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32-bit vs 64-bit on Windows 11 22H2?

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  • Last reply by James

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Hi there.

This is my first post so bare with me.  :-)

We are deploying the 32-bit version of the Firefox Browser to 4 700 clients and the 64-bit version to only 8 clients; all clients on a 64-bit Windows 10 environment. We will migrate to Windows 11 22H2 this year. The manager for the 8 clients says he wants the 64-bits version just because it's...64-bits. No other reason.

I've read that the 64-bit version can not handle Java, Media Players like VLC and mayby some other plugins. Is that still so?

What is the main reason TODAY for using 64-bit Firefox Browser instead of 32-bit, except for the use of 4 GB+ RAM?

Regards. Anders, Göteborgs Stad, Sweden

Hi there. This is my first post so bare with me. :-) We are deploying the 32-bit version of the Firefox Browser to 4 700 clients and the 64-bit version to only 8 clients; all clients on a 64-bit Windows 10 environment. We will migrate to Windows 11 22H2 this year. The manager for the 8 clients says he wants the 64-bits version just because it's...64-bits. No other reason. I've read that the 64-bit version can not handle Java, Media Players like VLC and mayby some other plugins. Is that still so? What is the main reason TODAY for using 64-bit Firefox Browser instead of 32-bit, except for the use of 4 GB+ RAM? Regards. Anders, Göteborgs Stad, Sweden

Chosen solution

software.maintenance said

I've read that the 64-bit version can not handle Java, Media Players like VLC and mayby some other plugins. Is that still so? What is the main reason TODAY for using 64-bit Firefox Browser instead of 32-bit, except for the use of 4 GB+ RAM?

NPAPI Plugins has not been allowed since Firefox 52.0 (March 7, 2017) though the Flash Player was allowed until Jan 2021. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/52.0/releasenotes/ Why do Java, Silverlight, Adobe Acrobat and other plugins no longer work? https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/npapi-plugins https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/end-support-adobe-flash

Years ago when NPAPI Plugins was supported the 64-bit (Win64) for Windows only allowed the Flash Player and Silverlight Plugins to run. Other web browsers does not allow Plugins for some years also.

Now days video, audio and even games are done by say HTML5 players which also supports more OS's and hardware compared to the more limited support of Adobe Flash.

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Wouldn't a IT computer consultant be better to answer this?

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software.maintenance said

I've read that the 64-bit version can not handle Java, Media Players like VLC and mayby some other plugins. Is that still so? What is the main reason TODAY for using 64-bit Firefox Browser instead of 32-bit, except for the use of 4 GB+ RAM?

NPAPI Plugins has not been allowed since Firefox 52.0 (March 7, 2017) though the Flash Player was allowed until Jan 2021. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/52.0/releasenotes/ Why do Java, Silverlight, Adobe Acrobat and other plugins no longer work? https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/npapi-plugins https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/end-support-adobe-flash

Years ago when NPAPI Plugins was supported the 64-bit (Win64) for Windows only allowed the Flash Player and Silverlight Plugins to run. Other web browsers does not allow Plugins for some years also.

Now days video, audio and even games are done by say HTML5 players which also supports more OS's and hardware compared to the more limited support of Adobe Flash.