More then 3gb ram on a 32bit OS? Solved/Closed

Question

Hello,
I would like to run 4 gigs PC5300 on a 32bit OS. Is it possible?
I am currently running Windows Vista Ultimate. However, from everything that I know, 32bit OS will only recognize 3gigs of ram.

roisin · Accepted Answer

[copy of post]
www.planetamd64.com/index.php?showtopic=38005

The answer to this question is so simple, it begs the question how so many intelligent people who all spout technical jargon like a second language, haven't figured it out yet.

The performance benefits are pretty severe, and immediate. So lets see.. with the danger of sounding unintelligent by explaining this so anyone can understand, forgive the layman terminology.

1) Microsoft 32bit systems like XP have a limit on how much RAM they can utilize.
2) Get (www.superspeed.com/desktop/ramdisk.php) Ramdisk Plus for $34.95 (otherwise you're throwing money out by not using your extra RAM anyway :P)
3) If like me, you have 8GB RAM, the BIOS should register around 8192MB.. 1MB allocated to BIOS, 2900MB for Windows.. that leaves 4-5GB available to set as a Ramdisk - eg. Z:\
* In Ramdisk Plus you have to allocated 'unmanaged' RAM otherwise it will try to use the RAM Windows is using.
4) Open System Properties (right-click My Computer on Desktop) --> Advanced --> Performance [Settings] --> Advanced tab --> Virtual Memory [Change] -->Click your Hard Drives and check "No Paging File" then "set" .. Click Z:\ (Ram Disk) and choose Custom Size -- Initial Size 5000, Maximum Size 5000 (can't be bigger than your Ram Disk) or choose 'System Managed Size'
* When you exit it may ask you to restart the computer. You can do this after step 5.
5) Start -- Run -- Regedit [open] goto HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE --> SYSTEM --> CurrentControlSet --> Control --> Session Manager --> Memory Management --> [doubleclick] ClearPageFileAtShutdown and change option to "1" and click OK. The reason being the RAM will be purged when you power off, and there's no point with the system thinking the Pagefile will be available cached at boot.

You can set Z:\ to be used for temporary files, like Winrar, Firefox, Photoshop etc. It's up to you to decide how big the Swap File should be, if at all you want to use it. I just did this the other day, and the performance increase is amazing. And I'm using my extra RAM that all the [i]experts[/i] said I 'couldn't'.

Good Luck !

AMD Athlon 6400 x2 Black Edition
8GB DDR2 6400
Dual 8800 GT SLI

starsailors.me · Answer

hey there,

yes it will only detect 3gigs of memory but will use the 4gb ram module

gavin · Answer

I had the same problem,  all you need to do is to download Vista Service Pack 1 from the Microsoft Website, install it and I will detect the 4 GB ...it worked for me!

MOHAMMAD DAHER · Answer

heloo 
same problem 
but iam solving it 
i download new version for my bios then read from 3 to 4 GB 
and download service pack 1 and read from 3 to 4 
but have 1 problem when I run dxdiag read 3 
and when press Alt Ctrl DEl and see ram performance see 3062 
can any body help me to solve this problem 
sent to me in my email

Nuwan · Answer

I have the same problem,
I have 4GIG of ram and with my onboard VGA it shows as 3.4 GB,
Then I installed a 1 GIG nvidia 9500 GT VGA card.
And now my ram shows as only 3 gig,

and my BOIS detect all 4096 of ram
and the software called PC Wizzart, that's also detect my 4 GIG of ram,

Only Vista don't recognize them,
Please tell me what to do????

roisin · Answer

Gabesz, I can't find much information on your error message. As you only have 4GB RAM, I hope you're only either trying to set a 768MB or 1024MB Ramdisk. If the RAM is registered by the BIOS, the software should load Ramdisks of those values no problem.

Also, try turning off your Ramdisks before switching the Unmanaged Memory setting.  -Cheers

Reaperz · Answer

I currently own an alienware m9750

Vista ultimate 32 bit os
intel core 2 cpu (2.33ghz x 2)
4gb ram
and dual 512mb nvidia geforce 8700M with sLi

now... I know vista cannot really pick up 4gb of ram
and that sp1 enables it to be only (shown) in windows
yet when I run dxdiag I am getting only 2814mb

but I also know vista should pick up at least 3.2 - 3.5 gb

just wondering how to get vista to detect that extra little bit cause even that would make a big difference

i shouldnt be picking up under 3 gb's of ram, it should show 3 or more

Droopy · Answer

Is it me or do half the people posting here there Grammer just fails

Droopy · Answer

Is it me or do half the people posting here there Grammer just fails also you guys need to Relize you need a 64-bit OS just to use the 4 gigs

Jon · Answer

The simplest way to fix this is to get yourself a 64bit OS.  Easy

Tru · Answer

hi...im a huge noob when it comes to computers...and i've been shopping around for a computer....anyways...i was recently told that a an intel dual core E7400 processor would not detect 4gb ram.....i always thought that was an OS issue and not a processor one.....can someone please confirm or debunk this for me

GlassDeviant · Answer

The facts are:

Any 32-bit operating system can address (the way the operating system "points" the CPU to the piece of memory it wants to use at any given time) 4GB of RAM, although Microsoft has artificially limited some versions of Vista to less.

