4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bit

[Guest Yman]

Hi,

I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

@2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4 GB

of RAM.

I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because it's

32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much luck

I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

 

This is the bootini "multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft

Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /PAE /3GB /Userva=2900

/NoExecute=OptOut".

 

Any Idea, note the machine supports DEP.

[Guest Jim]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bit

 

 

"Yman" <Yman@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:D171EF81-C231-4F43-BE6A-518F45EF8599@microsoft.com...

> Hi,

> I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

> @2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4

> GB

> of RAM.

> I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because

> it's

> 32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

> followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much

> luck

> I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

>

> This is the bootini

> "multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft

> Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /PAE /3GB /Userva=2900

> /NoExecute=OptOut".

>

> Any Idea, note the machine supports DEP.

>

>

You cannot access the full 4GB because Windows uses memory mapped i/o. This

unavailable 1 GB overlaps the i/o devices hence it cannot be used.

Jim

[Guest Yman]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Thanks,

 

So there's no way I can do this, I picked up this article from Microsoft Web

Site

 

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;291988

 

"Jim" wrote:

>

> "Yman" <Yman@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:D171EF81-C231-4F43-BE6A-518F45EF8599@microsoft.com...

> > Hi,

> > I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

> > @2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4

> > GB

> > of RAM.

> > I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because

> > it's

> > 32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

> > followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much

> > luck

> > I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

> >

> > This is the bootini

> > "multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft

> > Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /PAE /3GB /Userva=2900

> > /NoExecute=OptOut".

> >

> > Any Idea, note the machine supports DEP.

> >

> >

> You cannot access the full 4GB because Windows uses memory mapped i/o. This

> unavailable 1 GB overlaps the i/o devices hence it cannot be used.

> Jim

>

>

>

[Guest Patrick Keenan]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bit

 

 

"Yman" <Yman@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:D171EF81-C231-4F43-BE6A-518F45EF8599@microsoft.com...

> Hi,

> I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

> @2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4

> GB

> of RAM.

> I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because

> it's

> 32 bit.

 

Not exactly. Windows can see it, it just won't let you use most of the

last gig because it uses it for system devices.

 

You will *not* get to use all 4 gig as user memory.

> I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

> followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much

> luck

> I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

 

Then you've pretty much "tuned" it as much as possible.

>

> This is the bootini

> "multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft

> Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /PAE /3GB /Userva=2900

> /NoExecute=OptOut".

>

> Any Idea, note the machine supports DEP.

 

You have already achieved your goal, as far as it is attainable. If you

want to use more memory, you'l l need a 64 bit OS.

 

HTH

-pk

[Guest Ken Blake, MVP]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bit

 

On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:00:01 -0700, Yman

<Yman@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> Hi,

> I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

> @2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4 GB

> of RAM.

> I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because it's

> 32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

> followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much luck

> I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

 

 

 

All 32-bit client versions of Windows (not just Vista/XP) have a 4GB

address space. That's the theoretical upper limit beyond which you can

not go.

 

But you can't use the entire 4GB of address space. Even though you

have a 4GB address space, you can only use *around* 3.1GB of RAM.

That's because some of that space is used by hardware and is not

available to the operating system and applications. The amount you can

use varies, depending on what hardware you have installed, but can

range from as little as 2GB to as much as 3.5GB. It's usually around

3.1GB.

 

Note that the hardware is using the address *space*, not the actual

RAM itself. The rest of the RAM goes unused because there is no

address space to map it too.

 

--

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

Please Reply to the Newsgroup

[Guest Thee Chicago Wolf]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bit

 

>I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

>@2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4 GB

>of RAM.

>I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because it's

>32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

>followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much luck

>I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

>

>This is the bootini "multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft

>Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /PAE /3GB /Userva=2900

>/NoExecute=OptOut".

>

>Any Idea, note the machine supports DEP.

 

PAE is not for Windows XP so get rid of that. Only leave the /3GB

switch. I would also ditch the /USEVA switch too. Only specific

applications installed would require you to need that switch and the

parameters following it. Do more research on Google for this.

