Using my extra RAM for other things in an old, updated 32-bit XPPro. SP3.

Hello.

A couple days ago, I upgraded my old 32-bit Windows XP Pro. SP3 (IE6)
system/computer/system to an Intel i7 with 6 GB of RAM. I know that
32-bit operating systems/OS' cannot see all that RAM due to old software
designs' limitations. Currently, my working Windows only sees about 2.5
GB of physical RAM (shouldn't it be 3 GB though?).

I heard that I can use the unused memory for other things like a RAM
drive for swap files, %temp%, etc. How do I do that?

And yes, I will get 64-bit W7 or another OS one day. At this time, I am
not going to do that since XP Pro. SP3 does fine for what I need.

Thank you in advance.
--
"She's got ants in her pants." --unknown
/\___/\ Phil./Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
( ) If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

On 12/22/2010 07:39 PM, Ant wrote:
Hello.

A couple days ago, I upgraded my old 32-bit Windows XP Pro. SP3 (IE6)
system/computer/system to an Intel i7 with 6 GB of RAM. I know that
32-bit operating systems/OS' cannot see all that RAM due to old software
designs' limitations. Currently, my working Windows only sees about 2.5
GB of physical RAM (shouldn't it be 3 GB though?).

..5 is being used for video.


I heard that I can use the unused memory for other things like a RAM
drive for swap files, %temp%, etc. How do I do that?

You heard wrong.


And yes, I will get 64-bit W7 or another OS one day. At this time, I am
not going to do that since XP Pro. SP3 does fine for what I need.

Thank you in advance.

If you want to use all your RAM, you will need a 64 bit OS, be it XP, Win 7.

--
Alias

HoopleHead: Stop crossposting to so many irrelevant newsgroups. Especially
ones that have been dropped.
"Ant" wrote in message
m...
Hello.

A couple days ago, I upgraded my old 32-bit Windows XP Pro. SP3 (IE6)
system/computer/system to an Intel i7 with 6 GB of RAM. I know that 32-bit
operating systems/OS' cannot see all that RAM due to old software designs'
limitations. Currently, my working Windows only sees about 2.5 GB of
physical RAM (shouldn't it be 3 GB though?).

I heard that I can use the unused memory for other things like a RAM drive
for swap files, %temp%, etc. How do I do that?

And yes, I will get 64-bit W7 or another OS one day. At this time, I am
not going to do that since XP Pro. SP3 does fine for what I need.

Thank you in advance.
--
"She's got ants in her pants." --unknown
/\___/\ Phil./Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
( ) If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

On 12/22/2010 10:48 AM PT, Alias typed:

A couple days ago, I upgraded my old 32-bit Windows XP Pro. SP3 (IE6)
system/computer/system to an Intel i7 with 6 GB of RAM. I know that
32-bit operating systems/OS' cannot see all that RAM due to old software
designs' limitations. Currently, my working Windows only sees about 2.5
GB of physical RAM (shouldn't it be 3 GB though?).

.5 is being used for video.

Oh, that's normal? I thought video cards have and use their own VRAM
without using the motherboard's installed RAM. I have an two years old
ATI Radeon 4870 video with 512 MB of VRAM with the latest ATI/AMD
Catalyst driver (v10.12). So if I have a video card with 1 GB of RAM,
then my RAM goes down to 2 GB? I wonder what it is like for those with 2
GB of RAM with 1 GB of VRAM. Ouch, 1 GB free?


I heard that I can use the unused memory for other things like a RAM
drive for swap files, %temp%, etc. How do I do that?

You heard wrong.

Hmm, that sucks. SO basically, I am wasting my extra unused RAM.
Crap. RAM was on sale for cheap for a hundred bucks a several weeks ago.


And yes, I will get 64-bit W7 or another OS one day. At this time, I am
not going to do that since XP Pro. SP3 does fine for what I need.

If you want to use all your RAM, you will need a 64 bit OS, be it XP,
Win 7.

Or Vista, Linux, or whatever 64-bit OS.
--
"What do ants and bees use for cattle?" --Tom
/\___/\ Phil./Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
( ) If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

Unm, they're all related (hardware, general, improving for performance,
etc.)! How am I supposed to know what your NSP (I am using outsourced
GigaNews) carries. So basically, you want me to do invidivual newsgroup
post separately instead? I can do that.