Parts of the computer that must store information, such as video cards, network cards, legacy serial, parallel and PS/2 ports, sound cards, and practically every other component on your motherboard or any add-in card take up some of that 4GB address space.

The part of that 4GB address space cannot be used to "point" to the physical RAM in your computer, so if you have a fancy Alienware laptop with dual 1GB video cards and a 32bit XP, Vista, Linux, or whatever, you've lost 2GB right there and might as well only have 2GB of physical RAM installed.

This is why many BIOSes will say "4096MB installed, 3347MB addressable" as in the case of my laptop (note that word, addressable, that means 3347MB of the 4GB a 32-bit operating system can address is available, and the rest of the addresses are used for hardware components like the video cards).

This is also why Alienware prefers to ship 64-bit Vista on their laptops, although you can select 32-bit if you want.

Remember, though, that RAM is really cheap now, especially DDR2 laptop RAM. I just (literaly in the last hour) put 4GB in my laptop. It cost $60 bucks when I ordered it 3 days ago by mail, shipping included. If you can get 3347MB out of 4GB, and you upgraded from 2GB, that means you still have 1347MB more than you had before, and since it is matched RAM (2 identical 2GB modules instead of 1x1GB and 1x2GB), it is operating at the maximum speed of your computer instead of some reduced speed due to not having matched RAM sticks.

Additionally, the only reason Mr. Advertiser up near the beginning of this blog is able to trick his computer into using some RAM as a RAMdisk is because he has 8GB - a full 4GB used by the operating system for RAM+hardware devices, and the other 4GB used by this trick program to pretend it's a hard disk. If you only have 4GB of physical RAM and you buy this program, you have just wasted your money, because it can't do anything for you at all.

There is only one thing that may give you access to your full 4GB of RAM, and that is a 64-bit operating system, whether you wish to use XP 64, Vista 64, or a 64-bit Linux, FreeBSD or other alternative operating system. And if you have more than 4GB, you will get all of that RAM available too, because the maximum RAM a 64-bit operating system can use is many times more than any computer can physically hold right now, and likely for many years from now (the actual amount is 17.2 billion gigabytes).

Even then, there are many laptops that are "wired" by their BIOS+chipset to not give you the full 4GB, so don't be too upset if you still don't get the whole 4GB.

You should also know a few extra bits of information:

64-bit XP is not really XP, it is a lobotomized version of Windows Server 2003.

64-bit Vista uses the same registration keys as 32-bit, you just need a 64-bit or a mixed 32/64-bit install DVD. I am running both 32 and 64-bit Vista legitimately even though I bought a 3-pack of 64-bit Vista.

Windows 7 is awesome, even though it is not really released yet. Get yourself a download copy of it, and a free trial key from Microsoft here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-7/dd349342(v=ws.10)?redirectedfrom=MSDN it is much better than Vista or XP, and almost half as good as Linux (try Ubuntu Linux if you are a Linux newbie and want to try it out, it's free: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

el_ayoun · Answer

Aparently my mother board has a 2gb max capacity, been reading that I might be able to squeeze bit of ram by allocating the pagefile.sys to another partition, as my slimshit has compactflashII slots built in I was thinking in buy about 4gb FC and use it as hard drive either for pagefile and readyboost . 

Any ideas?

bernie · Answer

Hi I'm new to this discussion, I currently have 4 x 1 GB sticks and a 1 GB gpu, installed on a asus p5n? with a e6300. obviously I can remove an unused 1 Gb of ram. can I simply remove the sinle stick from a 4 slot board or will I bottle neck. should I perhaps remove 2 x 1 and install 2 x 512.

dogdirt2000 · Answer

I have a clevo m570ru laptop with a single 8800m gtx installed, 4gb and 32-bit Vista Home Premium.

One day it said I had about 3.2gb free memory of that 4gb total - Makes sense, considering the 32-bit limitations and reserved OS space. However, the 8800m gtx fried and had to be RMA'ed for a new one, and since I've had the laptop back from the RMA it shows I only have 2557/2558mb free memory?!?