 

- Thee Chicago Wolf

[Guest Thee Chicago Wolf]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

>Thanks,

>

>So there's no way I can do this, I picked up this article from Microsoft Web

>Site

 

It depends on the hardware you have installed. In theory, if you have

some simple VGA card or VGA RAM being used (64, 128, or 256 MB) you

might be able to squeeze out up to 3.1-3.6GB RAM but the more RAM

other devices and such require, the more it'll eat away at what you

might be able to squeeze out with even the /3GB switch. It's just the

limitation of a 32-bit Windows.

 

- Thee Chicago Wolf

[Guest Yman]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Thanks

 

I will be glad if I can get the machine to show 3.5GB of RAM. Is there any

other way than editing the Boot.ini ??

 

"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote:

> On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:00:01 -0700, Yman

> <Yman@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>

> > Hi,

> > I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

> > @2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4 GB

> > of RAM.

> > I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because it's

> > 32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

> > followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much luck

> > I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

>

>

>

> All 32-bit client versions of Windows (not just Vista/XP) have a 4GB

> address space. That's the theoretical upper limit beyond which you can

> not go.

>

> But you can't use the entire 4GB of address space. Even though you

> have a 4GB address space, you can only use *around* 3.1GB of RAM.

> That's because some of that space is used by hardware and is not

> available to the operating system and applications. The amount you can

> use varies, depending on what hardware you have installed, but can

> range from as little as 2GB to as much as 3.5GB. It's usually around

> 3.1GB.

>

> Note that the hardware is using the address *space*, not the actual

> RAM itself. The rest of the RAM goes unused because there is no

> address space to map it too.

>

> --

> Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

> Please Reply to the Newsgroup

>

[Guest Yman]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Thanks,

 

I've tried only the /3GB switch, I only can see 3GB of RAM on the System

Properties.

 

"Thee Chicago Wolf" wrote:

> >I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

> >@2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4 GB

> >of RAM.

> >I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because it's

> >32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

> >followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much luck

> >I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

> >

> >This is the bootini "multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft

> >Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /PAE /3GB /Userva=2900

> >/NoExecute=OptOut".

> >

> >Any Idea, note the machine supports DEP.

>

> PAE is not for Windows XP so get rid of that. Only leave the /3GB

> switch. I would also ditch the /USEVA switch too. Only specific

> applications installed would require you to need that switch and the

> parameters following it. Do more research on Google for this.

>

> - Thee Chicago Wolf

>

[Guest John John (MVP)]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bit

 

Yman wrote:

> Hi,

> I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

> @2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4 GB

> of RAM.

> I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because it's

> 32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

> followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much luck

> I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

>

> This is the bootini "multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft

> Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /PAE /3GB /Userva=2900

> /NoExecute=OptOut".

>

> Any Idea, note the machine supports DEP.

 

Windows XP doesn't fully support PAE and the 4GT RAM Tuning doesn't

really have anything to do with physical memory (RAM), it affects how

the Virtual Address Space is alloted between user mode processes and the

kernel-mode components, you should remove these switches from the

boot.ini file. Due to hardware addressing needs Windows XP 32-bits

cannot fully utilize 4GB of RAM and there is no way to overcome the

limitation.

 

John

[Guest Yman]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Thanks,

 

How about if you have Qautro Process on windwos XP SP2 ?? will that work ?

 

"John John (MVP)" wrote:

> Yman wrote:

> > Hi,

> > I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

> > @2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4 GB

> > of RAM.

> > I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because it's

> > 32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

> > followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much luck

> > I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

> >

> > This is the bootini "multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft

> > Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /PAE /3GB /Userva=2900

> > /NoExecute=OptOut".

> >

> > Any Idea, note the machine supports DEP.

>

> Windows XP doesn't fully support PAE and the 4GT RAM Tuning doesn't

> really have anything to do with physical memory (RAM), it affects how

> the Virtual Address Space is alloted between user mode processes and the

> kernel-mode components, you should remove these switches from the

> boot.ini file. Due to hardware addressing needs Windows XP 32-bits

> cannot fully utilize 4GB of RAM and there is no way to overcome the

> limitation.

>

> John

>

>

[Guest John John (MVP)]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

With Windows XP 32-bits there is *no* *way* to overcome the limitation.

