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More then 3gb ram on a 32bit OS?

Last answer on Oct 27, 2009 12:12:42 am GMT Dariuas, on Sep 12, 2008 12:47:49 pm BST 
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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.

Configuration: Windows Vista
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1

starsailors.me, on Sep 12, 2008 3:31:29 pm BST
  • +3

Hey there,

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

   
Reply to starsailors.me

2

gavin, on Dec 6, 2008 3:26:49 am GMT
  • +2

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!

   
Reply to gavin

4

IRV, on Dec 17, 2008 11:38:58 pm GMT
  • +2

Gavin

I have a machine with the 32 also with Vista also..
Do you have to take out the 3GB and replace with two new 2GB of memory?

Irv

   
Reply to IRV

3

MOHAMMAD DAHER, on Dec 17, 2008 12:15:29 pm GMT
  • +3

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

   
Reply to MOHAMMAD DAHER

5

gisrael622, on Dec 19, 2008 1:52:53 am GMT
  • +15

As you all know serv. pack 1 for vista magically starts seeing 4 gigs of ram for the 32 bit system. This is just some junk that windows did to cool down all of the hot heads that would just be calmed by seeing 4 gigs on there system info (that is for there os). Ok first you need to go to start task manager (ctrl + alt + Delete) and from there performance. This is where you see that windows 32 bit still only recognizes only around 3. something gigs.... still.

   
Reply to gisrael622

17

Nuwan, on Jan 22, 2009 3:34:40 am GMT
  • +1

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????

   
Reply to Nuwan

19

someONEgood, on Jan 25, 2009 4:24:19 am GMT
  • +4

For everyone in this thread, I will explain this as simply as possible.
You have 4GB installed in your system.
Windows is "seemingly" only allowing you to use 3 to 3.5GB.
This is because Windows is RESERVING 500MB (.5 GB) to 1GB of your 4GB to BOOT from and run NECESSARY BACKGROUND SERVICES as well as your SYSTEM DEVICES (USB,etc).

Thus, only 3-3.5GB is accesible by Windows and it's applications.

   
Reply to someONEgood

20

Nuwan, on Jan 25, 2009 12:28:39 pm GMT

Now i have installed Vista service pack 1,
so, now Vista detect all my 4 gig or RAM,

   
Reply to Nuwan

22

john, on Feb 13, 2009 9:15:43 pm GMT
  • +7

It shows that it detects it, but it can't really address all of that 4 gigs, because Vista / XP or any other 32 bit OS can only address 4 gigs of TOTAL memory, and so when booting into the OS, it first addresses I/O devices with their own onboard memory like video cards and things like that first. That uses up some of the address space, then when Windows boots, it will address the rest of the 4 gigs that it can address, which usually leaves about .5 to .8 of a gig of the real RAM that the OS can NOT address. So as somebody else had stated before, when most retarded people would install Vista, people got mad or concerned that it could only show 3.2 - 3.5 gigs RAM, so they wrote a patch in SP1 to make Vista REPORT all 4 gigs, when really the OS can only address 3.2 - 3.5 gigs of it. Does this make sense?

The only 32 bit OS that can see all 4 gigs is 2003 server edition because it supports 36-bit PAE extensions. Both XP and all versions of Vista in 32bit can only address 4 gigs TOTAL (including the video card and all other I/O devices).

This is why, if you want to use all the RAM, you must either install Windows 2003 server, or do the RamDisk thing as was previously described HERE in a previous post

   
Reply to john

23

Nuwan, on Feb 14, 2009 4:35:32 am GMT

Yes that is true,

When I put 4 GB to my PC I had Vista without service pack 1.
And that time memory showed as 3.2 GB, and after I installed the SP1, it started to show whole 4 GB but I don't feel that performance increased.

So I think it shows but actually it’s not there.

