Thinkpads Forum

I noticed that Vista SP1 32bit version can recognize 4GB memory, but I am not sure if the system is actually using all of them?

No, it can't. 32bit OS can only use 3.3GB of RAM maximum.
The topic has been discussed before. Next time you have a question, search is your friend

Vista SP1 has been tweaked to show that you have 4GB installed, but the amount that it can use is still limited by the 32-bit system, so you will be using the same amount as you did before with the same limitations. The exception to this is if you somehow manage to enable PAE which will allow you to use more than 4GB, but this is normally on servers, and not so much on consumer products.

You know what the point is with all that stuff Vista SP1 32bit showing 4GB of RAM? On the one hand Vista should of course be able to report everything installed in your system in a correct way, on the other hand this new "feature" of Vista is being extensively misused by different online notebook sellers advertising their products with Vista 32bit and fully utilizable 4GB of RAM. The 4 GB RAM under Vista 32bit has recently caused many discussions in different forums.

Just my 0.02$

Marin

As to PAE I think one can enable it using EasyBCD, at least it´s available under Advanced Options.

Cheers

Marin