Win9x effective memory limit?

[JBruyet]

I'm trying to find out if there's a limit to the amount of memory a Win9x machine can effectively use. I was told several times that putting more than 64 megs of ram in a Win95 PC would seriously hinder performance. I tried putting 128MB DIMMs in some Win95 machines here at work (15 of them) and they run much faster. Yesterday I was told that putting more than 96 megs of ram in a Win98 machine was pointless 'cuz Win98 can't use any memory above 96 megs. Does anybody have some info on this, or maybe could point me to a web site that has info? Memory prices seem to be rising and if I can make things run faster and more smoothly by buying more memory I think I'll do it.

Thanks,

Joe Brouillette

 

[cdogg]

Check out this FAQ:

faq615-1638


Also on older Win95 pc's (original Pentiums), you shouldn't use more than 64MB like you stated. Those mobos could handle up to 128MB, but the chipset had flaws and couldn't "effectively" use more than 64.

 

[feb]

have a look at the faq list in this forum
faq615-1336

 

[cdogg]

Keep in mind too that some people are able to run as much as 768 MB RAM no problem. It all depends on your hardware setup.

I can tell you from experience, however, that a good number of people will have problems running more than 320-384MB without "tweaking" their system. However, there's no point in tweaking the system since Win9x can't efficiently use large amounts...


~cdogg

 

[Cresby]

I am trying to re-find the mem max or ram max instruction in win.ini or sys.inf files. I have seen it published but can't find it.
In Win95 (OS2) and Win98 there is a problem above 512M which I interpret as a bug calculating the max after a few load/unload of apps which puts a pointer outside physical memory. The cure is to define the memory limit in one of these files and choose a value that gives a buffer area that allows for erros in this calculation and still address actual memory. Any ideas anyone? is it called memlimit, memmax, ram max ? or Bill's buffer?

 

[Cresby]

Just off to read the FAQ pointe to -

Vcache mmmm looks interesting.

 

[cdogg]

Taken from FAQ615-1638:

You'll need to add a MaxFileCache entry to the [Vcache] section of the System.ini file. Just make sure you keep the Max setting at or below 512MB (or "MaxFileCache=524,288&quot

Just out of curiosity, how much RAM are you trying to feed it? ~cdogg

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
- A. Einstein