Anybody with 4GB of ram and Vista 32-bit try this?

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04-09-2007, 11:36 PM
Slappy3243

Anybody with 4GB of ram and Vista 32-bit try this?

I just installed Vista 32-bit (64-bit was too much of a pain) and 2GB of ram is just not enough for me when playing games like BF2 or Stalker. Anyway, I am just going to upgrade to 4GB since buying 2 512MB stick to go with my 2 1GB sticks already installed would be silly to me. At least I can reuse the memory later on if I just get another 2GB.

Anyway, after searching on the web I have come across this command:

1) Access cmd: Click on the Start Pearl > type cmd in the Search Bar > and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter (this allows you to run cmd in administrative mode)

2) Type BCDEdit /set PAE forceenable

Anybody try that? It supposedly lets Vista see all of the ram. I have my doubts but I can't test it until my memory gets here. So yeah, I was just wondering if anybody could try that and let me know. Thanks.
04-10-2007, 02:15 AM
LordVampyre

ah,,,, hummm... Im not brave enough to do such a command without knowing exactly where it came from and just what it does and how to undo it.. shoot, my luck Id try that and would blow up moscow or something...
04-10-2007, 02:26 AM
ImaNihilist

Even if it could see all the memory, it couldn't use it. You'll only be able to actually use around 3GB, maybe 3.5GB, and any given application will only be able to address 2GB.
04-10-2007, 07:26 AM
Steve R Jones

Windows Vista or Windows Server 2003 may report less memory than you expect
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929580/en-us
04-10-2007, 04:21 PM
Slappy3243

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve R Jones

Windows Vista or Windows Server 2003 may report less memory than you expect
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929580/en-us

Yes, I am well aware of this which is why I made the original post.
04-10-2007, 06:49 PM
DMan82

My guess is that performance might be degraded, but PAE (Physical Address Extension) is a valid method for a 32-bit OS to use more than the 4GB limit. You can read about it all over, including here at wikipedia.

I'd say if it really is a valid command, then you're in luck. It's possible it is unsupported and may not work right... Try it out.

-Douglas
04-10-2007, 08:33 PM
archaned

If you have the right board (which allows PCI routing you may be able to do it)
04-10-2007, 09:43 PM
Slappy3243

Quote:

Originally Posted by DMan82

My guess is that performance might be degraded, but PAE (Physical Address Extension) is a valid method for a 32-bit OS to use more than the 4GB limit. You can read about it all over, including here at wikipedia.

I'd say if it really is a valid command, then you're in luck. It's possible it is unsupported and may not work right... Try it out.

-Douglas

The memory is on the way but I will try it as soon as I install it. Thanks.
04-11-2007, 06:57 AM
Steve R Jones

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slappy3243

Yes, I am well aware of this which is why I made the original post.

LordVampyre asked for additional info;)
04-11-2007, 01:29 PM
Slappy3243

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve R Jones

LordVampyre asked for additional info;)

Sorry about that. I didn't mean to come off with an attitude. :)
04-11-2007, 01:45 PM
LordVampyre

all is well.... but have you tried that command yet??
04-11-2007, 04:04 PM
Slappy3243

Quote:

Originally Posted by LordVampyre

all is well.... but have you tried that command yet??

Not yet. The 2GB of memory is set to arrive tomorrow. :cool:
04-11-2007, 04:53 PM
dolphin

Quote:

Originally Posted by LordVampyre

ah,,,, hummm... Im not brave enough to do such a command without knowing exactly where it came from and just what it does and how to undo it.. shoot, my luck Id try that and would blow up moscow or something...

I saw that command on Guru3d.com a few days ago. However i don't know how to undo it or any side-effects it may cause.
04-12-2007, 08:35 PM
Slappy3243

Ok, I got my ram installed and 3581MB is showing just as I expected. However, I too am scared to run the command without knowing if I can reverse it or not. I am going to do some more research.
04-12-2007, 10:10 PM
Nightlord

Tried it on my XP box, but the BCDEdit command doesn't exist. I tried the other method which requires manually editing the Boot.INI file and making a registry edit. The system stopped loading. I do NOT recommend doing it.