You should only use the /3GB switch if an application vendor instructs

you to do so, using this switch can starve the operating system of

needed virtual memory and it will do absolutely nothing to help you

access the unavailable RAM.

 

John

 

Yman wrote:

> Thanks,

>

> How about if you have Qautro Process on windwos XP SP2 ?? will that work ?

>

> "John John (MVP)" wrote:

>

>

>>Yman wrote:

>>

>>>Hi,

>>>I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

>>>@2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4 GB

>>>of RAM.

>>>I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because it's

>>>32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

>>>followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much luck

>>>I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

>>>

>>>This is the bootini "multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft

>>>Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /PAE /3GB /Userva=2900

>>>/NoExecute=OptOut".

>>>

>>>Any Idea, note the machine supports DEP.

>>

>>Windows XP doesn't fully support PAE and the 4GT RAM Tuning doesn't

>>really have anything to do with physical memory (RAM), it affects how

>>the Virtual Address Space is alloted between user mode processes and the

>>kernel-mode components, you should remove these switches from the

>>boot.ini file. Due to hardware addressing needs Windows XP 32-bits

>>cannot fully utilize 4GB of RAM and there is no way to overcome the

>>limitation.

>>

>>John

>>

>>

[Guest Ian D]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bit

 

 

"Thee Chicago Wolf" <.@.> wrote in message

news:fsbtc41j6pirgabklmp1gogrsca2c9ob1i@4ax.com...

> >I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo

> >E6550

>>@2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4

>>GB

>>of RAM.

>>I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because

>>it's

>>32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

>>followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much

>>luck

>>I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

>>

>>This is the bootini

>>"multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft

>>Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /PAE /3GB /Userva=2900

>>/NoExecute=OptOut".

>>

>>Any Idea, note the machine supports DEP.

>

> PAE is not for Windows XP so get rid of that. Only leave the /3GB

> switch. I would also ditch the /USEVA switch too. Only specific

> applications installed would require you to need that switch and the

> parameters following it. Do more research on Google for this.

>

> - Thee Chicago Wolf

 

The purpose of the /userva switch is to provide sufficient memory

address space for the XP kernel if the /3GB switch is used. The /3GB

switch adds 1GB to the default 2GB of application memory address

space at the expense of the OS kernel. If Task Manager showed 3.5GB

of physical memory you would be okay, as 0.5GB would be available

for the OS. If Task Manager only showed 3.1GB as available, XP

would only have 100MB, which could lead to a lot of OS paging, or

a system crash. That's why MS recommends a /userva in the range

of 2800 - 2900 MB. The /userva switch gives some memory back to

to OS that is taken by the /3GB switch.

 

In addition, the extra 1GB provided by the /3GB switch can only

be used by applications that are large address aware, such as

Adobe Photoshop, or Photoshop Elements.

[Guest Tim Slattery]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bit

 

Thee Chicago Wolf <.@.> wrote:

 

>PAE is not for Windows XP so get rid of that. Only leave the /3GB

>switch.

 

No, don't. The 3/GB switch affects the way that the virtual memory

spaces are divided between the OS and the application, it has NOTHING

to do with physical memory. Using /3GB will squeeze the OS into 2GB of

each virtual memory space. Very few apps will need that, and it will

hurt performance.

 

--

Tim Slattery

MS MVP(Shell/User)

Slattery_T@bls.gov

http://members.cox.net/slatteryt

[Guest Jim]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

 

"Yman" <Yman@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:D72BE592-9224-46C2-A0B4-6E494B285B27@microsoft.com...

> Thanks,

>

> I've tried only the /3GB switch, I only can see 3GB of RAM on the System

> Properties.

>

> "Thee Chicago Wolf" wrote:

>

>> >I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo

>> >E6550

>> >@2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have

>> >4 GB

>> >of RAM.

>> >I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because

>> >it's

>> >32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

>> >followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much

>> >luck

>> >I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

>> >

>> >This is the bootini

>> >"multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft

>> >Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /PAE /3GB /Userva=2900

>> >/NoExecute=OptOut".

>> >

>> >Any Idea, note the machine supports DEP.

>>

>> PAE is not for Windows XP so get rid of that. Only leave the /3GB

>> switch. I would also ditch the /USEVA switch too. Only specific

>> applications installed would require you to need that switch and the

>> parameters following it. Do more research on Google for this.

