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

.5 is being used for video.

Post by Ant
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.

Post by Ant
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

Ant

2010-12-22 19:01:18 UTC

.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?

Post by Ant
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.

Post by Ant
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.

Alias

2010-12-22 19:48:56 UTC

.5 is being used for video.

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 :-)

Post by Ant
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.

Post by Ant
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

Ant

2010-12-22 19:54:25 UTC

.5 is being used for video.

Interesting.

Post by Ant
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. :)

Post by Ant
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.

Alias

2010-12-22 20:39:49 UTC

.5 is being used for video.

Interesting.

Post by Ant
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.

Post by Ant
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.

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

Ant

2010-12-22 20:44:26 UTC

Post by Alias
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

2010-12-23 00:00:04 UTC

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

Ant

2010-12-23 00:26:38 UTC

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

Ah, that's a good idea. How did you install OS without touching the
other drive? Did you disconnect the other drive?

--
"None preaches better than the ant, and she says nothing." --Ben Franklin
/\___/\ 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/was listening to a song on this computer: Barbarellas - Body Rock
(rip)

Patok

2010-12-22 21:15:19 UTC

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.

Alias

2010-12-23 00:07:39 UTC

Post by Alias
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

Patok

2010-12-23 00:31:33 UTC

Post by Patok
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.)

I see. Thanks.

--
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.

Vote for Pedro

2010-12-22 19:01:10 UTC

HoopleHead: Stop crossposting to so many irrelevant newsgroups. Especially
ones that have been dropped.

Post by Ant
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
/ /\ /\ \ 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.

Ant

2010-12-22 19:04:39 UTC

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.

Post by Vote for Pedro
HoopleHead: Stop crossposting to so many irrelevant newsgroups. Especially
ones that have been dropped.

--
"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.

Alias

2010-12-22 19:39:25 UTC

Post by Ant
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.

Post by Vote for Pedro
HoopleHead: Stop crossposting to so many irrelevant newsgroups. Especially
ones that have been dropped.

--
Alias

Ken Blake, MVP

2010-12-22 21:35:52 UTC

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.

Post by Ant
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

Ant

2010-12-22 23:10:51 UTC

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. :(

Post by Ant
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.

2010-12-24 18:28:24 UTC

Post by Ken Blake, MVP
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. :(

You could make a lamp out of it. Or a planter.

Post by Ant
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. :(

Ant

2010-12-24 19:23:47 UTC

Post by mm

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

You could make a lamp out of it. Or a planter.

Hahah. No thanks! Only if it dies and I can't RMA it. I still want to
use it in the future. :P

--
"In a battle between elephants, the ants get squashed." --Thailand
/\___/\ 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.

Yousuf Khan

2010-12-25 05:36:37 UTC

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

Why not upgrade to Windows 7 64-bit? What is it that you have that can't
run on it?

Yousuf Khan

Ant

2010-12-25 11:30:57 UTC

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

Why not upgrade to Windows 7 64-bit? What is it that you have that can't
run on it?

I used it at work, and didn't see anything important. I use old stuff
and don't need the fancy stuff. Old stuff like PowerVCR II for my old
analog TV tuner card, ASUS TV Tuner Card 880 NTSC (cx23880), etc. I also
did not want to reinstall/find new ones if unsupported in W7,
reconfigure, etc. Since XP SP3 is still supported, I will just wait a
few more years. ;)
--
"We have to break with what must be broken with once and for all... and
we have to take the suffering upon ourselves... Freedom and power--power
above all. Power over all the tumbling vermin and over all the
ant-hill!" --Fedor Dostoevsky
/\___/\ 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.

Ken Blake, MVP

2010-12-25 15:36:54 UTC

On Sat, 25 Dec 2010 00:36:37 -0500, Yousuf Khan

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

Why not upgrade to Windows 7 64-bit? What is it that you have that can't
run on it?

Several points here:

1. An upgrade from 32-bit Windows to 64-bit Windows is not possible.
He would have to do a clean installation of 64-bit Windows to get
there.

2. He couldn't even upgrade to 32-bit Windows 7. An upgrade from XP to
Windows 7 is not possible, and again, he would have to do a clean
installation.

3. He's presently seeing 2.5GB of his 6GB. It depends on what
applications he runs, but it would be very rare for anyone running XP
with 2.5GB to see any improvement by having more RAM available.

