Available RAM

I am running Viata Home Premium 32 BIT service pack 2. I have 4GB RAM
installed but I am told Vista can only manage 3GB RAM. Have I wasted money on
the extra 1GB RAM. Can anyone advise me please?

colin.t wrote:
> I am running Viata Home Premium 32 BIT service pack 2. I have 4GB RAM
> installed but I am told Vista can only manage 3GB RAM. Have I wasted money on
> the extra 1GB RAM. Can anyone advise me please?

Don't worry about it. There are plenty of important things to worry
about and RAM in this case just isn't one of them. With the BIG PIG
Vista, the more RAM, the better. Buy another 4GB.

Alias

32 bit Vista will use about 3.2 GB (varies a bit) RAM. It's often most
economical and sometimes necessary to use modules that come to 4GB to max
out (depending on number of RAM slots etc.). I wouldn't consider it all
that wasteful.
--

"colin.t" <> wrote in message
news:C984AA7B-A34D-474C-A84A-...
>I am running Viata Home Premium 32 BIT service pack 2. I have 4GB RAM
> installed but I am told Vista can only manage 3GB RAM. Have I wasted money
> on
> the extra 1GB RAM. Can anyone advise me please?

No, you didn't. The system will use most of the RAM. AFAICT, if you have two
cores and the RAM is set up right, then Windows will use 2GB per core etc.
etc.

In other words, don't sweat it.

Saucy


"colin.t" <> wrote in message
news:C984AA7B-A34D-474C-A84A-...
> I am running Viata Home Premium 32 BIT service pack 2. I have 4GB RAM
> installed but I am told Vista can only manage 3GB RAM. Have I wasted money
> on
> the extra 1GB RAM. Can anyone advise me please?

"colin.t" <> wrote in message
news:C984AA7B-A34D-474C-A84A-...
> I am running Viata Home Premium 32 BIT service pack 2. I have 4GB RAM
> installed but I am told Vista can only manage 3GB RAM. Have I wasted money
> on
> the extra 1GB RAM. Can anyone advise me please?

Basically yes, there isn't enough address space on a 32-bit system to
address all your hardware and RAM.

Long answer:
http://www.dasmirnov.net/blog/2008/0...ng-more-than-4

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
Microsoft MVP Windows Desktop Experience.
http://www.dasmirnov.net/

"Saucy" <> wrote in message
news:...
> No, you didn't. The system will use most of the RAM. AFAICT, if you have
> two cores and the RAM is set up right, then Windows will use 2GB per core
> etc. etc.
>
> In other words, don't sweat it.

RAM outside the address space cannot be addressed/used on 32-bit Windows.

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
Microsoft MVP Windows Desktop Experience.
http://www.dasmirnov.net/

Here are some useful details how the address space is used: 'Reader
Question: Maximum Memory in 32-bit Windows Vista - Windows Vista help'
(http://www.vistaclues.com/reader-que...windows-vista/)


--
whs

"Alias" <> wrote in message
news:h3ks87$421$...
> colin.t wrote:
>> I am running Viata Home Premium 32 BIT service pack 2. I have 4GB RAM
>> installed but I am told Vista can only manage 3GB RAM. Have I wasted
>> money on the extra 1GB RAM. Can anyone advise me please?
>
> Don't worry about it. There are plenty of important things to worry about
> and RAM in this case just isn't one of them. With the BIG PIG Vista, the
> more RAM, the better. Buy another 4GB.
>
> Alias

Which will of course be of no use to him as he clearly stated that he was
using the "32 BIT" version of Windows.
Your poor advice and/or ignorance clearly knows no bounds.
--
Mike Brannigan

"Saucy" <> wrote in message
news:...
> No, you didn't. The system will use most of the RAM. AFAICT, if you have
> two cores and the RAM is set up right, then Windows will use 2GB per core
> etc. etc.
>
> In other words, don't sweat it.
>
> Saucy
>

RAM is not divided on a per core basis, set up of RAM (I assume you main
dual or single channel mode etc) is not related to the number of processor
cores a system has.
--
Mike Brannigan

"Saucy" <> wrote in message
news:...
> No, you didn't. The system will use most of the RAM. AFAICT, if you have
> two cores and the RAM is set up right, then Windows will use 2GB per core
> etc. etc.
>
> In other words, don't sweat it.
>
> Saucy
>
>
> "colin.t" <> wrote in message
> news:C984AA7B-A34D-474C-A84A-...
>> I am running Viata Home Premium 32 BIT service pack 2. I have 4GB RAM
>> installed but I am told Vista can only manage 3GB RAM. Have I wasted
>> money on
>> the extra 1GB RAM. Can anyone advise me please?
>

colin.t <> wrote:

>I am running Viata Home Premium 32 BIT service pack 2. I have 4GB RAM
>installed but I am told Vista can only manage 3GB RAM. Have I wasted money on
>the extra 1GB RAM. Can anyone advise me please?

Yes, basically. 32-bit Vista (and all other MS 32-bit client systems)
can use about 3.2 - 3.5GB, depending on several things. See
http://members.cox.net/slatteryt/RAM.html for a discussion of the
issue.

--
Tim Slattery
MS MVP(Shell/User)

http://members.cox.net/slatteryt