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WOW64 stands for Windows 32-bit on Windows 64-bit.

You may have seen some folders on your system that have the term WOW64. Windows uses an emulator of sorts to run 32-bit applications in 64-bit Windows. To help make the transition easier, Microsoft has designated that all 32-bit application should, by default, be loaded into the Program Files (x86) folder rather than getting mixed in with true 64-bit applications in the regular Program Files folder. In other words, most 32-bit applications will function in the 64-bit operating environment. Microsoft’s solution to this transition from 32-bit to 64-bit has been to add legacy support for most 32-bit applications. This is entirely impractical because most people are not willing to just junk their investment in hardware and software and buy everything new again. To make the switch, every software vendor, hardware manufacturer, and user would suddenly have to stop making and using anything built on a 32-bit architecture and begin using 64-bit.

Unfortunately, switching from 32-bit to 64-bit applications and operating systems is not as simple as Microsoft would like. The x86 portion of the folder name refers to the x86 32-bit architecture upon which the first 32-bit processors were developed such as the 386, 486, and Pentium CPUs. In a sense, it is a folder designed for legacy software that is left over from the days of 32-bit operating systems. The second folder labeled Program Files (x86) is the default location for all of your 32-bit applications. It does not have an extra label at the end because as a 64-bit operating system, it is assumed that the 64-bit applications will go into this folder. The first folder is the default location for all of your 64-bit programs. One is simply labeled Program Files and the other is labeled Program Files (x86). If you have the 64-bit version of Windows, you may have noticed that there are two Program Files folders on your hard drive. This is why hardware (such as a sound card) needs a completely different driver to work in 64-bit Windows.

It is a change to a completely different method of keeping track of data. Moving from a 32-bit to a 64-bit operating system is more than just a jump in addressable memory.