4. It's similarly unlikely that he would see any improvement in
performance by running Windows 7 with 6GB over Windows XP with 2.5GB.
There are, in my view, several good reasons to go to Windows 7, but
that's not one of them.

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

Ant

2010-12-25 16:59:20 UTC

Post by Yousuf Khan
Why not upgrade to Windows 7 64-bit? What is it that you have that can't
run on it?

1. An upgrade from 32-bit Windows to 64-bit Windows is not possible.
He would have to do a clean installation of 64-bit Windows to get
there.
2. He couldn't even upgrade to 32-bit Windows 7. An upgrade from XP to
Windows 7 is not possible, and again, he would have to do a clean
installation.

Yeah. Even if I could do an OS upgrade, it would be too messy and ugly.
Clean, from scratch, is better.

Post by Ken Blake, MVP
3. He's presently seeing 2.5GB of his 6GB. It depends on what
applications he runs, but it would be very rare for anyone running XP
with 2.5GB to see any improvement by having more RAM available.

I just wished I could have my 512 MB back to have 3 GB. Dang hardwares
(ATI Radeon 4870 videoc card?)!

Post by Ken Blake, MVP
4. It's similarly unlikely that he would see any improvement in
performance by running Windows 7 with 6GB over Windows XP with 2.5GB.
There are, in my view, several good reasons to go to Windows 7, but
that's not one of them.

Yeah, I will just wait until I am forced. I am happy with it. Again, I
bought 6 GB because it was cheap and on sale. I didn't know the unused
RAM could not be used for other stuff like RAM drive/disk.

I will just keep the RAM for future OS'. You never know. My old XP might
commit suicide to force me to install an 64-bit OS! I only back up my
personal datas anyways. Other stuff, I don't care. :D

--
"... Ooh, we haven't done that in a long time. I love picnics. I'll
bring my ant jar." --The Berenstain Bears (unknown episode)
/\___/\ 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.

Yousuf Khan

2010-12-26 05:34:22 UTC

Post by Yousuf Khan
Why not upgrade to Windows 7 64-bit? What is it that you have that can't
run on it?

Yeah. Even if I could do an OS upgrade, it would be too messy and ugly.
Clean, from scratch, is better.

Well, that's your only choice when going from XP to 7, so your wish is
fulfilled.

I just wished I could have my 512 MB back to have 3 GB. Dang hardwares
(ATI Radeon 4870 videoc card?)!

XP's handling of newer aspects of PCs is braindead, not just the extra
RAM that's now available, but also things such as IRQs. XP seems to
think it's stuck still living in a world of AT-style 16 IRQ's, in a
modern world of 1000's of available ACPI-style IRQ's. As a result far
too many IRQ's get shared between totally unrelated hardware under XP.
It becomes a nightmare pinpointing hardware errors when it happens.

Windows Vista and 7 are much closer to the way Linux handles IRQs now.
Distributes them out amongst 16,000+ IRQ ports, and only shares them if
they are really part of the same peripheral.

Yeah, I will just wait until I am forced. I am happy with it. Again, I
bought 6 GB because it was cheap and on sale. I didn't know the unused
RAM could not be used for other stuff like RAM drive/disk.
I will just keep the RAM for future OS'. You never know. My old XP might
commit suicide to force me to install an 64-bit OS! I only back up my
personal datas anyways. Other stuff, I don't care. :D

While I waited for 64-bit Windows to mature, I did have 64-bit Ubuntu
running on my system, even before I went over 4GB. I'd been running
64-bit Ubuntu since version 5.04. It was fairly mature already at that
point, and just as well supported as 32-bit Ubuntu.

Yousuf Khan

Ant

2010-12-26 17:07:43 UTC

Post by Ken Blake, MVP
2. He couldn't even upgrade to 32-bit Windows 7. An upgrade from XP to
Windows 7 is not possible, and again, he would have to do a clean
installation.

Yeah. Even if I could do an OS upgrade, it would be too messy and ugly.
Clean, from scratch, is better.

Well, that's your only choice when going from XP to 7, so your wish is
fulfilled.

:) Only Vista can depending on the correct bit, right?

I just wished I could have my 512 MB back to have 3 GB. Dang hardwares
(ATI Radeon 4870 videoc card?)!