On 12/22/2010 11:01 AM PT, Vote for Pedro typed:

HoopleHead: Stop crossposting to so many irrelevant newsgroups. Especially
ones that have been dropped.
wrote in message
m...
Hello.

A couple days ago, I upgraded my old 32-bit Windows XP Pro. SP3 (IE6)
system/computer/system to an Intel i7 with 6 GB of RAM. I know that 32-bit
operating systems/OS' cannot see all that RAM due to old software designs'
limitations. Currently, my working Windows only sees about 2.5 GB of
physical RAM (shouldn't it be 3 GB though?).

I heard that I can use the unused memory for other things like a RAM drive
for swap files, %temp%, etc. How do I do that?

And yes, I will get 64-bit W7 or another OS one day. At this time, I am
not going to do that since XP Pro. SP3 does fine for what I need.

Thank you in advance.
--
"As a thinker and planner, the ant is the equal of any savage race of
men; as a self-educated specialist in several arts she is the superior
of any savage race of men; and in one or two high mental qualities she
is above the reach of any man..." --Mark Twain
/\___/\ Phil./Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
( ) If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

On 12/22/2010 08:04 PM, Ant wrote:
Unm, they're all related (hardware, general, improving for performance,
etc.)! How am I supposed to know what your NSP (I am using outsourced
GigaNews) carries. So basically, you want me to do invidivual newsgroup
post separately instead? I can do that.

Ignore him and don't vote for him. Crosspost all you want.



On 12/22/2010 11:01 AM PT, Vote for Pedro typed:

HoopleHead: Stop crossposting to so many irrelevant newsgroups.
Especially
ones that have been dropped.
wrote in message
m...
Hello.

A couple days ago, I upgraded my old 32-bit Windows XP Pro. SP3 (IE6)
system/computer/system to an Intel i7 with 6 GB of RAM. I know that
32-bit
operating systems/OS' cannot see all that RAM due to old software
designs'
limitations. Currently, my working Windows only sees about 2.5 GB of
physical RAM (shouldn't it be 3 GB though?).

I heard that I can use the unused memory for other things like a RAM
drive
for swap files, %temp%, etc. How do I do that?

And yes, I will get 64-bit W7 or another OS one day. At this time, I am
not going to do that since XP Pro. SP3 does fine for what I need.

Thank you in advance.


--
Alias

On 12/22/2010 08:01 PM, Ant wrote:
On 12/22/2010 10:48 AM PT, Alias typed:

A couple days ago, I upgraded my old 32-bit Windows XP Pro. SP3 (IE6)
system/computer/system to an Intel i7 with 6 GB of RAM. I know that
32-bit operating systems/OS' cannot see all that RAM due to old software
designs' limitations. Currently, my working Windows only sees about 2.5
GB of physical RAM (shouldn't it be 3 GB though?).

.5 is being used for video.

Oh, that's normal? I thought video cards have and use their own VRAM
without using the motherboard's installed RAM. I have an two years old
ATI Radeon 4870 video with 512 MB of VRAM with the latest ATI/AMD
Catalyst driver (v10.12). So if I have a video card with 1 GB of RAM,
then my RAM goes down to 2 GB? I wonder what it is like for those with 2
GB of RAM with 1 GB of VRAM. Ouch, 1 GB free?

I have a video card with 1GB of dedicated memory and 4 gigs of RAM.
Linux shows 4 gigs of RAM as does XP 32 bit and Win 7 64 bit (I have
three internal hard drives, each with a different OS). I have no idea
why a fairly new card like that would deduct a half a gig of your RAM.
It shouldn't :-)



I heard that I can use the unused memory for other things like a RAM
drive for swap files, %temp%, etc. How do I do that?

You heard wrong.

Hmm, that sucks. SO basically, I am wasting my extra unused RAM.
Crap. RAM was on sale for cheap for a hundred bucks a several weeks ago.

Not really because if you go for 64 bit, it will be available.


And yes, I will get 64-bit W7 or another OS one day. At this time, I am
not going to do that since XP Pro. SP3 does fine for what I need.

If you want to use all your RAM, you will need a 64 bit OS, be it XP,
Win 7.

Or Vista, Linux, or whatever 64-bit OS.

Exactly. That said, if you don't do any video editing, you probably have
more RAM available than you need.