>>

>> - Thee Chicago Wolf

>>

The /3GB switch only allows you to use 3GB of virtual address space. The

remaining 1 GB is used to map Windows into your virtual address space.

The switch does not affect the amount of RAM that Windows can use.

Jim

[Guest N. Miller]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bit

 

On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:00:01 -0700, Yman wrote:

> Hi,

> I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

> @2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4 GB

> of RAM.

> I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because it's

> 32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

> followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much luck

> I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

>

> This is the bootini "multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft

> Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /PAE /3GB /Userva=2900

> /NoExecute=OptOut".

>

> Any Idea, note the machine supports DEP.

 

A lot depends upon the way the vendor set up the computer. I have an HP

Pavilion m7590n, MS Windows MCe 2005, SP3. It came with 2GB of RAM and SP2.

When I finally got around to throwing in more memory, I did absolutely

nothing, other than plugging in the RAM modules. I was expecting no more

than 3.1GB, based on my research. Whatever HP did, the System Properties

shows 3.5GB of RAM present; best anybody can hope for. Short of changing

your motherboard, I don't think there is anything you can do to max your RAM

beyond your current level.

 

--

Norman

~Oh Lord, why have you come

~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum

[Guest John John (MVP)]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bit

 

Ian D wrote:

> "Thee Chicago Wolf" <.@.> wrote in message

> news:fsbtc41j6pirgabklmp1gogrsca2c9ob1i@4ax.com...

>

>>>I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo

>>>E6550

>>>@2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4

>>>GB

>>>of RAM.

>>>I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because

>>>it's

>>>32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

>>>followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much

>>>luck

>>>I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

>>>

>>>This is the bootini

>>>"multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft

>>>Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /PAE /3GB /Userva=2900

>>>/NoExecute=OptOut".

>>>

>>>Any Idea, note the machine supports DEP.

>>

>>PAE is not for Windows XP so get rid of that. Only leave the /3GB

>>switch. I would also ditch the /USEVA switch too. Only specific

>>applications installed would require you to need that switch and the

>>parameters following it. Do more research on Google for this.

>>

>>- Thee Chicago Wolf

>

>

> The purpose of the /userva switch is to provide sufficient memory

> address space for the XP kernel if the /3GB switch is used. The /3GB

> switch adds 1GB to the default 2GB of application memory address

> space at the expense of the OS kernel. If Task Manager showed 3.5GB

> of physical memory you would be okay, as 0.5GB would be available

> for the OS. If Task Manager only showed 3.1GB as available, XP

> would only have 100MB, which could lead to a lot of OS paging, or

> a system crash. That's why MS recommends a /userva in the range

> of 2800 - 2900 MB. The /userva switch gives some memory back to

> to OS that is taken by the /3GB switch.

 

It doesn't have anything to do with RAM as such and what you say above

is not the way it works at all. The 4GT RAM tuning switch changes the

way the "Virtual Address Space" is alloted, regardless of how much RAM

is installed in the computer the 32-bit operating system always has a

full 4GB of Virtual Address Space to work with.

 

John

[Guest Thee Chicago Wolf]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bit

 

>The purpose of the /userva switch is to provide sufficient memory

>address space for the XP kernel if the /3GB switch is used. The /3GB

>switch adds 1GB to the default 2GB of application memory address

>space at the expense of the OS kernel. If Task Manager showed 3.5GB

>of physical memory you would be okay, as 0.5GB would be available

>for the OS. If Task Manager only showed 3.1GB as available, XP

>would only have 100MB, which could lead to a lot of OS paging, or

>a system crash. That's why MS recommends a /userva in the range

>of 2800 - 2900 MB. The /userva switch gives some memory back to

>to OS that is taken by the /3GB switch.

>

>In addition, the extra 1GB provided by the /3GB switch can only

>be used by applications that are large address aware, such as

>Adobe Photoshop, or Photoshop Elements.

 

Right, that's if you're using it primarily on a Server, not on XP. XP

isn't going to fall over from starved kernel pages so using USERVA is

moot unless the OP runs out of page table entries. /3GB will take 1GB

from kernel address paging and allocate it to physical and paged

memory. Tech references from MS folks and docs seem to state this.

