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View Full Version : So, if I install 4GB on XP.....


TheGreatSatan
05-09-2008, 02:09 PM
Will it only show 3GB or a little more? I know the OS will have access to the gigs not showing up. It is still worth installing, correct?
xRyokenx
05-09-2008, 02:11 PM
I have 4GBs and it only shows 3.5GB. I still think that's a great upgrade from 1GB.
Luke122
05-09-2008, 03:54 PM
Agreed.. go for it. In the future when you update OS, it'll see the full amount. Also, I wonder if you disable the virtual memory completely, if it'll see the full 4gb..?
Spawn-Inc
05-09-2008, 04:57 PM
Agreed.. go for it. In the future when you update OS, it'll see the full amount. Also, I wonder if you disable the virtual memory completely, if it'll see the full 4gb..?

i've heard that too but never tried it.


when i installed 4 sticks of 1gb each my computer only saw 2.75GB's. then i "upgraded" to 2x2gb ocz stuff which wasn't stable and i ended up returning it so when i went back to my 4 sticks it came up as 2.5gb now...
Indybird
05-09-2008, 05:18 PM
Ooh, I just tried turning the Virtual Memory off. It now shows my full 4GB of RAM!

Thanks,
Indybird
xRyokenx
05-09-2008, 05:27 PM
Ooh, I just tried turning the Virtual Memory off. It now shows my full 4GB of RAM!

Thanks,
Indybird

SWEET! I'll try the same.
TheGreatSatan
05-10-2008, 12:19 AM
How do you turn that off?


And is it bad to do that?
Indybird
05-10-2008, 12:58 AM
How do you turn that off?


And is it bad to do that?

You go to System>Advanced>Virtual Memory and turn it off on all drives. Make sure you click "Set" before you click OK. Its usually safe to do that when you have 4GB of RAM, but if you are doing an insanely RAM-intenstive program such as rendering huge pictures then it's probably safer to have Virtual Memory on. The only thing that could happen is that the computer will blue-screen, you will lose any files you have open, and you'll have to restart.

-Indybird
J-Roc
05-10-2008, 03:56 PM
As i believe it, windows allocates 4Gb maximum. So if you have 4Gb installed, start subtracting the ram from your peripherals. If your gfx card is 512mb, subtract that from 4Gb, X-fi cards have 64Mb so subtract that aswell, and so fourth.

I dont know if this is completely accurate but it seems to fit in place with the evidence.
Luke122
05-12-2008, 03:20 PM
J-Roc: as far as I know that only applies if the mobo is sharing system memory with those devices. I had a little mini-itx board once that would let you specify how much memory to dedicate for the onboard GPU. (16mb - 128mb)
Raz1r
05-31-2008, 11:23 PM
Enable PAE?