--
Alias

On 12/22/2010 11:48 AM PT, Alias typed:

A couple days ago, I upgraded my old 32-bit Windows XP Pro. SP3 (IE6)
system/computer/system to an Intel i7 with 6 GB of RAM. I know that
32-bit operating systems/OS' cannot see all that RAM due to old
software designs' limitations. Currently, my working Windows only sees about 2.5
GB of physical RAM (shouldn't it be 3 GB though?).

.5 is being used for video.

Oh, that's normal? I thought video cards have and use their own VRAM
without using the motherboard's installed RAM. I have an two years old
ATI Radeon 4870 video with 512 MB of VRAM with the latest ATI/AMD
Catalyst driver (v10.12). So if I have a video card with 1 GB of RAM,
then my RAM goes down to 2 GB? I wonder what it is like for those with 2
GB of RAM with 1 GB of VRAM. Ouch, 1 GB free?

I have a video card with 1GB of dedicated memory and 4 gigs of RAM.
Linux shows 4 gigs of RAM as does XP 32 bit and Win 7 64 bit (I have
three internal hard drives, each with a different OS). I have no idea
why a fairly new card like that would deduct a half a gig of your RAM.
It shouldn't :-)

Interesting.


I heard that I can use the unused memory for other things like a RAM
drive for swap files, %temp%, etc. How do I do that?

You heard wrong.

Hmm, that sucks. SO basically, I am wasting my extra unused RAM.
Crap. RAM was on sale for cheap for a hundred bucks a several weeks ago.

Not really because if you go for 64 bit, it will be available.

I meant with 32-bit XP. I don't know when I will go 64-bit. Like I said,
32-bit XP Pro. SP3 does fine for me. I might not even switch until MS
and other companies drop XP SP3 support in 2014. We still have over
three years left. I think by then, I will have an even faster box with
more RAM since I tend to upgrade every two or more years. Haha.


And yes, I will get 64-bit W7 or another OS one day. At this time, I am
not going to do that since XP Pro. SP3 does fine for what I need.

If you want to use all your RAM, you will need a 64 bit OS, be it XP,
Win 7.

Or Vista, Linux, or whatever 64-bit OS.

Exactly. That said, if you don't do any video editing, you probably have
more RAM available than you need.

I do media center stuff with two HDTV tuner cards, play Flash and
computer games, etc. but that's nothing memory hungry I guess. Damn, I
was hoping to use the extra unused RAM for caches or something temporary
storage for speeds like SSD.
--
"Your parents were killed by ants?" --Idle Hands movie
/\___/\ Phil./Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
( ) If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

On 12/22/2010 08:54 PM, Ant wrote:
On 12/22/2010 11:48 AM PT, Alias typed:

A couple days ago, I upgraded my old 32-bit Windows XP Pro. SP3 (IE6)
system/computer/system to an Intel i7 with 6 GB of RAM. I know that
32-bit operating systems/OS' cannot see all that RAM due to old
software designs' limitations. Currently, my working Windows only
sees about 2.5
GB of physical RAM (shouldn't it be 3 GB though?).

.5 is being used for video.

Oh, that's normal? I thought video cards have and use their own VRAM
without using the motherboard's installed RAM. I have an two years old
ATI Radeon 4870 video with 512 MB of VRAM with the latest ATI/AMD
Catalyst driver (v10.12). So if I have a video card with 1 GB of RAM,
then my RAM goes down to 2 GB? I wonder what it is like for those with 2
GB of RAM with 1 GB of VRAM. Ouch, 1 GB free?

I have a video card with 1GB of dedicated memory and 4 gigs of RAM.
Linux shows 4 gigs of RAM as does XP 32 bit and Win 7 64 bit (I have
three internal hard drives, each with a different OS). I have no idea
why a fairly new card like that would deduct a half a gig of your RAM.
It shouldn't :-)

Interesting.


I heard that I can use the unused memory for other things like a RAM
drive for swap files, %temp%, etc. How do I do that?

You heard wrong.

Hmm, that sucks. SO basically, I am wasting my extra unused RAM.
Crap. RAM was on sale for cheap for a hundred bucks a several weeks ago.

Not really because if you go for 64 bit, it will be available.

I meant with 32-bit XP. I don't know when I will go 64-bit. Like I said,
32-bit XP Pro. SP3 does fine for me. I might not even switch until MS
and other companies drop XP SP3 support in 2014. We still have over
three years left. I think by then, I will have an even faster box with
more RAM since I tend to upgrade every two or more years. Haha.