   
Reply to Nuwan

59

hbhbhhk, on Apr 30, 2009 1:35:48 am BST

What are u talking about? i have 32 bit vista ,4 gb of memory + 1 gb video card.My TOTAL MEMORY is 3.25gb and available memory is 2.41gb at the moment....it means that the part that windows keeps for itself is 0.84gb(3.25-2.41)
But where is my 0.75 gb of memory then?(4.00-3.25)

   
Reply to hbhbhhk

65

ftfo, on Jul 29, 2009 1:18:54 pm BST

Silliest answer ever

   
Reply to ftfo

71

ali, on Aug 20, 2009 6:42:39 am BST

Hi..

hope you will be f9. the same problem i faced in windows vista bt with builten vga... then i go in bios and decrease the memroy share for vga.. then it will okay...
bt the windows vista share automatic to Graphics and you ram will decreas. if you want to know.
then just wirte in run dxdiag.
then select display.. you wil know that how much mb of ram share to vga....
i have find the solution for builten vga. not for unbuilten...
thank you..

   
Reply to ali

18

roisin, on Jan 22, 2009 7:56:44 am GMT
  • +1

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

   
Reply to roisin

24

Annie, on Feb 18, 2009 2:12:45 pm GMT
  • +2

!) my RAM is 478 MB my CPU is 2.4 Ghz Pentium I am operating a Windows 32 bit ultimate vista, can i download a 3G RAM to increase my PC's performance?

2) I upgraded my OS to vista ultimate 32 bit, however I noticed that the previous XP programs were not deleted and it still eating up my memory. I carefully deleted some of the old OS components however there is this one thing that is left undeleted, these are:

20090130_093328_Cotton_nba - NBA FILE
BOOTSEC.BAK

these are from the old XP file. My question is....can I delete this files it eats up 2.6 G space?

Thank you

   
Reply to Annie

26

JR, on Feb 24, 2009 1:37:06 pm GMT

OMG you should not be tampering with your pc, as you have probably already figured out. Coming to a discussion board and using terms in the context that YOU have indicates you are either kidding around, or you have no idea as to what is RAM, what is downloading, and what is upgrading. Vista will definitely be slow due to your specs, and due to the fact that its not a clean install, but an upgrade, (most may consider it a downgrade still).

BTW that .nba file is a nero backup file which may be worthless outside xp...
i would suggest you upgrade to XP fro the best possible user experience.

   
Reply to JR

31

Nuwan, on Mar 4, 2009 5:22:39 am GMT

Hi Annie,

first you have to make understand what is RAM,
so RAM is not a soft thing, it is a physical hardware part, so you can't download it from the internet and install.
what you have to do is buy a RAM card and plug it into your motherboard of the PC.
And before you going to buy, make sure that your mother board support up to 3 GB RAM and what kind of RAM slot it has, (at the moment there are 2 famous slots which DDR1 and DDR2)
if your mother board does not support up to 3 GB, then you have to buy a mother board too.

And then as i know, Vista do not give you the option for intall the OS if you don't have atleast 512 MB of RAM.
when you try to intall with RAM lower than that, vista says can't install.
so i don't know how did you install Vista ultimate on your PC with 478 MB ram. (maybe you have 512 RAM ans it's share little amount with shared VGA).

so my feel is, do not intall the vista without having atleast 1 GB of ram,
if so you will get very slow performances and you will not be able to run lot of 3rd party application software.
so in your case you better install XP back, with a clean install.

Hope this information will help you.

   
Reply to Nuwan

74

stiggel, on Sep 2, 2009 8:46:06 am BST

Wth? you cant download RAM its hardware:P silly billy

   
Reply to stiggel

27

vid32, on Feb 24, 2009 1:39:52 pm GMT

..yes u can`.. i run 6gb on V`ultimate 32bits (...)

   
Reply to vid32

28

Reaperz, on Feb 28, 2009 9:04:07 am GMT

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

   
Reply to Reaperz

29

bk, on Mar 4, 2009 4:21:16 am GMT

For information on why 32 bit operating systems don't see all of the 4Gb of RAM or more you may have installed read http://www.kingcomputer.com.au/blog/?p=241

   
Reply to bk

30

Nuwan, on Mar 4, 2009 5:04:47 am GMT

I had the almost same problem.

first i got a PC with config of,

2.2 duo core processor,
4 GB RAM,
256 on board VGA and
Vista Ultimate 32 bit

and my vista showed my ram as 3.5 GB

then I upgraded my VGA to nvidia 9500 GT 1 GB and after i intall that VGA card my vista start to show only 3.2 GB or RAM.
And then i installed the vista SP1 and now my vista show total 4 GB of RAM but performance same as when it shows 3.2

so what i'm thinking is vista SP1 only show 4 GB of ram, but it don't use total 4 GB RAM.
so 4 GB is cool if you are using 64 bit OS, if you use 32 bit, go for 3 GB so it won't waste your money i guess.

