Plugins in 32-bit vs 64-Bit Paintshop Pro

By Jesse

**32-bit vs 64-bit | The Real Difference**

Ok, so here we go with the longer answer… In computers, we deal with binary code. Binary is a base-2 math system where each digit can only be “1” or “0”. This is called a “bit,” it’s either on or off, true or false. It’s very simple. Add 8 bits together and you get a byte, and if you add just 4 bits you get a nibble (haha, nerd humor).

Don’t worry, this won’t be a math lesson… but it’s important to know that 32-bit refers to the addressing size for memory and the amount of data that can be processed at one time, so 32-bit equals 2³², or roughly 4 billion addresses. With 64-bit, this number moves into the quintillions.

Roughly speaking, this means 32-bit addressing can access a maximum of 4GB of RAM. Windows reserves 1GB for itself, so you really only get access to what’s left, up to the limit of 32-bit addressing. So, even if you have 16GB of RAM, a 32-bit program will still only be able to access the bottom 4GB of that RAM—at most!

This is why 64-bit is such a draw for many people—especially for photo and video editing. It means you can process far more information in the same amount of time.

These numbers are general guidelines. How much memory you can access and what your machine is capable of will depend on the underlying hardware and OS support for the different features—far too much for a single article.

In order to support larger memory addresses, you need a processor up to the task, meaning a processor capable of 64-bit processes is expecting 64-bit commands and data. If you give the same processor a 32-bit memory address, it’s going to wonder where the rest of the data is.

To deal with this, several technologies were developed. In many cases, either the processor has backup support for 32-bit addressing built-in or your OS has a compatibility layer that does a rough conversion from 32-bit addressing to 64-bit before sending to the processor.

I can already hear you saying… “But if the OS can convert 32-bit information to 64-bit, why doesn’t it work for plugins?” And that’s a good question. So keep reading on Page 3 to find out more about 32-bit vs 64-bit and converting information from one to the other.

Previous Page | Page 3 – Converting 32-bit Information to 64-bit

Comments (8)

Comments

Frank Kalf says

January 30, 2016 at 1:44 am

A shame, because the missing Gradfilter plugin is a upgrade-dealbreaker for me.
I just have to stick with v2.1.2,10 – 32bit on my 64bit machine.

Reply
- Alex Brazeau says
  
  February 28, 2016 at 11:01 pm
  
  Thanks for the feedback, Frank. We’ll keep you posted as more news becomes available regarding plugin updates.
  
  Reply
Brian Lacouvee says

March 25, 2017 at 9:24 pm

When you mention that the developers of the 32 bit apps may have vanished does that make the aps unstable if they are not receiving updates?

Had a problem with reinstalling my PaintPro x9 software today – could not download new copy.
“Your system has not been modified” apparently a very common issue – but solutions not readily available in your support forum.
Left a message with support 12 hours ago , never heard a word. Searched a long time for an answer. Your forums gave me little answers, except to discover issue was common.
Finally thought I would search for a removal tool which I had read about. – it worked great.
Except that the tool initially told me there was no Pantpro x9 software – I clicked on clean anyhow and it wiped out about 7 files. Their removal seemed to make it able to install a new copy.
The “Your system has not been modified” wa gone.!

My comment, if you have no support on Saturdays could you not get the forum full of answers to very common issues, so that we can fix things ourselves easily without spending hours.

There may be 10 or 15 common problems, you could write out solutions to them.
The FAQ’s do not deal with any support issues to speak of.

If you could pass this along, I will feel I have not wasted my time writing this whole thing out.

Reply
- Alex Brazeau says
  
  April 17, 2017 at 3:05 pm
  
  Hi Brian, apologies for the delay here. In terms of maintaining compatibility with those 32-bit plugins, that will be up to the individual 3rd party developers. Sorry to hear you had some troubles getting PaintShop Pro installed. There may have been some leftover files from a previous install that jammed things up, but that cleanup tool works wonders. Our Knowledgebase (http://support.corel.com) does answer common technical FAQs, so I’ll definitely talk to our support team about adding answers to those questions to the Knowledgebase. Thanks for the suggestion, Brian!
  
  Reply
Maurice M Mizrahi says

December 15, 2018 at 9:00 pm

I have a 64-bit system and installed PSP2019. The scanner won’t work. I was told to install the 32-bit version. But how do you do that? I see no option for that.

Reply
- Adam says
  
  December 18, 2018 at 10:21 pm
  
  Hello Maurice,
  
  The 32-bit installer is a separate file from the 64 bit version, and would be a separate download link included with your purchase. Just check the email containing your order details, and you can download and install the 32-bit version as well as the 64-bit version!
  
  Discovery Center Team
  
  Reply
Melanie says

February 11, 2019 at 9:38 am

I have found that you cannot install the 32 and 64 bit version. If you have 64 bit installed and try and install the 32 bit – it automatically proceeds to uninstall the 64 bit. What the 64 bit installation does do is copy the installation files to the Program files x86 folder but it’s not installed.

So far i am very impressed with the new layout and attempt to really jack up the software, unfortunately without being able to use the my old plugins – I’m not really interested in upgrading. If I can find a way to get my plethora of plugins to work perhaps on the 32 bit – but uninstalling and trying to install the 32bit version is proving to be a time consuming nightmare.

Reply

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