And yes, I will get 64-bit W7 or another OS one day. At this time,
I am
not going to do that since XP Pro. SP3 does fine for what I need.

If you want to use all your RAM, you will need a 64 bit OS, be it XP,
Win 7.

Or Vista, Linux, or whatever 64-bit OS.

Exactly. That said, if you don't do any video editing, you probably have
more RAM available than you need.

I do media center stuff with two HDTV tuner cards, play Flash and
computer games, etc. but that's nothing memory hungry I guess. Damn, I
was hoping to use the extra unused RAM for caches or something temporary
storage for speeds like SSD.

So try out Linux Mint, 64 Bit. It's free and you can dual boot with XP.
It's pretty similar to XP but you will find it will make all your RAM
available, your Internet will be faster and no viruses or malware. Check
it out at http://www.linuxmint.com/ If you do it, download the DVD so
that Flash, Java, codecs, fonts, etc. get installed along with the OS.
When you start the install, it will detect XP and ask you if you want to
install Linux Mint side-by-side. It's pretty simple after that.

--
Alias

On 12/22/2010 12:39 PM PT, Alias typed:

So try out Linux Mint, 64 Bit. It's free and you can dual boot with XP.
It's pretty similar to XP but you will find it will make all your RAM
available, your Internet will be faster and no viruses or malware. Check
it out at http://www.linuxmint.com/ If you do it, download the DVD so
that Flash, Java, codecs, fonts, etc. get installed along with the OS.
When you start the install, it will detect XP and ask you if you want to
install Linux Mint side-by-side. It's pretty simple after that.

I am actually running an old 32-bit Debian on my older machine with its
2 GB of RAM. So if I ever wanted to go to another one, I would install
its 64-bit.

I don't really like having multi-boots since things get ugly and messy
when things go wrong (e.g., HDD problems, bugs, whatever). I used to do
that with Red Hat Linux 7.x and Windows 9x though. Things get crazy when
there are problems. I want to keep things simple now due to lack of free
time. I have free time during my Christmas break so I am taking
advantage of the upgrades and tweaks before things go nuts again! Boy,
my computers were super dusty after almost two years!

Thanks though.
--
"Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw
from us. We need hours of aimless wandering or spates of time sitting on
park benches, observing the mysterious world of ants and the canopy of
treetops." --Maya Angelou (b. 1928) American writer and entertainer
/\___/\ Phil./Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
( ) If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

Alias wrote:

So try out Linux Mint, 64 Bit. It's free and you can dual boot with XP.
It's pretty similar to XP but you will find it will make all your RAM
available, your Internet will be faster and no viruses or malware. Check
it out at http://www.linuxmint.com/ If you do it, download the DVD so
that Flash, Java, codecs, fonts, etc. get installed along with the OS.
When you start the install, it will detect XP and ask you if you want to
install Linux Mint side-by-side. It's pretty simple after that.

After multiple mentions (by you?) I went to that site to check it out. And I
see that Mint is based on Ubuntu. What is the difference, then? Here
http://www.linuxmint.com/about.php
they don't say anything that is not the same as Ubuntu. What is your reason to
like it better? (I already have Ubuntu installed in a VirtualBox.)

--
You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone.
--
Whoever bans a book, shall be banished. Whoever burns a book, shall burn.

On Wed, 22 Dec 2010 10:39:01 -0800, Ant wrote:

A couple days ago, I upgraded my old 32-bit Windows XP Pro. SP3 (IE6)
system/computer/system to an Intel i7 with 6 GB of RAM. I know that
32-bit operating systems/OS' cannot see all that RAM due to old software
designs' limitations. Currently, my working Windows only sees about 2.5
GB of physical RAM (shouldn't it be 3 GB though?).


No, the amount it will see varies, depending on your hardware.

All 32-bit client versions of Windows (not just XP/Vista/7) have a 4GB
address space (64-bit versions can use much more). That's the
theoretical upper limit beyond which you can not go.

But you can't use the entire address space. Even though you have a
4GB address space, you can only use *around* 3.1GB of RAM. That's
because some of that space is used by hardware and is not available to
the operating system and applications. The amount you can
use varies, depending on what hardware you have installed, but can
range from as little as 2GB to as much as 3.5GB. It's usually around
3.1GB.