On my Vista box, this didn't cause any lockups... but I also didn't notice any real improvement.
04-12-2007, 11:55 PM
Slappy3243

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nightlord

Tried it on my XP box, but the BCDEdit command doesn't exist. I tried the other method which requires manually editing the Boot.INI file and making a registry edit. The system stopped loading. I do NOT recommend doing it.

On my Vista box, this didn't cause any lockups... but I also didn't notice any real improvement.

After you did it, was the system (Vista) able to see all 4GB of ram?
04-14-2007, 09:41 PM
agello24

why would you run games on any version of vista that is out right now? first i think u should have waited for the service pack to come out.
04-14-2007, 10:00 PM
Slappy3243

Quote:

Originally Posted by agello24

why would you run games on any version of vista that is out right now? first i think u should have waited for the service pack to come out.

Because every game works just fine.
04-02-2008, 12:59 AM
KilluminatiStyle

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nightlord

Tried it on my XP box, but the BCDEdit command doesn't exist. I tried the other method which requires manually editing the Boot.INI file and making a registry edit. The system stopped loading. I do NOT recommend doing it.

On my Vista box, this didn't cause any lockups... but I also didn't notice any real improvement.

In order to enable PAE on an XP machine you must open EXPLORER (not internet explorer) and go to "Tools\Folder Options". Once there click on the "View" tab and scroll down just a bit until you see the option that says "Hide protected operating system files" and uncheck the box.

Once that is done navigate to your "C:\" and you should see a file called "boot.ini". Open that file with the text editor of your choice and you should see something like this..

Quote:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /noguiboot /bootlogo

To enable PAE you simply have to add the switch "/PAE" and reboot. The end result should look something like this....

Quote:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /noguiboot /bootlogo /pae

Enabling PAE on my system under both XP Pro and Vista Ultimate didn't change the fact that I could only see 3.5GB of my 4GB of RAM. As someone else mentioned there are a lot of variables that come into play here. Your processor must support PAE, the motherboard chipset must support it, the operating system, etc. Even if all your hardware supports PAE it's still a crapshoot at best.

One thing to note here is that after doing SP1 update on Vista, the system properties now reports 4GB of memory however my system monitor widget in the sidebar and Everest Ultimate Edition still only show 3.5GB. It looks like MS is trying to fool the end user into thinking that there system is using the full 4GB of memory, which would be just down right wrong.
06-04-2008, 03:16 PM
Arbiter

found this regarding Vista(SP1) reporting 4GB.

"Note Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) changed how components of the user interface (UI) report memory. For example, some components of the Windows Vista SP1 UI report when there are 4 GB or more of total physical memory installed on the computer.

For more information about how memory is reported in Windows Vista Service Pack 1, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
946003 Windows Vista Service Pack 1 will report 4 GB of system memory (RAM) on systems that have 4 GB of memory installed "
06-04-2008, 07:09 PM
kingzayd

i read about this.. i thought it was only implemented in vista? i think it allows more than 3.25GB to be used, but not by 1 application
06-04-2008, 09:52 PM
Squirrel Meat

Quote:

Originally Posted by KilluminatiStyle

It looks like MS is trying to fool the end user into thinking that there system is using the full 4GB of memory, which would be just down right wrong.

You know, I honestly think MS did this because there were to many people who dont what they are doing and dont know squat about computers that got more ram and it wasnt showing up and got all confused. I think this was simply a way of letting everyone know that there ram isnt messed up and it is there. Although we all know the real truthh ;)
06-05-2008, 02:03 AM
dr13zehn

Here is a good link I always like to post in threads like this.
In a nutshell: There are a few tricks to get around the 3GB barrier, and non of them really do much or work at all.

It could be worse than 3.5GB showing... My system only shows 2.2GB, heh. ;)
06-05-2008, 12:42 PM
Cyber

I have installed 4gb,yet sys only sees 3.25.
06-05-2008, 09:16 PM
Thermo

1) What do you guys need all of that ram for?
2) It is VistaME now..........or did I hear wrong

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