Last Updated on February 25, 2024 by Mathew Diekhake
If you are looking for a SysWOW64 virus removal tool, you’re out of luck because SysWOW64 isn’t actually a virus. Though the name looks suspicious, SysWOW64 is an essential component of the Windows operating system so it’s perfectly normal for it to be visible from locations such as the Task Manager. SysWOW64 is also a fold in File Explorer located here: C:\Windows\SysWOW64.
Released on 25 October 2001, SysWOW64 is a subsystem of Windows that can run 64 and 32-but programs. I’m using Windows 11 today and I can see I have the SysWOW64 folder on my computer (pictured). So I use my Windows operating system with the SysWOW64 folder every day. Since SysWOW64 is still available on Windows 11, it seems it is likely always been there through all the versions of Windows since 2001. The exception is if you use a 32-bit version of Windows. According to Microsoft Learn (part of the official Microsoft domain), the 32-bit version of Windows doesn’t have a SysWOW64 folder at all.
Here is a quote from JohnCTX-6479 on the same Microsoft Learn page:
The three Windows Operating System folders: System, System32, and SysWOW64 may have one thing in common. They are critical for its functionality of how they interact with Users within the shell and the graphical user interface.
In conclusion, the SysWOW64 might not be on all editions of Windows if you include the 32-bit versions, but generally you find it on all 64-bit versions. And it’s critical for Windows to function, so don’t remove it.