yes it will. Again, this is because of backward compatibility.

Can 64-bit applications contain 32-bit code?

Yes, many times 64-bit software will contain portions of 32-bit code.

Similarly 32-bit software (usually very old programs) can have some code in 16-bit which is why those 32-bit applications will usually fail to run properly on a 64-bit OS.

Can 16-bit applications or code run on 64-bit systems?

No, as we said previously. 16-bit code will NOT run on 64-bit OS because the designers did not provide backward-compatibility. This is one reason why some 32-bit programs will not work on 64-bit operating systems.

Can a 64-bit CPU with a 32-bit host OS run a virtual machine (VM) for a 64-bit guest OS?

Yes. It all depends upon the level of virtualization.

With software virtualization it is hardly likely to work, or if it does work it may be very slow.

Hardware virtualization will need to be supported by the CPU (e.g. with Intel-VT or AMD-V) and the BIOS.

 

Answers to common questions about 32- and 64-bit Windows

Can I run Windows 2000 and Windows XP on a 64-bit CPU, and use old software?

Yes, a 32-bit OS (Windows 2000 or XP) will run on a 64-bit processor.You should also be able to run older 32-bit software on a 64-bit OS.

Is a Windows Vista or Windows 7 license key valid for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions?

Yes, unless you have an OEM version. If it was installed on your computer when you bought it and you only have one Windows disk then it is almost certainly an OEM version and you will have to buy the other bit version if you want it. If you have two disks, one for 32-bit Windows and one for 64-bit Windows, then you have a non-OEM version so you get to choose which bit version you will use without having to buy another license. See Microsoft Answers for a discussion of these issues.

Remember, if you have only bought one license then, even if you have both bit versions on disk, you are only licensed to install and run one version on one computer.

How do find out if my system is 64-bit?

Microsoft provide resources to help you find out such as FAQ on 32-bit and 64-bit Windows andTaking the mystery our of 64-bit Windows.

I recommend that you look at downloadingSecurAble from Gibson Research Corporation (GRC)which will tell you if you have a 64-bit processor with the useful features of hardware DEP and hardware virtualization.

How do I migrate my 32-bit system to 64-bit Windows?

There is no upgrade path from 32-bit to 64-bit Windows only from 64-bit Windows. You will almost certainly have to do a clean install of your 64-bit operating system, copy back your data files, and reinstall your 32-bit applications.

If you want to keep your old install then you can try dual booting or virtualization.

How do I run 32-bit software once I have installed 64-bit Windows?

Windows 7 64-bit provides a 32-bit compatibility mode called WOW32 (Windows 32-bit on Windows 64-bit) that should run most if not all your applications. See How Windows 64-bit supports 32-bit Applications.

If you have 32-bit application you want to run from the Command Prompt then you need to use the WOW64 version of cmd.exe. At the Start Menu select Run and enter the following command. Note that the %systemroot% variable points to your Windows folder so this will work even if Windows is not installed on C: drive:

%systemroot%\SysWOW64\cmd.exe    

If your application won't run under Windows 64-bit then try XP Mode, Windows Virtual PC, or othervirtualization solution. Be aware that XP Mode reduces your system security and so it should be used as a last resort.

How can I tell if my application is 32-bit or 64-bit?

There are a number of indicators of the bit type for your program but they are not definitive as you will see if you use guidelines like the following.

• Windows installs your programs to these folders on your system drive:
  • '\Program Files' for 64-bit programs
  • '\Program Files (x86)' for 32-bit programs
• In Task Manager, 32-bit processes will usually have a suffix of '*32' and 64-bit processes will not.

The reason that these indicators cannot be relied upon relates to the way 64-bit Windows installs software. 64-bit install packages usually install 64-bit applications or a mixture of 32- and 64-bit components but can even install only 32-bit components.

What determines where a component is installed is the registry setting for that component rather than the setting for the install package. Windows also assumes that all components are 32-bit unless told otherwise. This means that a 64-bit component not flagged as 64-bit will install to 32-bit folders and 32-bit registry keys but will execute as 64-bit.

You can, with the necessary knowledge, find the information yourself but there are better solutions:

• Run a system information or audit tool such as Belarc Adviser. Just be aware that most of these types of applications are helpful but not definitive e.g. SIW, MSINFO.
• I recommend running the PowerShell script fromAuditing 32-Bit and 64-Bit Applications with PowerShell which will list all installed applications and their bitness. Just remember to run the 64-bit script to get all versions as the 32-bit script will not have access to the 64-bit portions of the registry.
• If you want more detail about the modules used by a program then try Dependency Walker, which is also part of Microsoft development tools such as Visual Studio and Visual C++.
  As with other software running under 64-bit Windows you will get the best results if you run the 32- or 64-bit version of Dependency Walker that matches the application you want to check. Remember that Windows 64-bit restricts access to the relevant 32-bit or 64-bit portions of the registry.

What are the differences between Windows 32-bit and 64-bit?

I've chosen to highlight the physical and logical differences between each version of desktop Windows as shown in Table 5. This table illustrates the progressive improvement of Windows 64-bit and indicates that Windows has a long way to go before it exhausts the capabilities of 64-bit processors.

Many of the limits in the 64-bit versions of Windows are design choices rather than limitations of the 64-bit CPUs. The number of physical processors is the most obvious as Windows Server editions support many more.

Hardware is also limited by design. For example, while 64-bit AMD and Intel CPUs use 64-bit  memory pointers, the supporting chipsets only use a 52-bit physical address space (4 Petabytes) and a 48-bit virtual memory space (256 Terabytes). This is presently more than sufficient because Windows 7 64-bit only allows 192 GB of physical memory and 16 Terabytes (44-bits) of virtual memory.

Table 5: Physical and Logical limits for Windows Versions Numbers in parentheses indicate extended settings that are not the default and require compatible hardware
Version:	XP		Vista		7
Version Bits:	32	64	32	64	32	64
System:
Physical Processors	2	2	2	2	2	2
Logical Processors	32	64	32	64	32	256
System Cache	1 GB	1,024 GB	1 (2) GB	1,024 GB	1 (2) GB	1,024 GB
Physical Memory	4 GB	128 GB	4 GB	128 GB	4 GB	192 GB
Virtual Memory	4 GB	16,384 GB	4 GB	16,384 GB	4 GB	16,384 GB
Kernel	1 (2) GB	8 GB	2 GB	8 GB	2 GB	8 GB
User Process:
Physical Memory	2 (3) GB	2 (4) GB	2 (3) GB	8 GB	2 (4) GB	8 GB
Virtual Memory	2 (3) GB	2 (8,192) GB	2 (3) GB	2 (8,192) GB	2 (4) GB	2 (8,192) GB

Note 1. I have used Gigabytes (GB) for consistency even though it would be convenient to convert  1,024 GB to 1 TB.

Note 2. I've excluded the first 64-bit version of Windows XP (2002) because it has a different architecture. It used Intel Itanium (IA-64) CPUs which had an x86 processor built-in for compatibility. It was replaced by AMD's 64-bit architecture (x86-64) which extended the x86 instruction set and worked so well that it has been licensed by Intel and other chip makers. The name is commonly shortened to x64 as it is the most common 64-bit CPU type today.