ETS6 runs as a x64 application when it is first started because the compatibility mode is not active after installation.
x64 operating systems
ETS6 is a native x64 application. The advantage of x64 applications is that they can address more RAM than x86 applications.
ETS3 & ETS4 device plug-ins
ETS3 & ETS4 device plug-ins are only available as x86 software and can therefore be the reason to put ETS6 in x86 compatibility mode. To use the compatibility mode, check the respective option from the settings.
It is recommended to only activate this setting when really necessary, because activating it means that ETS will work as x86 software instead of x64.
- ETS installation is always made in C:\Program Files (x86) folder, regardless of the bit mode ETS runs (or is supposed to run).
- The x64 ETS application can also be run from this folder and does not have to be located in the C:\Program Files folder (64-bit Windows), as this folder is reserved for strictly x64 applications by Windows.
Even if compatibility mode is deactivated, a process called ETS6 (32 bit) is still running in the background.
This is the so-called 'bootstrapper', which among others checks if the compatibility mode is activated or not and then starts the respective ETS6 executable. This must be a 32 bit process so that ETS can (at least in principle) run on a 32 bit operating system.