XP Pro and 4GB ram - where's my memory?
Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 12:21 am
Hi -
This is a tough one (for me anyway). The party line is that Windows XP Pro cannot recognize more than 3GB. I know for a fact that many of my peers can usually use up to 3.5, even 3.7. The difference (between that and 4GB) is the sum of the 32-bit address space (4GB) that the BIOS and or the OS sets aside for other things, like the 256MB of RAM on the Fire GL card.
The typical prescription when dealing with a situation like this is to go into the BIOS and change the memory settings (like mirroring, etc), PCI resources, etc. to try and get some of that address space back.
Unfortunately, all of the advice I have gotten (including from the consultant I hired to help me with this!) boils down to what I can do with the BIOS. None of the options that people have suggested EXIST IN THE THINKPAD BIOS. The folks at IBM support in Atlanta have not really tried at all to help me. They just spew the party line.
Does anyone know how I can make some changes in resource allocation to get back some of my physical RAM (the BIOS sees 4GB physical ram, as does the System Info).
My clock is ticking, as I have only a few days to send back that extra (expensive) 2GB stick to Crucial if I can't make use of more than 3GB.
Thanks for your help!
Best regards,
Eric
P.S. I'm already using the /3gb switch, and a LAA application, to get the most of the 3GB that Windows does report.
This is a tough one (for me anyway). The party line is that Windows XP Pro cannot recognize more than 3GB. I know for a fact that many of my peers can usually use up to 3.5, even 3.7. The difference (between that and 4GB) is the sum of the 32-bit address space (4GB) that the BIOS and or the OS sets aside for other things, like the 256MB of RAM on the Fire GL card.
The typical prescription when dealing with a situation like this is to go into the BIOS and change the memory settings (like mirroring, etc), PCI resources, etc. to try and get some of that address space back.
Unfortunately, all of the advice I have gotten (including from the consultant I hired to help me with this!) boils down to what I can do with the BIOS. None of the options that people have suggested EXIST IN THE THINKPAD BIOS. The folks at IBM support in Atlanta have not really tried at all to help me. They just spew the party line.
Does anyone know how I can make some changes in resource allocation to get back some of my physical RAM (the BIOS sees 4GB physical ram, as does the System Info).
My clock is ticking, as I have only a few days to send back that extra (expensive) 2GB stick to Crucial if I can't make use of more than 3GB.
Thanks for your help!
Best regards,
Eric
P.S. I'm already using the /3gb switch, and a LAA application, to get the most of the 3GB that Windows does report.