From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG  Wed Mar 17 16:36:26 2010
Return-Path: <owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG>
Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34])
	by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 16549106566C
	for <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>;
	Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:36:26 +0000 (UTC)
	(envelope-from martin@dc.cis.okstate.edu)
Received: from dc.cis.okstate.edu (dc.cis.okstate.edu [139.78.103.93])
	by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id C19348FC36
	for <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>;
	Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:36:25 +0000 (UTC)
Received: from dc.cis.okstate.edu (localhost.cis.okstate.edu [127.0.0.1])
	by dc.cis.okstate.edu (8.14.2/8.13.8) with ESMTP id o2HGaEwn029337
	for <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>;
	Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:36:14 -0500 (CDT)
	(envelope-from martin@dc.cis.okstate.edu)
Message-Id: <201003171636.o2HGaEwn029337@dc.cis.okstate.edu>
To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-ID: <29335.1268843774.1@dc.cis.okstate.edu>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:36:14 -0500
From: Martin McCormick <martin@dc.cis.okstate.edu>
Subject: Re: Automatic Way to Tell if a FreeBSD system is 64 or 32-bit? 
X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5
Precedence: list
List-Id: User questions <freebsd-questions.freebsd.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions>, 
	<mailto:freebsd-questions-request@freebsd.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-questions>
List-Post: <mailto:freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>
List-Help: <mailto:freebsd-questions-request@freebsd.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions>, 
	<mailto:freebsd-questions-request@freebsd.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:36:26 -0000

Chris Rees writes:
 sysctl hw.machine_arch

It and uname -m work beautifully. Thanks to all.

	One thing I discovered while trying this command out on
various systems is that if the system was originally built using
i386 code, it reports as i386 even though there is a 64-bit
platform struggling to get out.

	In my script, this is not a problem because the mfsboot
CDROM for 32-bit boxes chokes on a 64-bit platform and will not
boot. When on a 64-bit system, it boots like gang busters and
since it installs its own OS, there is no question at all.

	Thank you all.

Martin McCormick