   
Reply to Nuwan

42

Canolli, on Mar 19, 2009 3:00:48 am GMT

The 2.8GB reported is really about 3GB with some lost overhead for wsome IO device. The other 1GB is your dual 512MB video cards.

Remember that the 4GB limit in a 32bit OS is the memory MAP, not the physical RAM.

As has been stated correctly a couple of times in this thread, the map includes all of the device memory and then includes your physical RAM ... up to 4GB total.

   
Reply to Canolli

43

TC, on Mar 26, 2009 7:42:55 am GMT
  • +1

Read message 22...

if your vista sees only 2.8-2.9GB, it's beacause your system adresses 4GB of memory, starting by the memory installed on various devices you use. Your dual vid cards have a good 1GB memory, and that one is adressed before the system memory (otherwise, you'd have no display) just that brings down to 3GB the total amount of memory your windows can see.

It's not just windows, it's a 32bit limitation, and those OS who do see more simply don't use 32bit adressing

   
Reply to TC

44

Nuwan, on Mar 26, 2009 7:55:55 am GMT

Yes,
This matter not only with Windows Vista, This matter comes with all 32 bit OS,

Please see this link for more details : http://support.microsoft.com/kb/294418

hope this will help you all guys!

   
Reply to Nuwan

32

Droopy, on Mar 4, 2009 8:41:21 pm GMT

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

   
Reply to Droopy

40

GrammarZazi, on Mar 16, 2009 9:38:21 pm GMT

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

Are you sure you aren't referring about yourself with that comment?

   
Reply to GrammarZazi

33

Droopy, on Mar 4, 2009 8:42:48 pm GMT

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

   
Reply to Droopy

34

Jay, on Mar 9, 2009 11:53:20 pm GMT
  • +2

A 32 bit operating system can only ever use a total 4gigs of memory, addressable memory . But you have to minus the memory used for things like a graphics cards and other smaller things, whats left over is used as the system memory, what you see in device manager. so if you install 4 giggs of ram and a 512 graphics card you will only have 3.5 gigs of system memory (4096-512), so that other 512 of ram cannot be addressed by the operating system, simply put it cant see more than 4 gig. so if you want more available system ram 64 bit is the way, up to 16 exbibytes!

   
Reply to Jay

77

anonymous, on Oct 6, 2009 7:26:15 pm BST

So, why does Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition support 128GB?

   
Reply to anonymous

35

anonymous, on Mar 10, 2009 9:37:04 pm GMT

Kind sir, please check your own grammar before criticizing other people

   
Reply to anonymous

55

Numbnuts, on Apr 19, 2009 2:40:45 am BST

Hey Mr English Major! Before you jump on others ability to write, you might want to look up the difference between 'there' and 'their'.

   
Reply to Numbnuts

36

alep, on Mar 11, 2009 2:25:45 pm GMT

Yea.. check ur 'GRAMMER' first! L for LOSER!

   
Reply to alep

37

hahahahaha, on Mar 11, 2009 3:38:33 pm GMT

"grammer"? gah...

   
Reply to hahahahaha

38

Jon, on Mar 13, 2009 5:55:46 pm GMT
  • +4

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

   
Reply to Jon

45

Tru, on Mar 30, 2009 10:09:24 pm BST
  • +2

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

   
Reply to Tru

46

Nuwan, on Mar 31, 2009 4:40:51 am BST
  • +2

Of cource Tru,
It is not an issue with your CPU,
If you are using any 32 bit OS, it won't detect all 4 GB, only 3 GB or 3.2 or like that.
so do not worry about your processor. If you really need to get your all 4 GB of RAM, try by installing 64 bit OS,
64 bit OS can address to huge abount of RAM.

