How to determine if you have 32 or 64-bit MacOS
Determining the type of processor on your computer, is the first step in deciding if you need the 32 or 64 bit version of Sage for MacOS. To do this on the Unix command-line, type:
/usr/sbin/system_profiler SPHardwareDataType|grep "Processor Name:"
In general, Intel processors are 64-bit; however, if the processor name reports Intel Core Duo, you have a first-generation Intel 32-bit dual-core processor. Even though MacOS 10.5 and 10.6 are 64-bit enabled operating systems, 64-bit operation only works on 64-bit processors. Choosing the correct binary version to install is important. Running the 64-bit version of Sage on a 32-bit processor will yield the following error:
Running the 64-bit application on a 32-bit processor will result in the commonly found error:
---------------------------------------------------------------------- | Sage Version 4.3.2, Release Date: 2010-02-06 | | Type notebook() for the GUI, and license() for information. | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- env: python: Bad CPU type in executable
Running the 32-bit version of Sage on a 64-bit processor works; however, you will not be taking advantage of the 64-bit accelerated performance of your computer.
If you have a PowerPC Macintosh, you do not have to worry about this issue, because the PowerPC binary distribution of Sage for PPC will work without any issues for you.