Note that the hardware is using the address *space*, not the actual
RAM itself. If you have a greater amount of RAM, the rest of the RAM
goes unused because there is no address space to map it to.



I heard that I can use the unused memory for other things like a RAM
drive for swap files, %temp%, etc. How do I do that?


Sorry, you heard wrong.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On 12/22/2010 1:35 PM PT, Ken Blake, MVP typed:

A couple days ago, I upgraded my old 32-bit Windows XP Pro. SP3 (IE6)
system/computer/system to an Intel i7 with 6 GB of RAM. I know that
32-bit operating systems/OS' cannot see all that RAM due to old software
designs' limitations. Currently, my working Windows only sees about 2.5
GB of physical RAM (shouldn't it be 3 GB though?).

No, the amount it will see varies, depending on your hardware.

All 32-bit client versions of Windows (not just XP/Vista/7) have a 4GB
address space (64-bit versions can use much more). That's the
theoretical upper limit beyond which you can not go.

But you can't use the entire address space. Even though you have a
4GB address space, you can only use *around* 3.1GB of RAM. That's
because some of that space is used by hardware and is not available to
the operating system and applications. The amount you can
use varies, depending on what hardware you have installed, but can
range from as little as 2GB to as much as 3.5GB. It's usually around
3.1GB.

Note that the hardware is using the address *space*, not the actual
RAM itself. If you have a greater amount of RAM, the rest of the RAM
goes unused because there is no address space to map it to.

Dang. So I can't use it at all for anything.


I heard that I can use the unused memory for other things like a RAM
drive for swap files, %temp%, etc. How do I do that?

Sorry, you heard wrong.

Bummer.
--
"What I fear most from the stars is not aliens for they have
intelligence, but I fear social creatures like ants, that can overrun
humans, that feel no emotion, and see us as an easy prey source." --unknown
/\___/\ Phil./Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
( ) If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

On 12/22/2010 09:44 PM, Ant wrote:
On 12/22/2010 12:39 PM PT, Alias typed:

So try out Linux Mint, 64 Bit. It's free and you can dual boot with XP.
It's pretty similar to XP but you will find it will make all your RAM
available, your Internet will be faster and no viruses or malware. Check
it out at http://www.linuxmint.com/ If you do it, download the DVD so
that Flash, Java, codecs, fonts, etc. get installed along with the OS.
When you start the install, it will detect XP and ask you if you want to
install Linux Mint side-by-side. It's pretty simple after that.

I am actually running an old 32-bit Debian on my older machine with its
2 GB of RAM. So if I ever wanted to go to another one, I would install
its 64-bit.

I don't really like having multi-boots since things get ugly and messy
when things go wrong (e.g., HDD problems, bugs, whatever). I used to do
that with Red Hat Linux 7.x and Windows 9x though. Things get crazy when
there are problems. I want to keep things simple now due to lack of free
time. I have free time during my Christmas break so I am taking
advantage of the upgrades and tweaks before things go nuts again! Boy,
my computers were super dusty after almost two years!

Thanks though.

I put all OSes on separate hard drives and use the BIOS (not grub) to
choose to which OS I want to boot into.

--
Alias

On 12/22/2010 10:15 PM, Patok wrote:
Alias wrote:

So try out Linux Mint, 64 Bit. It's free and you can dual boot with
XP. It's pretty similar to XP but you will find it will make all your
RAM available, your Internet will be faster and no viruses or malware.
Check it out at http://www.linuxmint.com/ If you do it, download the
DVD so that Flash, Java, codecs, fonts, etc. get installed along with
the OS. When you start the install, it will detect XP and ask you if
you want to install Linux Mint side-by-side. It's pretty simple after
that.

After multiple mentions (by you?) I went to that site to check it out.
And I see that Mint is based on Ubuntu. What is the difference, then? Here
http://www.linuxmint.com/about.php
they don't say anything that is not the same as Ubuntu. What is your
reason to like it better? (I already have Ubuntu installed in a
VirtualBox.)


If you download the DVD, you get Flash, Java, Fonts and many programs
installed at the same time as you install Mint. Mint installs T-Bird
instead of Evolution. I find it to be a polished Ubuntu. I also like the
default desktop lay out better. For people coming from Windows, it's
easier to manage the learning curve.

--
Alias