XP's handling of newer aspects of PCs is braindead, not just the extra
RAM that's now available, but also things such as IRQs. XP seems to
think it's stuck still living in a world of AT-style 16 IRQ's, in a
modern world of 1000's of available ACPI-style IRQ's. As a result far
too many IRQ's get shared between totally unrelated hardware under XP.
It becomes a nightmare pinpointing hardware errors when it happens.
Windows Vista and 7 are much closer to the way Linux handles IRQs now.
Distributes them out amongst 16,000+ IRQ ports, and only shares them if
they are really part of the same peripheral.

16K? Wow.

Yeah, I will just wait until I am forced. I am happy with it. Again, I
bought 6 GB because it was cheap and on sale. I didn't know the unused
RAM could not be used for other stuff like RAM drive/disk.
I will just keep the RAM for future OS'. You never know. My old XP might
commit suicide to force me to install an 64-bit OS! I only back up my
personal datas anyways. Other stuff, I don't care. :D

Cool. I still use 32-bit because it works fine. It only had 2-3 GB of
RAM on the old Debian installation from 2005. Maybe I will go 64-bit
when I reinstall it from scratch whenever that is. :)

--
"Look not to the windmill's turning while the ant still burrows." --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.

Yousuf Khan

2010-12-29 07:16:24 UTC

Post by Yousuf Khan
Well, that's your only choice when going from XP to 7, so your wish is
fulfilled.

:) Only Vista can depending on the correct bit, right?

Yeah, 32-bit XP to 32-bit Vista will work, 32-bit XP to 64-bit Vista won't.

XP to anything on Windows 7 won't upgrade. However, Windows 7 does offer
to back up all of your old Windows files into a new directory structure
called "Windows.old", which can be used to revert to XP at a later time.
Your old "settings and documents" folders will also be backed up here.

Post by Yousuf Khan
Windows Vista and 7 are much closer to the way Linux handles IRQs now.
Distributes them out amongst 16,000+ IRQ ports, and only shares them if
they are really part of the same peripheral.

16K? Wow.

Yeah, I don't expect to ever see an IRQ-related problem in these newer
systems.

Post by Yousuf Khan
While I waited for 64-bit Windows to mature, I did have 64-bit Ubuntu
running on my system, even before I went over 4GB. I'd been running
64-bit Ubuntu since version 5.04. It was fairly mature already at that
point, and just as well supported as 32-bit Ubuntu.

Cool. I still use 32-bit because it works fine. It only had 2-3 GB of
RAM on the old Debian installation from 2005. Maybe I will go 64-bit
when I reinstall it from scratch whenever that is. :)

As far as I'm concerned, with any distribution of Linux, I see no reason
why anybody should be running 32-bit Linux at all, even if they don't
have more than 4GB of RAM installed.

Yousuf Khan

Richard Owlett

2010-12-23 12:04:00 UTC

[snip]
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?
[snip]

I suspect you heard a reference to expanded memory and/or
extended memory from DOS era. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expanded_memory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_memory

Ant

2010-12-23 12:20:36 UTC

Post by Ant
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?
[snip]

I suspect you heard a reference to expanded memory and/or extended
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expanded_memory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_memory

Yes. I was told that using unused RAM like a RAM drive but others says
no in these newsgroups. :(

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Patok

2011-01-15 23:19:20 UTC

I quite accidentally came across the Ramdisk product:
http://memory.dataram.com/products-and-services/software/ramdisk?
which does exactly what you want, as long as your motherboard has Physical
Address Extensions enabled. If it does, you can have a nice 2GB ramdisk for free.
I didn't read this thread carefully, so I don't know if this product was
mentioned, or not. Sorry if it was.

--
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.

Ant

2011-01-16 18:55:26 UTC

Post by Ant
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. :)

http://memory.dataram.com/products-and-services/software/ramdisk?
which does exactly what you want, as long as your motherboard has Physical
Address Extensions enabled. If it does, you can have a nice 2GB ramdisk for free.
I didn't read this thread carefully, so I don't know if this product was
mentioned, or not. Sorry if it was.

Oooh, I think that's the program I heard about. Free for 4 GB and less.
Sweet.

--
"I used to command a battalion of German ants." --Tom
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| |o o| |
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Paul

2011-01-16 19:35:28 UTC

Oooh, I think that's the program I heard about. Free for 4 GB and less.
Sweet.