So I've lost just over half a gig of usable memory, and there's no explanation of where it went. Not best pleased, tbh, as I use this laptop for programming, 3d modelling and photoshop work, so that 'lost' memory is quite missed :(

Anyone here got and ideas in the way of what-the-hell-happened? :P :)

Thanks in advance for any help!

Drummerboy7765 · Answer

I had xp64 on my comp and it had a lot of bugs in it...so I decided to put vista (32bit) on over the 64 bit xp, well at first it only detected 3gigs when I went through the download process, but now that its installed it detects 8gigs on my 32bit Vista OS and its flippin sweet!!!  Dont know how or why, but am very happy its doing so!!!

AJ · Answer

My Specs: q6600 core 2 quad @ 3.6 GHZ, 4gb DDR2 800, GTX285 1GB, on vista ultimate 32bit, service pack 1 and all the latest upadates. picks up 4gb in windows, 3gb in dxdiag. I'm a gamer and the 32bit OS is a bad choice for gamers. Only solution was to go vista 64bit. I didn't notice much in games coz I had good enough frame rates. I've seen a big difference in benchmarks. every little counts.

john · Answer

Please go through this link....
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/memory/memory-limits-for-windows-releases?redirectedfrom=MSDN#physical_memory_limits_windows_server_2003

Dora The Explorer · Answer

Your 32 bit OS may detect your 2 gigs or more, but it won"t be able to use it. You have to install a 64 bit OS in order to really use it.

perkunas · Answer

My vista 32 could only use 3.2 gigs of my 4 gig ram
People started to complain so instead of fixing the problem, in a update they changed the wording,
all it says now is 4gigs installed. They even claimed that it was mathematically impossible to go beyond that in 32 bit you needed 64 bit. When you finally get tired of all the Microsoft lies, crashes, viruses, spy ware, anti-virus programs, and the fact they track you. Go with Linux, my laptop uses all 4 gigs now and don't think that windows 7 is going to be any better.

ezzab · Answer

Basically.

32bit operating systems can access a total of 2^32 (2 because machine code is in binary, 1 or 0) memory allocations. That is 2 to the power of 32 which equals 4,294,967,296 or 4GB. 

I didn't say 2^32 allocations of RAM I said 2^32 memory allocations. If you have a 512mb graphics card, the operating system has use 536,870,912 of its 4,294,967,296 available memory allocations just for the graphics card.

Every other card and input/output device also require a portion of the total available memory allactions, no exceptions.

The left over abailable memory allocations can then be allocated to RAM, which is why we see something which looks like 'RAM: 4GB (3.5GB usable)'.

On a seperate note, if you need more available ram just plug in 2^64 to your calculator. That is the total ammount of memory allocations a 64 bit operating system sopports.

(for those who cant be bothered calculating it, it's 18,446,744,073,709,551,616

side by side
4,294,967,296 (32bit)
18,446,744,073,709,551,616 (64bit)
)

amermg · Answer

https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/

Enabling PAE
To enable PAE:
•	
Locate the Boot.ini file, which is typically in the root folder (for example, C:/) and remove its Read-Only and Hidden attributes.
•	
Open the Boot.ini file with a text editor, and then add the /PAE parameter to the ARC path, as shown in the following example:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)
\WINNT="Windows ???? Datacenter Server" /PAE /basevideo /sos
•	
On the File menu, click Save.
•	
Restore the Read-Only attribute to the Boot.ini file.

flavio · Answer

Ok, I uderstood. But let´s face a problem. If I had 3 giga of memory, and a card using, let´s say, one, 3 will remain for the system. With 4, 3 will remain. So, it still make sense for me to use the full 4 giga for 32 bits system. Am I correct?


Flavio

TWONICKELS · Answer

After installing the first service pack for Vista, regardless 32 or 64 bit, it should resolve the 3 GB ram issue.
At least it did for me.

Fanfly · Answer

..No

john · Answer

no 32 bit os only register 2.8-3.2 gb of ram

keshihba · Answer

. Recently  I brought a new Sony Vaio E series VPCEB12EN laptop. The specifications are as follows :

       Operating System              Genuine Windows® 7 Home Basic 64-bit (English Version)
        Processor Name                Intel® Core(TM) i3-330M Processor 2.13 GHz *1
        Chipset                              Intel® HM55 Express Chipset
        Memory Bus                      1066 MHz  
        Cache Memory                  3 MB (L3 Cache)    
        Pre-installed/Max            2 GB DDR3 SDRAM *2 (upgradeable up to 8 GB*3)
        SO-DIMM slots                  2 SO-DIMM slots (The pre-installed memory module uses one)
        Hard Disk Drive                320 GB*4 (Serial ATA, 5400 rpm)
        Drive                                 DVD±RW/±R DL/RAM Drive
        Graphics Accelerator       Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD 
        Type                                 15.5 (39.4 cm) wide (WXGA: 1366 x 768) TFT colour display (VAIO Display)
        Sound Chip                       Intel® High Definition Audio compatible , 3D audio (Direct Sound 3D support) 
        Others                              eSATA / USB port x 1  
        