 

- Thee Chicago Wolf

[Guest John John (MVP)]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bit

 

Thee Chicago Wolf wrote:

>>The purpose of the /userva switch is to provide sufficient memory

>>address space for the XP kernel if the /3GB switch is used. The /3GB

>>switch adds 1GB to the default 2GB of application memory address

>>space at the expense of the OS kernel. If Task Manager showed 3.5GB

>>of physical memory you would be okay, as 0.5GB would be available

>>for the OS. If Task Manager only showed 3.1GB as available, XP

>>would only have 100MB, which could lead to a lot of OS paging, or

>>a system crash. That's why MS recommends a /userva in the range

>>of 2800 - 2900 MB. The /userva switch gives some memory back to

>>to OS that is taken by the /3GB switch.

>>

>>In addition, the extra 1GB provided by the /3GB switch can only

>>be used by applications that are large address aware, such as

>>Adobe Photoshop, or Photoshop Elements.

>

>

> Right, that's if you're using it primarily on a Server, not on XP. XP

> isn't going to fall over from starved kernel pages so using USERVA is

> moot unless the OP runs out of page table entries. /3GB will take 1GB

> from kernel address paging and allocate it to physical and paged

> memory. Tech references from MS folks and docs seem to state this.

 

The /3GB switch does not allocate anything to physical and paged memory,

it simply changes the way the Virtual Address Space is devided.

 

John

[Guest Ken Blake, MVP]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:03:01 -0700, Yman

<Yman@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> Thanks

>

> I will be glad if I can get the machine to show 3.5GB of RAM. Is there any

> other way than editing the Boot.ini ??

 

 

No, it's mostly dependent on what hardware you happen to have.

 

 

 

> "Ken Blake, MVP" wrote:

>

> > On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:00:01 -0700, Yman

> > <Yman@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> >

> > > Hi,

> > > I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

> > > @2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4 GB

> > > of RAM.

> > > I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because it's

> > > 32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

> > > followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much luck

> > > I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

> >

> >

> >

> > All 32-bit client versions of Windows (not just Vista/XP) have a 4GB

> > address space. That's the theoretical upper limit beyond which you can

> > not go.

> >

> > But you can't use the entire 4GB of address space. Even though you

> > have a 4GB address space, you can only use *around* 3.1GB of RAM.

> > That's because some of that space is used by hardware and is not

> > available to the operating system and applications. The amount you can

> > use varies, depending on what hardware you have installed, but can

> > range from as little as 2GB to as much as 3.5GB. It's usually around

> > 3.1GB.

> >

> > Note that the hardware is using the address *space*, not the actual

> > RAM itself. The rest of the RAM goes unused because there is no

> > address space to map it too.

> >

> > --

> > Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

> > Please Reply to the Newsgroup

> >

 

--

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

Please Reply to the Newsgroup

[Guest Stephen Harris]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Yman wrote:

> Thanks,

>

> How about if you have Qautro Process on windwos XP SP2 ?? will that work ?

>

> "John John (MVP)" wrote:

>

>> Yman wrote:

>>> Hi,

>>> I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

>>> @2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4 GB

>>> of RAM.

>>> I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because it's

>>> 32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

>>> followed the documentation and modified the bootini. I didn't have much luck

>>> I can only see 3GB in window mean while 4GB in the BIOS.

>>>

>>> This is the bootini "multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft

>>> Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /PAE /3GB /Userva=2900

>>> /NoExecute=OptOut".

>>>

>>> Any Idea, note the machine supports DEP.

>> Windows XP doesn't fully support PAE and the 4GT RAM Tuning doesn't

>> really have anything to do with physical memory (RAM), it affects how

>> the Virtual Address Space is alloted between user mode processes and the

>> kernel-mode components, you should remove these switches from the

>> boot.ini file. Due to hardware addressing needs Windows XP 32-bits

>> cannot fully utilize 4GB of RAM and there is no way to overcome the

>> limitation.

>>

>> John

>>

>>

 

I wrote a long post on this topic,

http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/msg/4b314125a4ac50c1

 

I'm not sure the /PAE switch actually has functionality.

Quoting the most relevant part of that post,

 

SH: Nonetheless, there is hope if you have *Windows XP Pro* 32-bit.

