Counts logically, not physically!
I’ve had many people asking me how to determine the number of physical multi-core processors or hyperthreading processors installed inside their desktops/servers. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 always count the number of “logical” processors. For instance, if you have one physical dual-core processor on your server, Windows reports that there are two processors.
This seems logical, doesnt it? Well it is ‘logical’ that Windows counts.
So how do I determine how many physical processors are there under the hood? Well.. as of now, you can’t! Unless you’re running Windows Vista.
Microsoft released KB article 932370 on April 16, 2007 which basically states that Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 can’t determine the physical number of processors as of now. They are currently researching on this issue and will post further information as it becomes available.
Shijaz Abdulla is a Partner Technology Advisor at Microsoft, helping their top tier partners build on their Microsoft practice. He is also a trusted advisor to medium enterprise customers in Qatar. He is a blogger, tech enthusiast, and a Microsoft evangelist.