What is Win32: basic concepts and the simplest methods of eliminating arising errors

Probably, it is not necessary to explain that many users often at the most inopportune moment watch on the monitor screen a message that some executable file is not a Win32 application. Let's see what Win32 is and why there are errors in the architecture or the file system. Having considered these two questions, it will be possible to find a solution to the problem of non-compliance of the application with this standard.

What is Win32

Speaking of the concept as a whole, it is usually referred to as the "operating system" architecture and applications supported in it for startup and operation.

From the history of the creation of operating systems, it is known that at first they were 8- and 16-bit, a little later they were transformed into 32-bit and, finally, 64-bit ones. Along with the evolution of the operating principles of the operating systems themselves, the file systems also changed. The most common until recently was the FAT32 file system. It has gained such popularity that until now the developers of IT-giant Microsoft do not exclude its support in the latest versions of Windows OS.

By the way, the concept of what Win32 is is equally applicable to XP and Vista operating systems, since even with the NTFS file system that replaced FAT32, the OS versions remained 32-bit in terms of architecture.

With the advent of Windows 7, a migration to the 64-bit architecture was made, but for a custom installation, you can find a 32-bit version of any of the four G-7 assemblies.

Why there are errors

Now consider all the exciting question, what is "Not a Win32 application" (such and such an installation or executable component). First, the most simple reason can be called the file itself, created, say, in Linux or Mac OS X, which, of course, in all Windows systems is simply not recognized because the OS does not know, so to speak, that This is for the component and how to open it. Very often such situations can be observed when working with images of disks such as .dmg or some archive data.

On the other hand, errors can also occur with "native" Windows applications. Answering the question about what a Win32 application is , it's worth noting that this is a program, dynamic library or driver, originally created using 32 bit architecture. Now, probably, it is clear that a 64-bit application or driver in a 32-bit system will not work.

Errors occur when opening executable files or archives. Here the problem may be that the file has not been downloaded (copied) in its entirety or there have been failures. In this case, the system can also issue a message about the format mismatch or the type of file being opened to the system's requirements.

The simplest methods of eliminating errors

However, there are a lot of methods for eliminating such problems. The simplest solution is to download from the Internet a specialized file Win32.reg with its subsequent launch.

What is Win32.reg? This is a registry file that adds specific entries and keys to it, allowing you to simplify the process of opening problematic applications.

Sometimes the situation may be due to the mismatch of file systems. In this case, you will need to format the disk or partition using, for example, FAT32 (especially when switching from OS 64 bits to 32 bits).

There are situations when you need to update the Microsoft .NET Framework, where in the platform settings you need to specify support for absolutely all processors, including x86. In general, there are many examples.

If it's a virus

The most unfortunate occurrence of crashes of this nature is the impact of viruses and malicious codes that masquerade as system services responsible for launching or calling 32-bit applications such as rundll32, svchost, etc.

Consider one of the most well-known threats. What is a Trojan: Win32 (Gatak or some other modification)? Yes, a common computer virus (trojan), which, using security holes, attempts to access a remote user's computer to steal information or obtain complete control over the computer terminal.

Here you definitely need to have a high-quality standard antivirus or the maximum powerful means of checking the system in the form of a scanner (for example, Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool or Rescue Disc), because sometimes it is not possible to trace the appearance of a threat in the system by standard methods.

Conclusion

Here, in fact, albeit briefly, we considered the question of what Win32 is. Of course, the information is submitted in a compressed form, but the average user does not need to climb into the jungle of programming and understanding the principles of using the "operating system" architecture or the file system. In an extreme case, it is sufficient to clarify the problem of the occurrence of errors and choose the method of their elimination.