32 bit XP & 4GB RAM

Break_Da · Jan 31, 2011

I have XP Home with two sticks of two gigabyte but only three show, why? Is the last one gigabyte being seen, not shown, and used or allocated? why or why not?

lastly, is there a reg tweak or other form to have the last gigabyte allocated if it isn't being used?

Break_Da · Jan 31, 2011

Break_Da said: ↑

I have XP Home with two sticks of two gigabyte but only three show, why? Is the last one gigabyte being seen, not shown, and used or allocated? why or why not?

lastly, is there a reg tweak or other form to have the last gigabyte allocated if it isn't being used?
Click to expand...

In this article from Microsoft it is stating the ability with a /3GB switch in the boot.ini file to access more RAM that normal, can someone look into the reading a little further?

satrow · Jan 31, 2011

32-bit Client Effective Memory Limits

While 4GB is the licensed limit for 32-bit client SKUs, the effective limit is actually lower and dependent on the system's chipset and connected devices. The reason is that the physical address map includes not only RAM, but device memory as well, and x86 and x64 systems map all device memory below the 4GB address boundary to remain compatible with 32-bit operating systems that don't know how to handle addresses larger than 4GB.
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The consumption of memory addresses below 4GB can be drastic on high-end gaming systems with large video cards. For example, I purchased one from a boutique gaming rig company that came with 4GB of RAM and two 1GB video cards. I hadn't specified the OS version and assumed that they'd put 64-bit Vista on it, but it came with the 32-bit version and as a result only 2.2GB of the memory was accessible by Windows.
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Mark Russinovitch, Pushing the limits of windows: Physical memory.

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32 bit XP & 4GB RAM

Break_Da Sergeant

Break_Da Sergeant

satrow Major Geek Extraordinaire