RAM above 4GB why cant I see it

[zodiaczz]

Hello all,

Is it true that Windows will only show up to 4GB of RAM, for instance when you go into my computer and click on the general tab.

Reason being I have 8GB on a server, it recognizes it in the BIOS, but when I log on to Windows it only says 4GB

I heard it has something to do with Windows only recognizing up to 4GB for Virtual Addressing, can someone explain why this happens and how the extra RAM helps?

Thanks

 

[mrdenny]

You need to add the /3GB and /PAE flags to the boot.ini.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)

http://www.mrdenny.com

(Not quite so old any more.)

 

[Pritch5000]

What version of Windows are you running? There are limits.

* Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition will only support 4GB RAM.
* Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition will support 32GB RAM and only then if you add the switches in the BOOT.INI.

If you are using SQL Server then you will need to enable AWE also.

You really need to read up on AWE and PAE because it is ridiculously complicated (for an 'enterprise' class operating system). It is all to do with 32-bit and 64-bit memory addressing.

Understanding the principles will help you out. (but be warned that you will find conflicting information and half-stories - so read many articles and find the full story!)

TIP1: In some scenarios you dont need the /PAE switch - like if you are DEP enabled - you will find little evidence of that fact on the Internet. If you look at the System properties (rightclick My Computer), you will see 'Physical Address Extension' written there when PAE is enabled.

TIP2: When using more than 4GB RAM, Task Manager cannot enumerate the amount of RAM in use (because its a 32 bit app and you need 64-bit memory addressing to access >4GB). To monitor use of memory you need to look at the Perfmon counters.

 

[zodiaczz]

Thanks guys for the info

Windows 2003 Enterprise btw