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For neat system tweaks, see Registry Edits
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<aside> <img src="/icons/info-alternate_blue.svg" alt="/icons/info-alternate_blue.svg" width="40px" /> Combinations are possible (e.g., HSA = Hidden, System, Archive)
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R = Read-Only: Most software, upon encountering a file marked as read-only, will refuse to delete or modify it. This is fairly straightforward. For instance, DOS will display "Access denied" if you attempt to delete a read-only file. Conversely, Windows Explorer will happily delete it. Some software will take a middle ground approach: they will allow you to modify or delete the file, but only after requesting confirmation.
H = Hidden: This one is pretty self-explanatory as well; if the file is marked as hidden, then under normal circumstances, it is hidden from view. DOS will not display the file when you type "DIR" unless a special flag is used, as shown in the earlier example.
S = System: This flag is used to tag important files that are used by the system and should not be altered or removed from the disk. In essence, this is like a "more serious" read-only flag and is, for the most part, treated as such. It is also a "super-hidden" attribute. Even if you enable "Show hidden files", system files will not be displayed. (You can display them by disabling "Hide protected operating system files.")
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| A | Archive (a special bit that is used as a communications link between software applications that modify files, and those that are used for backup) |
| C | Compressed (compressed files/folder cannot be encrypted) |
| D | Directory (this is the bit that differentiates between entries that describe files and those that describe sub-directories within the current directory) |
| E | Encrypted (encrypted files/folders cannot be compressed) |
| H | Hidden (under normal circumstances it is hidden from view) |
| I | Not indexed (does not include the hosting file in their indexing operation) |
| L | Reparse points (symbolic links) |
| N | Not indexed (& won’t be) |
| O | Offline |
| P | Sparse file (its contents are partially empty and non-contiguous.) |
| R | Read-only: Most software, when seeing a file marked read-only, will refuse to delete or modify it. |
| S | System: This flag is used to tag important files that are used by the system and should not be altered or removed from the disk. |
| T | Temporary |
D = Directory: This is the bit that differentiates between entries that describe files and those that describe subdirectories within the current directory. In theory, you can convert a file to a directory by changing this bit. Of course, in practice, trying to do this would result in a mess--the entry for a directory has to be in a specific format.
A = Archive: This is a special bit that is used as a "communications link" between software applications that modify files and those used for backup. Most backup software allows the user to do an incremental backup, which only selects for backup any files that have changed since the last backup. This bit is used for this purpose. When the backup software backs up ("archives") the file, it clears the archive bit (makes it zero). Any software that modifies the file subsequently is supposed to set the archive bit. Then, the next time that the backup software is run, it knows by looking at the archive bits which files have been modified and therefore which need to be backed up. Again, this use of the bit is "voluntary"; the backup software relies on other software to use the archive bit properly. Some programs could modify the file without setting the archive attribute, but fortunately, most software is "well-behaved" and uses the bit properly. Still, you should not rely on this mechanism absolutely to ensure that your critical files are backed up.
%systemroot%\\system32\\imageres.dll
The main perks gained from installing a 64-bit version of Windows are the ability to access RAM above the 4-GB range and the advanced security features. The access to more memory allows for more efficiency when administering processes and consequently improves performance of the OS. While there are advantages to installing a 64-bit version of Windows, there are a few drawbacks as well. Although trends may be shifting, computers were historically shipped with the 32-bit processors. With these computers having a 32-bit architecture, the programs and applications written for them also have 32-bit architecture. For this reason, running a 32 -bit application on a 64-bit operating system will not be the optimal choice in relation to performance.
32-bit drivers also may not be compatible with the 64-bit operating system. Users need to upgrade the driver's by switching to 64-bit when upgrading. Another potential obstacle is that older CPU architectures may not be supported whatsoever.
32-bit or 64-bitYou can see if a program is 32-bit or 64-bit by going into task manager, go to the details section, click the columns and enable the platform column
Task manager — bit is displayed under platform