        My query is will I be able to install Windows XP Professional(x64) with SP-3 in my laptop. Will it support ? Ofcourse if I got the correct drivers.
        Sony website is providing downgrade to XP so they are supplying XP drivers. But I am not sure are those meant for only (x32) or (x64).
        My next query is if I install (x32) XP will it support. Even if it support will I be able to get the full utilization of i3-330M Processor.

        What are the rest Operating System which will support my laptop with the above mentioned specs.


       Thanking you in anticipations.

       Regards,

Bad Mouth · Answer

First I would like to clarify one thing and that is a 32bit operating system compare to a 64bit operating is not much of an improvement. Granted you do receive 100 percent improvements in applications created specifically for 64bit operating systems. Other than that everything else is the same on a 32bit operating system if not worse.

Most of you peeps that posted in this thread talk about how 64bit is great and that it can recognize more memory than a 32bit operating system. Yeah! Your right about recognizing more memory but you are so dead wrong about how a 64bit operating system is the way to go. A 64bit operating system can address more memory than a 32bit operating system; however it also has its limitations as well. Just because you switched from a 32bit to a 64bit operating system does not mean everything is 100 percent better nor does it mean you are getting the full 64bit addressing power. When a 64bit operating system runs a 32bit application this is where it falls below the 32bit operating system, because now the 64bit operating system has to configure itself to run the 32bit application. This in all cases makes the 64bit run worse if not worse than a 32bit operating system. It is like a program that should run on a CPU that uses 32bit registers but the program was made with the maximum of 16bits variables.  Since the CPU was made to run with 32bit registers and to access 32bit memory space, the CPU must now down grade itself to access these 16bit addressing type modes, which in turn causes overhead execution time.
When an application is specifically made for a specific CPU as well as for the specific operating system, this is where the true power comes in.

As you all should know, most applications created these days and in the past 20 years were created for 32bit operating systems. This is where 32bit over-rules 64bit operating systems. Still today the majority of applications are created for the 32bit operating systems and some state they are made for 64bit operating systems as well, but they are actually created using 32bit addressing code, which in turn makes your 64bit run like a 32bit if not worse.

As for memory usages I do not see how you peeps would love to have a system that runs and recognize over 4 gigs of ram. I bet the majority of you peeps that had 32bit operating systems did not even come close to utilizing the entire 1g or 2g sticks of ram. If you did, then you must be a person that does not know programs as well as the operating systems. It is like me running two programs at the same time such as Ableton Live and 3D Max on an operating system with 1g of ram.

That is why small businesses and big corporations have more than one computer to perform 1 or 2 specific tasks. Anyone that runs more than 3 hungry memory applications on their system is a person who does not know anything about the program they are running or for that matter their operating system. It is like me running a two servers which runs two stores and I at the same time running photo shop and chatting with friends on aim with an operating system having only 2gs of ram.
 
In short a 32bit operating system and a 64bit operating are great if you use them for what they were made for and nothing else.

As for your question keshihba:

Yes! You can run a 32bit Xp system with your specs, however take note that your CPU is meant for a 64bit operating system, therefore you will be down grading your system if you switch to a 32bit operating system. As for the drivers if they have a name along with the x64 abbreviation, then they are meant for 64bit systems, else they would be listed having a name and an abbreviation of x86 after them for a 32bit system. So make sure you install your x64bit drivers even if you decide to run a 32bit system this is very important.

My advice to you is give the Xp 64bit a try, you may benefit from such an operating system compared to the new 7 windows.

B.M

Bad Mouth · Answer

I am sorry Kriss:

Your laptop is locked at maximum 2g and there is nothing that you can do.
Even if you install say two sticks of 2g memory totaling 4g you will not be
using the other memory banks because your motherboard is limited only
to bank1 which can hold only a maximum 2g's of ram :(

B.M

Supa Glue · Answer

I don't know maybe I should upgrade my system bit from 32-bit to 64-bit operation system. Please kindly help me out?

kage · Answer

The windows 32 bit operating system only will read 3.3 or 3.6 gigs of ram. if you want to make use of any more, you are required to upgrade to the 64 bit.
there's no "crack" you can use to allow your computer to read more while on the 32 bit. At least not one that'd be considered even remotely safe.

More then 3gb ram on a 32bit OS?

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