Hope this will help you,
happy computing...

   
Reply to Nuwan

47

Tru, on Mar 31, 2009 10:13:11 pm BST

Thanks Nuwan

i got another question.....not entirely related....but somewhat...i want an operating system that will detect all 4gb of my ram....so i've narrowed my choice down to VISTA ULTIMATE or XP 64 PRO

which one do you guys think is faster and more effiecient...my processor would be the Duo core e7400.

im likely to use the computer mainly for music production...can you guys help me pick out the more suitable Operating system of the two?

   
Reply to Tru

49

Nuwan, on Apr 2, 2009 6:57:56 am BST

No doubt tru,
I prefer Vista Ultimate, I’m using it too but I use 32 bit. So vista is the latest OS from Microsoft for now and they release support and updates more often for Vista than XP. And if you going to work with music production, Vista Service Pack 1 shipped with DirectX 10 so better for entertaining and Vista has great hardware support.
So after all I prefer Vista Ultimate, But you must make your choice.
hope this will help you,
Have fun!

   
Reply to Nuwan

48

el_ayoun, on Apr 2, 2009 5:29:35 am BST

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?

   
Reply to el_ayoun

50

bernie, on Apr 2, 2009 7:18:15 pm BST

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.

   
Reply to bernie

51

Nuwan, on Apr 2, 2009 11:25:33 pm BST

As my experience, you can remove 1 stick from a slot and no need to place 2 x 512 again.
just remove one RAM stick from a RAM slot. it will be fine. so you can work with 3 GB or RAM
and aslo it's okay to leave it like as it is now too.
it won't harm or show down your PC by leaving all 4 RAM sticks on the board.

   
Reply to Nuwan

52

dogdirt2000, on Apr 9, 2009 6:46:35 am BST

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!

   
Reply to dogdirt2000

53

Nuwan, on Apr 9, 2009 8:36:42 am BST

I had an experience something same as yours, which is,
first i got a pc with 4 GB RAM and onboard 256 VGA,
and while i work with onboard VGA, my vista shows 3.2 as RAM.
and then I intalled a nvidia 9500 GT 1 GB VGA and then my vista start to show only 3 GB of RAM.
and then i was thinking what the heck is this happend and then i installed vista service pack 1.
voila, now my vista shows whole 4 GB of my RAM but performaces hasn't changed.(but games faster because of VGA)
that because vista only show 4 GB but 32 bit OS not address to whole 4 GB ram.

so try installing vista service pack 1 and see.

Good luck!

   
Reply to Nuwan

56

dogdirt2000, on Apr 19, 2009 12:10:10 pm BST

Hi,

Thanks for trying to help, but I think my scenario is different.

I'm not referring to whether Vista detects all 4gb of Ram, because I know it does. I am reffering to where it says "Total Physical Memory" in the System Information viewer, or where it says "Memory" on the "System" tab in dxdiag and "Physical Memory (MB) : Total" in task manager.

In all these locations it used to say I had around 3.1-3.2gb of useable memory available, which would make sense because there is not enough hardware present on the my laptop to consume the entire 800-ish mb reserved for the OS and take me below the fixed 3.1-3.2gb limit enforced by Vista. It was only after I had my laptop back from an RMA, that this changed to 2557/2558mb in all these locations. I only had a new 8800m GTX put in to replace the original 'dead' 8800m GTX. So, there's no new gpu in - just the same one as before.

Strange :S

   
Reply to dogdirt2000

57

Nuwan, on Apr 19, 2009 12:21:28 pm BST

No matter what kind of hardware you have, and if you have 4 GB physical memory, (let's say 2 GB x 2 RAM cards)
vista only refer to 3 - 3.2 GB max,
but still you have 4 GB of physical memory.
hit Ctrl+Alt+Delete and see in the performance tab and memory section, for how much memory OS refer to.