I'm testing it now, and I can't believe what it's doing :-)
I never thought I'd see WinXP SP3 x32, access memory above
4GB. But that's what they've managed to do, and claim to be
doing it via PAE. Pretty amazing. I'm using mine as a
Page File, as a test :-)

It also passed my HDTune test case. The last time I evaluated
the program, it crashed in the first 30 seconds, as the first
thing I tried on it was HDTune benchmark. The following is
collected while the software is using 2GB above the 4GB mark
with WinXP x32. So now it passes my test case. You'll notice,
there is a slight difference in performance, between the
first 1GB and second 1GB of the Ramdisk.

Loading Image...

I installed 6GB RAM, and in theory, WinXP x32 can't see the RAM
above the 4GB mark. But that Ramdisk is now running on the 2GB
above the 4GB mark. I figured for sure, it would crash
or error out, or not allow it.

Paul

Ant

2011-01-16 19:59:53 UTC

Post by Paul

Post by Patok
http://memory.dataram.com/products-and-services/software/ramdisk?
which does exactly what you want, as long as your motherboard has Physical
Address Extensions enabled. If it does, you can have a nice 2GB ramdisk for free.
I didn't read this thread carefully, so I don't know if this product was
mentioned, or not. Sorry if it was.

Oooh, I think that's the program I heard about. Free for 4 GB and
less. Sweet.

I'm testing it now, and I can't believe what it's doing :-)
I never thought I'd see WinXP SP3 x32, access memory above
4GB. But that's what they've managed to do, and claim to be
doing it via PAE. Pretty amazing. I'm using mine as a
Page File, as a test :-)
It also passed my HDTune test case. The last time I evaluated
the program, it crashed in the first 30 seconds, as the first
thing I tried on it was HDTune benchmark. The following is
collected while the software is using 2GB above the 4GB mark
with WinXP x32. So now it passes my test case. You'll notice,
there is a slight difference in performance, between the
first 1GB and second 1GB of the Ramdisk.
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/8694/hdtunedataram2gbabove.gif
I installed 6GB RAM, and in theory, WinXP x32 can't see the RAM
above the 4GB mark. But that Ramdisk is now running on the 2GB
above the 4GB mark. I figured for sure, it would crash
or error out, or not allow it.

Nice. I haven't tried it yet. I am not sure when. Way too busy now. :(
--
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never exterminate as much as one single insect species. If there was
ever an example of an insect we cannot destroy, the fire ant is it."
--an entomologist quote mentioned by Leonard Nimoy on In The Search Of:
Deadly Ants (1978)
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\ _ / 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.

Patok

2011-01-16 21:35:27 UTC

http://memory.dataram.com/products-and-services/software/ramdisk? which
does exactly what you want, as long as your motherboard has Physical
Address Extensions enabled. If it does, you can have a nice 2GB ramdisk
for free. I didn't read this thread carefully, so I don't know if this
product was mentioned, or not. Sorry if it was.

Oooh, I think that's the program I heard about. Free for 4 GB and less.
Sweet.

This is actually the most sensible usage for the Ramdisk in XP32, come to
think of it. That way, you effectively use the entire memory for... memory! Heh.
Please report back if there are any problems with such usage. From the
description of how Ramdisk works (in the PDF manual), it should be fine, but who
knows. :)

--
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.

Ken Blake, MVP

2011-01-16 22:11:49 UTC

Post by Paul
I'm using
mine as a Page File, as a test :-)

Actually, it makes no sense to use a RAM disk as a page file. Using
RAM as a page file takes RAM away from Windows use. Windows having
less RAM means that it will use the page file more. So you take the
RAM away from RAM with one hand and give it back with the other. It's
like borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. You achieve nothing, but you
incur the extra overhead of the RAM disk.

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

Patok

2011-01-16 22:27:21 UTC

Post by Paul
I'm using
mine as a Page File, as a test :-)

Actually, you didn't read carefully enough. We're talking about using the
memory above 4GB for a ram disk, on a XP32 system that can't normally access
memory above 4GB. That way, we effectively increase the XP memory to whatever
memory the machine actually has.
You would have a point for XP64, or for a machine with less than 4GB total
memory, but we're not talking about that.

--
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.

Paul

2011-01-16 23:14:07 UTC