 

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platform/server/PAE/PAEmem.mspx

 

"Operating systems based on Microsoft Windows NT technologies have

always provided applications with a flat 32-bit virtual address space

that describes 4 gigabytes (GB) of virtual memory. The address space is

usually split so that 2 GB of address space is directly accessible to

the application and the other 2 GB is only accessible to the Windows

executive software.

 

The 32-bit versions of the Windows 2000 Advanced Server and Windows NT

Server 4.0, Enterprise Edition, operating systems were the first

versions of Windows to provide applications with a 3-GB flat virtual

address space, with the kernel and executive components using only 1 GB.

In response to customer requests, Microsoft has expanded the

availability of this support to the 32-bit version of Windows XP

Professional and all 32-bit versions of Windows Server 2003. ...

 

The virtual address space of processes and applications is still limited

to 2 GB unless the /3GB switch is used in the Boot.ini file. When the

physical RAM in the system exceeds 16 GB and the /3GB switch is used,

the operating system will ignore the additional RAM until the /3GB

switch is removed. This is because of the increased size of the kernel

required to support more Page Table Entries. The assumption is made that

the administrator would rather not lose the /3GB functionality silently

and automatically; therefore, this requires the administrator to

explicitly change this setting.

 

The /3GB switch allocates 3 GB of virtual address space to an

application that uses IMAGE_FILE_LARGE_ADDRESS_AWARE in the process

header. This switch allows applications to address 1 GB of additional

virtual address space above 2 GB.

 

The virtual address space of processes and applications is still limited

to 2 GB, unless the /3GB switch is used in the Boot.ini file. The

following example shows how to add the /3GB parameter in the Boot.ini

file to enable application memory tuning:

 

[boot loader]

timeout=30

default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT

[operating systems]

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="????" /3GB

 

SH: I think shifting the extra 1GB of memory to applications

will in some situations result in fewer disk writes and

retrieval from data stored on the disk which is more efficient.

[Guest Plato]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

=?Utf-8?B?WW1hbg==?= wrote:

>

> I will be glad if I can get the machine to show 3.5GB of RAM. Is there any

> other way than editing the Boot.ini ??

 

wont help

 

--

http://www.bootdisk.com/

[Guest Plato]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bit

 

=?Utf-8?B?WW1hbg==?= wrote:

>

> I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

> @2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4 GB

> of RAM.

> I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because it's

> 32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

 

You have cards which are using ram.

 

--

http://www.bootdisk.com/

[Guest Yman]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

If I buy a USB Flash Memory would it help me with the issue?

Can I have more than 4 GB ?

We need to use it for Developers machine that has VMware workstations with

SharePoint installed.

 

"Plato" wrote:

> =?Utf-8?B?WW1hbg==?= wrote:

> >

> > I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

> > @2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4 GB

> > of RAM.

> > I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because it's

> > 32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

>

> You have cards which are using ram.

>

> --

> http://www.bootdisk.com/

>

>

>

[Guest John John (MVP)]

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Re: 4GB of RAM tunning in windows xp professional xp sp2 with 32bi

 

Once again, other than yanking PCI devices out of the box there is

*absolutely* *nothing* that you can do to access the unavailable RAM.

To access the RAM you will have to use a 64-bit operating system or one

of the 32-bit server versions that supports PAE, Windows XP 32-bit will

not be able to fully use the installed RAM, period. You are beating a

dead horse!

 

John

 

Yman wrote:

> If I buy a USB Flash Memory would it help me with the issue?

> Can I have more than 4 GB ?

> We need to use it for Developers machine that has VMware workstations with

> SharePoint installed.

>

> "Plato" wrote:

>

>

>>=?Utf-8?B?WW1hbg==?= wrote:

>>

>>>I 'm running windows XP SP2 on thinkcentre M55 with Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

>>>@2.33GHZ. I'm trying to tune the memory on windows xp sp2 so I can have 4 GB

>>>of RAM.

>>>I can see the 4GB of RAM in the Bios, but windows can't see it because it's

>>>32 bit. I found articles with Microsoft so you can tune the memory. I

>>

>>You have cards which are using ram.

>>

>>--

>>http://www.bootdisk.com/

>>

>>

>>