[wpkg-users] PSExec and bitness...

[Chris]

> Do they still install the 64-bit software, when run in 32-bit context?

psexec.exe (and most other sysinternals tools) are special in that 
regard and not comparable to most other software. When you run the 
regular psexec.exe on a 64-bit Windows system you get a 64-bit process. 
When you run it on a 32-bit Windows you get a 32-bit process. That's 
possible because most sysinternals tools are packaged in a special way:

"The solution I came up with is to store a utility’s 64-bit version 
within its 32-bit image. When you run the 32-bit executable it detects 
the Windows version, and if it’s running on 64-bit Windows, extracts and 
executes the 64-bit image, waits for the 64-bit process to exit, and 
then deletes the 64-bit image."

(from Mark Russinovich's Blog: 
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-blog-archive/multi-platform-images/ba-p/723421 
)

With sysinternals tools, you really only need to care when you want to 
run them on Windows Nano Server, which doesn't have a 32 bit runtime 
anymore and thus can't start the 32-bit wrapper executable. That's afaik 
the only case where you need the pure 64-bit psexec64.exe.


Am 13.02.2020 21:55 schrieb Stefan Pendl:
> Am 13.02.2020 um 12:23 schrieb Marco Gaiarin:
>> 
>> To bootstrap WPKG on new hardware (but also to manage some manual
>> install ot packages, and for testing purpose) i've 'wrapped' WPKG in a
>> PsExec call, so i can run WPKG as SYSTEM user by default:
>> 
>> 	%PSEXEC% -d -s -i %COMSPEC% /c "%WPKGROOT%\wpkg.bat" %*
>> 
>> Now i've noted that PsTools 2.45 have also 64bit binary of PsExec
>> (PsExec64.exe). I've never minded abou that but... this mean that
>> running 32bit psexec run wpkg in 32bit context?
>> 
>> This seems 'no' to me (i've ever run psexec 32bit and never had 
>> bitness
>> trouble) but... i ask here.
>> 
> 
> The WPKG process will definitely run in 32-bit mode.
> The difference is how good the installers are developed.
> Do they still install the 64-bit software, when run in 32-bit context?
> 
> In addition it depends on the software itself, if it is beneficial to
> run the 64-bit software on 64-bit systems.
> 
> High end software like video, CAD design, image processing will
> benefit from utilizing all available RAM.
> Desktop publishing usually can live with the 4GiB maximum for 32-bit
> software on 64-bit systems.
> 
> Finally remember that 16-bit support vanished, so will 32-bit support
> vanish when its time comes.