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xp pro using 4g memory

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by gghartman, 2009/01/15.

  1. 2009/01/15
    gghartman

    gghartman Inactive Thread Starter

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    getting conflicting information when looking on the web about this so turning to the experts here at bbs.

    have a new dell vostro 220 with the e8600 chip, xp pro. i ordered machine with 4g memory but system only reflecting 3g. is this just the way xp pro is or can this be changed to reflect the full 4g ???
     
    gghartman,
    #1
  2. 2009/01/15
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    All 32 bit versions of XP and Vista have a 4 Gb limit on memory - generally showing 3.3 - 3.5 Gb - the remainder is being used by Windows. If you have a 250 Mb graphics card with onboard memory this counts towards the 4 Gb limit.

    In your case I guess the computer has an intergated graphics chip which uses a portion of the installed RAM which will be deducted from that shown in System Properties.
     
    PeteC,
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  4. 2009/01/15
    gghartman

    gghartman Inactive Thread Starter

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    hi petec

    was hoping youd be the one to reply. nope machine has a dedicated 256mb graphics ATI Radeon HD 3450. i checked both modules and they are 2g modules.
     
    gghartman,
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  5. 2009/01/15
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    PeteC,
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  6. 2009/01/15
    gghartman

    gghartman Inactive Thread Starter

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    petec

    i saw the second link before and thats one reason why i posted this because some on a google search said xp cannot use 4g and then the second link said it could.

    i checked the first link and pae is set "turn on dep for essential windows programs and services only.

    memory validity checks with no errors. so why the heck wont it reflect 4g in properties on my computer ???
     
    gghartman,
    #5
  7. 2009/01/16
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    I will look deeper into this, but not until the weekend - out now until Sat afternoon.

    In the meantime what value is reported for RAM in System Properties? 3.x ?
     
    PeteC,
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  8. 2009/01/16
    gghartman

    gghartman Inactive Thread Starter

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    petec

    system properties through my computer reflects 3g
     
    gghartman,
    #7
  9. 2009/01/16
    Steve R Jones

    Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

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    In the for what it's worth catagory - MS fixed Vista via SP1 update to show all four gigs. HOWEVER, Vista 32 bit still doesn't use all of it.

    If your sys properties is showing 3 gigs...then 3 gigs it is;)
     
    Steve R Jones,
    #8
  10. 2009/01/16
    gghartman

    gghartman Inactive Thread Starter

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    steve

    this is xp pro sp3. so is this a limitation in xp like some sites tell me when i googled this ??? some sites said it was a m.s. programming thing when they originally developed xp because they never thought there would be the need for that much memory.

    unfortunately some of my business clients are still reluctant to go to vista otherwise i would have put vista business on this machine. so i guess im just stuck with the 3g ???
     
    gghartman,
    #9
  11. 2009/01/16
    Arie

    Arie Administrator Administrator Staff

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    Even if it would show 4GB, it is still just a display issue. It still doesn't use > 3-3.5GB on any 32-bit OS.
     
    Arie,
    #10
  12. 2009/01/16
    gghartman

    gghartman Inactive Thread Starter

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    arie

    was afraid of that. so how about 32bit vista ???

    because there arent many things out there that utilize 64bit properly is it worth the extra monies to do xp 64 or vista 64 ???

    your m.s. certified big time so why did m.s. not think of this back in 01 when xp came out ??? did they just ***** up or what ???
     
    gghartman,
    #11
  13. 2009/01/16
    Steve R Jones

    Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

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    ALL 32bit OS's have the limitation....

    Currently, the only reason to go to 64 bit is the ability to use way more then 4gigs of ram...Going to 64 bit requires a FRESH format/install.
     
    Steve R Jones,
    #12
  14. 2009/01/16
    WhitPhil

    WhitPhil Inactive

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    WhitPhil,
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