   
Reply to Nuwan

58

dogdirt2000, on Apr 20, 2009 8:37:13 pm BST
  • +1

I know that - I know all about the 32-bit addressing capabilities with any 32-bit OS, and I think I've already made it clear that I know Vista reserves 900mb (and allows MMIO for any hardware with memory to use this reserved space) leaving only 3.12gb usable memory.

My laptop used to show me having 3.12gb useable memory (I expected this due to what I've said above and in prior posts). My problem is that I had to send it back on an RMA due to a faulty 8800m gtx 512mb gpu, but when received it back with a replacement 8800m gtx 512mb gpu, it is now showing I have only 2557/2558mb usable instead of the expected 3.12gb I had before the RMA.

As nothing has changed within my laptop apart from removing one 512mb gpu for another 512mb gpu, there is no reason to have lost just over 600mb usable memory. I know for a fact that there isn't enough hardware in my laptop to use up all of the reserved address space provided with Vista, let alone an additional 600-ish mb on top of that.

   
Reply to dogdirt2000

75

arbacus, on Sep 15, 2009 11:46:16 pm BST

I have a very very similar problem I use SLI configuration 2 Nvidia 8600 gts 256mb with 4 gigs of ram it should show up at least 2.9-3.2 gigs or something but i am only getting 2557-2558 i think this must be some glitch or something

   
Reply to arbacus

54

Bperez, on Apr 16, 2009 5:59:33 am BST
  • +1

I just got a new computer, its a dell precision t3500 64 bit, with a xeon w3570 quadcore, 3.20 ghz 8 mb l3, 6.4 gt/s turbo,24GB, 1066MHz, DDR3 sdram, 1.5GB NVIDIA quadro fx 4600 video card, and 4 terabites,(4 harddrives at 1 tb at 7200 rpms with 16 mb of databurst cache with sata 3.0 gb controller chipset, now that is a fast desktop in my opinion, i bought it as a business computer but i only use it as a home computer, but it was damn expensive, i got it for 14,000 give or take

   
Reply to Bperez

60

mgates, on May 4, 2009 5:05:17 am BST
  • +2

Yeah bperez, your crazy for spending that much on that computer you could have built that for probably half that cost

   
Reply to mgates

61

Cayden Broodlore, on May 13, 2009 1:49:07 pm BST

Considering the fact that where I live (Belgium) DDR3 ram is a lot more expensive then DDR2 I still do think u got ripped off. I got a basic system that I payed 20 euros to to upgrade. :p and its got a bit less then ur specs.

   
Reply to Cayden Broodlore

66

Diehard, on Jul 30, 2009 1:14:07 am BST

Whats funny is that PC will probably cost around $7000-8000 in 8-12 months.

What I wanna know is... whats the max ram/CPU % you've managed to get that thing to?

You must be doing some SERIOUS AutoCAD work, or some major movie company must pay you to render their 3d animations.

All well... We live in a world of wastefulness.. what should I expect.


My PC Specs:
Core 2 Duo 3.0ghz (Overclocked to 3.6ghz)
4 gigs of 1033mhz DDR2
256mb nvidia Geforce 9800 GT. (Also overclocked)

These upgrades cost me $400 canadian. $14000 for a computer? *COUGH* wow..
Best part is.. I work with Photoshop and 3dstudio max alot, and I've YET to max my Cpu/Ram...


Also, to all the people who have a 1 gig video card, (or two 512mb). The only thing you need THAT much video memory for is AutoCAD. Games cannot make use of that much video memory. You are better off getting a 256mb or 512mb that has a very fast Core/Memory Speed.

   
Reply to Diehard

67

Nuwan, on Jul 30, 2009 3:33:01 am BST

I accept all except 1 thing,

for gaming can't say a limit, if you wanna get more realistic gaming experience,
you got to have monster pc, actually I have 1 GB video card and for some games, like GTA 4, is not enough to push to maximum quality,

of course core and ram is more important too...

   
Reply to Nuwan

78

seperlinky, on Oct 9, 2009 6:42:06 am BST

Actually you should be able to run, just Micorosft does not license you to do so

http://www.geoffchappell.com/viewer.htm?doc=notes/windows/li­cense/memory.htm

   
Reply to seperlinky
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