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☖ Forums → Discussion Forum → So i bought some RAM
So i bought some RAM
2008-03-20, 10:07 AM #1
and installed it and stuff, my BIOS reads the total now as 4 gigs, but XP tells me i only have 3.25gb of ram. whats up with that?
My girlfriend paid a lot of money for that tv; I want to watch ALL OF IT. - JM
2008-03-20, 10:10 AM #2
Oh no...
2008-03-20, 10:13 AM #3
Because a 32-bit operating system only has a 32-bit address space available to it - 4 GB - which is shared with DMA devices, PCI and the video aperture. x86 processors can support more than 4 GB of RAM (using PAE) but there are basically no BIOSes that support it.

The solution is to upgrade to a 64-bit operating system.
2008-03-20, 10:22 AM #4
Oh no?

and thanks joncy. now i just have to figure out what that means. (other than 32 -bit OSs dont support 4 gigs of ram.)
My girlfriend paid a lot of money for that tv; I want to watch ALL OF IT. - JM
2008-03-20, 10:47 AM #5
The last few times that question was asked, the thread inexplicably turned into a flame war.
2008-03-20, 11:41 AM #6
Basically to use ALL of the RAM you need Vista 64 bit.

..Is there an 64bit XP? I do not recall.
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2008-03-20, 12:01 PM #7
Theres a 64bit XP.


Why do you have or need so much ram?
2008-03-20, 12:33 PM #8
Just a warning though before you go out any buy a 64 bit OS, not all programs will work with the 64 bit system.
Things like Anti-Virus programs need to be specifically made into a 64 bit version for you to use them, etc. I'd recommend doing a lot of research on this before you actually commit to anything.
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2008-03-20, 1:48 PM #9
well i do a lot of photo editing, and it was on sale at newegg and i couldnt resist. slightly more than a penny per MB? how could i not buy it?

i just thought it was odd.

i wont be buying a 64 bit OS/processor though. its not economically feasible right now.
My girlfriend paid a lot of money for that tv; I want to watch ALL OF IT. - JM
2008-03-20, 1:51 PM #10
Originally posted by Rob:
Theres a 64bit XP.


Indeed there is.

I have it, and ran it for probably about 2 weeks untill I realized it's completely worthless to my needs because it wouldn't run the programs I needed.
"Nulla tenaci invia est via"
2008-03-20, 2:02 PM #11
Eh? Most 32-bit programs should work fine, just any legacy Windows 3.1 programs you still use won't... DOS based programs won't run either (DOSBox should work though) and also up to a few years ago some installers were still 16-bit... but those aren't in use anymore.

2008-03-20, 2:02 PM #12
There's always 64bit linux too... :ninja:

*runs*
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2008-03-20, 5:43 PM #13
Originally posted by The Mega-ZZTer:
Eh? Most 32-bit programs should work fine

Yes, generally, the ones that weren't coded by morons.
Bassoon, n. A brazen instrument into which a fool blows out his brains.
2008-03-22, 1:09 AM #14
I couldn't install the microsoft zune software on x86 that was the major killer for me
"Nulla tenaci invia est via"
2008-03-22, 1:18 AM #15
You cant install zune software on a normal 32 bit system?
what
2008-03-22, 1:20 AM #16
Originally posted by Emon:
Yes, generally, the ones that weren't coded by morons.


Even those ones. 64-bit OSes can force the processor into a 32-bit 'mode' and Win32 still has a 32-bit ABI so you don't even have the same thunking performance penalties you did going from Win3.1 to 95.

The only code that won't work is legacy 16-bit. I know some programs and installers still use some 16-bit code, but those don't count by definintion of the fact that they aren't 32-bit.
2008-03-22, 2:39 PM #17
Even those you could theoretically run inside a virtual machine, if they don't need to do anything in the registry (cause the VM registry would be altered, not the host, but you could easily get the installed files out).

You could even do it in DOSBox (I believe it now, or will soon, support running Windows 3.11 inside of it).

2008-03-22, 2:57 PM #18
Originally posted by Jon`C:
Even those ones. 64-bit OSes can force the processor into a 32-bit 'mode' and Win32 still has a 32-bit ABI so you don't even have the same thunking performance penalties you did going from Win3.1 to 95.

That's what I thought, but plenty of things still gave me trouble on Vista 64. Namely, Beyond Good & Evil wouldn't install because it uses some driver based copy protection. :rolleyes:
Bassoon, n. A brazen instrument into which a fool blows out his brains.
2008-03-22, 5:19 PM #19
I'm having the same problem right now, and am actually considering a dualboot so I can video edit in x64 vista, and do normal stuff in x32. I know I'm going to appreciate the boost in speed with render times, but is it really worth hanging on to x32? I don't really know how many programs wouldn't work.
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2008-03-22, 5:52 PM #20
What boost in render times? 64-bit isn't necessarily faster than 32.
Bassoon, n. A brazen instrument into which a fool blows out his brains.
2008-03-22, 5:52 PM #21
God I've been waiting for this debate to start again.

It's always epic.
2008-03-22, 6:54 PM #22
The boost is in the ram, not the OS. I have 4 gigs in my machine but can only use 3.25
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2008-03-22, 7:25 PM #23
I've been using XP x64 bit since the day it came out. (Back when I thought 64bit had something to do with color depth. :p) It was a bit of a pain at first, but it's really not a problem. Every program and driver from every company works just fine expect for things from Microsoft.

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