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

[Slappy3243]

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.

[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...

[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.

[Steve R Jones]

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

[Slappy3243]

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.

[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

[archaned]

If you have the right board (which allows PCI routing you may be able to do it)

[Slappy3243]

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.

[Steve R Jones]

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

LordVampyre asked for additional info

[Slappy3243]

LordVampyre asked for additional info

Sorry about that. I didn't mean to come off with an attitude.

[LordVampyre]

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

[Slappy3243]

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

Not yet. The 2GB of memory is set to arrive tomorrow.

[dolphin]

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.

[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.

[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.