Maximum RAM Limit for Windows XP Home

[PG]

Can some one who knows tell me what the actual maximum
amount of RAM that Windows XP (Home) will allow. I had 1
Gb (2 x 512Mb) and wanted to add a second (Dual Channel) 1
Gb and the system refuses to boot. They are both 400 Mhz
identical pairs. There appears to be a major conflict as
Windows XP wound't even run when I took the additional ram
out and I ended up having to reinstall and start from
scratch (Not a happy camper). Now it works fine with 1 Gb.
The mother board (ASUS P4P800 Deluxe) says it can do it,
is it a limitation of the operating system or a conflict
with another driver (ATI notes problems installing the new
Catalyst driver when running 1 Gb + in XP). I heard the is
switch you can add to the boot.ini file - is it this
simple?

[Shenan Stanley]

PG wrote:
> Can some one who knows tell me what the actual maximum
> amount of RAM that Windows XP (Home) will allow. I had 1
> Gb (2 x 512Mb) and wanted to add a second (Dual Channel) 1
> Gb and the system refuses to boot. They are both 400 Mhz
> identical pairs. There appears to be a major conflict as
> Windows XP wound't even run when I took the additional ram
> out and I ended up having to reinstall and start from
> scratch (Not a happy camper). Now it works fine with 1 Gb.
> The mother board (ASUS P4P800 Deluxe) says it can do it,
> is it a limitation of the operating system or a conflict
> with another driver (ATI notes problems installing the new
> Catalyst driver when running 1 Gb + in XP). I heard the is
> switch you can add to the boot.ini file - is it this
> simple?

Windows XP Professional/Home will support up to 4GB of RAM.
Your motherboard, however, may not. Also, there is the possibility of bad
RAM, bad slots, etc.

I hope you use it though - otherwise (although it is cheap) it is a waste of
money. Video editing, heavy programming, CAD, 3d rendering, etc are the
only things I have EVER seen go above 1GB usage. =)

This information is gleamed from:
XP Home: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=306824
XP Pro: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=286463
(under 1.1 Hardware Requirements)

--
<- Shenan ->
--

[PG]

>-----Original Message-----
>PG wrote:
>> Can some one who knows tell me what the actual maximum
>> amount of RAM that Windows XP (Home) will allow. I had 1
>> Gb (2 x 512Mb) and wanted to add a second (Dual
Channel) 1
>> Gb and the system refuses to boot. They are both 400 Mhz
>> identical pairs. There appears to be a major conflict as
>> Windows XP wound't even run when I took the additional
ram
>> out and I ended up having to reinstall and start from
>> scratch (Not a happy camper). Now it works fine with 1
Gb.
>> The mother board (ASUS P4P800 Deluxe) says it can do it,
>> is it a limitation of the operating system or a conflict
>> with another driver (ATI notes problems installing the
new
>> Catalyst driver when running 1 Gb + in XP). I heard the
is
>> switch you can add to the boot.ini file - is it this
>> simple?
>
>Windows XP Professional/Home will support up to 4GB of
RAM.
>Your motherboard, however, may not. Also, there is the
possibility of bad
>RAM, bad slots, etc.
>
>I hope you use it though - otherwise (although it is
cheap) it is a waste of
>money. Video editing, heavy programming, CAD, 3d
rendering, etc are the
>only things I have EVER seen go above 1GB usage. =)
>
>This information is gleamed from:
>XP Home: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=306824
>XP Pro: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=286463
>(under 1.1 Hardware Requirements)
>
>--
><- Shenan ->
>--
>
>Thanks .....must be the motherboard slot or the ram
>.
>

[Ian Smythe]

PG wrote:
> Can some one who knows tell me what the actual maximum
> amount of RAM that Windows XP (Home) will allow. I had 1
> Gb (2 x 512Mb) and wanted to add a second (Dual Channel) 1
> Gb and the system refuses to boot. They are both 400 Mhz
> identical pairs. There appears to be a major conflict as
> Windows XP wound't even run when I took the additional ram
> out and I ended up having to reinstall and start from
> scratch (Not a happy camper). Now it works fine with 1 Gb.
> The mother board (ASUS P4P800 Deluxe) says it can do it,
> is it a limitation of the operating system or a conflict
> with another driver (ATI notes problems installing the new
> Catalyst driver when running 1 Gb + in XP). I heard the is
> switch you can add to the boot.ini file - is it this
> simple?

I have an ASUS P4P8X mobo and I just added two 256 PC2700 to make it
1 gig. All 4 are Kingston. I now have dual channel. If you have four
slots then 1 and 3 have to have the same size and 2 and 4 the same
size and probably manufacturer. You cannot mix manufacturer for dual
channel. My manual says what chips you can use and Kingston was one of
them. Raed your manual! :-)

[Jack]

4GB, I think.........your welcome.....


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[grahamilton]

You were not clear on this but are you trying to install 2 x 512MB and a
1024MB in a dual channel configuration, you can't do that. If your wanting
2GB you will need 2 x1024MB, one for each channel. You must of had 2 x
512MB, of which theres was one in each channel, and then tried to install
the 1024MB.
You can buy memory suited for this situation normally called 'Dual Channel
Memory Kit' where you get 2 matching memory sticks. You better have a good
read of the manual, and search the internet on how dual channel memory
works.




"PG" > wrote in message
...
> Can some one who knows tell me what the actual maximum
> amount of RAM that Windows XP (Home) will allow. I had 1
> Gb (2 x 512Mb) and wanted to add a second (Dual Channel) 1
> Gb and the system refuses to boot. They are both 400 Mhz
> identical pairs. There appears to be a major conflict as
> Windows XP wound't even run when I took the additional ram
> out and I ended up having to reinstall and start from
> scratch (Not a happy camper). Now it works fine with 1 Gb.
> The mother board (ASUS P4P800 Deluxe) says it can do it,
> is it a limitation of the operating system or a conflict
> with another driver (ATI notes problems installing the new
> Catalyst driver when running 1 Gb + in XP). I heard the is
> switch you can add to the boot.ini file - is it this
> simple?

[Alex Nichol]

PG wrote:

>Can some one who knows tell me what the actual maximum
>amount of RAM that Windows XP (Home) will allow. I had 1
>Gb (2 x 512Mb) and wanted to add a second (Dual Channel) 1
>Gb and the system refuses to boot. They are both 400 Mhz
>identical pairs. There appears to be a major conflict as
>Windows XP wound't even run when I took the additional ram
>out and I ended up having to reinstall and start from
>scratch (Not a happy camper). Now it works fine with 1 Gb.
>The mother board (ASUS P4P800 Deluxe) says it can do it,
>is it a limitation of the operating system or a conflict
>with another driver (ATI notes problems installing the new
>Catalyst driver when running 1 Gb + in XP). I heard the is
>switch you can add to the boot.ini file - is it this
>simple?

The switch is for when you go beyond 3GB - there should be no problem
with 2GB provided that the modules *are* in fact properly matched.

--
Alex Nichol MS MVP (Windows Technologies)
Bournemouth, U.K. (remove the D8 bit)