Upgraded my laptop RAM to 4GB
- Thread starter Tony321
- Start date
I'm going to assume you're not running a 64-bit edition of XP. 32-bit operating systems cannot address more than 3 gigs of ram, so that left over GB is not being used.I upgraded my laptop Ram from 2GB to 4GB, which is the max for my laptop. I am running XP pro and it only recognizes 3GB. Is the last Gig being used at all? If not, should I just upgrade from 2GB to 3GB?
Actually you can run 4GB of RAM on a 32bit OS. You need to enable Physical Address Extension(PAE). Here you go:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_Address_Extension
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_Address_Extension
32-bit OS sees up to 4GB. Total RAM you can see is 4GB - video card ram, sound card, etc... that's the total addressing space it has.
You should see an improvement though, but if you want to use more of the ram, upgrade to 64bit if your processor is 64bit..
You should see an improvement though, but if you want to use more of the ram, upgrade to 64bit if your processor is 64bit..
Before people buy new ram they should go to windows task manager and then into performance and see how much ram they typically need.
I'm using 32 bit xp and it's extremely rare for the amount of physical ram being used to go above about 600 meg. So if you have one gig of ram and a 32 bit xp system you are likely going to buy ram that never gets used.
I'm using 32 bit xp and it's extremely rare for the amount of physical ram being used to go above about 600 meg. So if you have one gig of ram and a 32 bit xp system you are likely going to buy ram that never gets used.
When I open my System Properties, it says:Actually you can run 4GB of RAM on a 32bit OS. You need to enable Physical Address Extension(PAE). Here you go:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_Address_Extension
HP
Genuine Intel CPU
T2400 @ 1.83GHz
1.83 GHz, 3..GB of RAM
Physical Address Extension.
So does that mean the CPU is automatically using the last GB?
A few things,
First, memory address is a function of your O/S and hardware. Since virtually all modern hardware can run 64bit, your O/S is the determining factor. In terms of 0's and 1's (bits), 32bits means the system address 2^32 = 4,294,967,296 possible addresses or 4GB of ram.
OK, now that is purely theoretical and your O/S will never allow any single program to monopolize all that memory. A typical O/S will set aside memory for peripherals and other background tasks and leave less than the total amount for APPLICATIONS. This is the 3-3.5GB that you normally see available in a 32Bit OS like Windows XP.
Additionally, the O/S further limits this by restricting each application to a maximum of 2GB of memory. This means that you may have 4GB max, but if you're only running one app it will not benefit any further on its own. (multi-tasking aside)
Lastly, how you set your paging file (virtual memory) plays a key role on how much physical memory your computer actually uses. Just because you have more memory doesn't mean the O/S will use it. If you have 512MB your O/S will use accordingly, and if you have 4GB it will use accordingly, but often not as much as you expect. O/S balances the physical and virtual memory to try and achieve the best performance but not exactly to your liking. I find 32Bit XP in particularly is less aggressive with memory usage as compared to Win7 and 64Bit apps, probably because it was desinged during the days when 256MB total system memory was the norm.
I run my netbook with 32Bit Windows with 2GB Ram and ZERO virtual memory (no paging file). I just have to recognize that I could run into problems with applications that require large memory footprints and must take caution not to open too many programs. However, having a paging file, even small one, slows down the netbook considerably since the solid state HD is very slow with write speed.
Some people say my O/S doesn't use all my memory, while others claim their O/S are memory hogs. Well, it depends.
First, memory address is a function of your O/S and hardware. Since virtually all modern hardware can run 64bit, your O/S is the determining factor. In terms of 0's and 1's (bits), 32bits means the system address 2^32 = 4,294,967,296 possible addresses or 4GB of ram.
OK, now that is purely theoretical and your O/S will never allow any single program to monopolize all that memory. A typical O/S will set aside memory for peripherals and other background tasks and leave less than the total amount for APPLICATIONS. This is the 3-3.5GB that you normally see available in a 32Bit OS like Windows XP.
Additionally, the O/S further limits this by restricting each application to a maximum of 2GB of memory. This means that you may have 4GB max, but if you're only running one app it will not benefit any further on its own. (multi-tasking aside)
Lastly, how you set your paging file (virtual memory) plays a key role on how much physical memory your computer actually uses. Just because you have more memory doesn't mean the O/S will use it. If you have 512MB your O/S will use accordingly, and if you have 4GB it will use accordingly, but often not as much as you expect. O/S balances the physical and virtual memory to try and achieve the best performance but not exactly to your liking. I find 32Bit XP in particularly is less aggressive with memory usage as compared to Win7 and 64Bit apps, probably because it was desinged during the days when 256MB total system memory was the norm.
I run my netbook with 32Bit Windows with 2GB Ram and ZERO virtual memory (no paging file). I just have to recognize that I could run into problems with applications that require large memory footprints and must take caution not to open too many programs. However, having a paging file, even small one, slows down the netbook considerably since the solid state HD is very slow with write speed.
Some people say my O/S doesn't use all my memory, while others claim their O/S are memory hogs. Well, it depends.
Thanks, I need the max RAM for multi-tasking.Before people buy new ram they should go to windows task manager and then into performance and see how much ram they typically need.
I'm using 32 bit xp and it's extremely rare for the amount of physical ram being used to go above about 600 meg. So if you have one gig of ram and a 32 bit xp system you are likely going to buy ram that never gets used.
Not sure if PAE was enable in my boot.ini file. Looks like thats what I'll have to do according to this article.When I open my System Properties, it says:
HP
Genuine Intel CPU
T2400 @ 1.83GHz
1.83 GHz, 3..GB of RAM
Physical Address Extension.
So does that mean the CPU is automatically using the last GB?
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platform/server/PAE/PAEdrv.mspx
32 bit Windows XP will use about 3.2 GB of 4 GB ram.
If you put in 3 GB of ram Windows XP will use only 2.8 GB of that ram.
Ram is cheap and worth putting in 4 GB for the amount you will gain over 2.8 GB if you only put in 3 GB.
Vista 32 bit does a little better and will use 3.52 GB of 4 GB of ram.
If you put in 3 GB of ram Windows XP will use only 2.8 GB of that ram.
Ram is cheap and worth putting in 4 GB for the amount you will gain over 2.8 GB if you only put in 3 GB.
Vista 32 bit does a little better and will use 3.52 GB of 4 GB of ram.
