Currently I am running Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit and this is what I found in the control panel:
Installed memory (RAM): 4.00GB (2.99 usable)
I was simply wondering if there was any way (through patches for example) that I could increase the usable ram for my PC. Please do not reply, "you cant, thats how its meant to be".
Sadly, on 32-bit.....you can't, that's how its meant to be. Not to be rude, but try a search on this board. This has been discussed over and over again on there really is no point in having everyone type out those answers again.
thanks dont worry about it. that kind of sucks though
I guess so
It's not so much the way it is meant to be, but rather that there is not alternative other than using 64-bit. Allow me to explain.
Humans think in decimal (0..9). To calculat the total numbers that can be represented by any given number of digits, you use the formula 10^X, where X is the number of digits in the number. Thus 10^3=1000 because a 3 digit number can represent 0..999.
Computers "think" in binary (0..1), and the same rule applies to calculate the maximum number that can be represented by a binary number. 2^X, where X is the number of digits in a binary number. Thus 2^8=256, because an 8-bit binary number can represent 0..255 (decimal).
Following the same rule of 2^32, you get 4,294,967,296. This is the maximum address space therefore that can be represented by a 32-bit address.
4,294,967,296 Bytes / 1024 = 4,194,304 KB
4,194,304 KB / 1024 = 4,096 MB
4,096 MB / 1024 = 4GB
The reason why your system shows 4GB installed, but only 2.99GB as usable, is because the deficit is already in use - by hardware, and the address spaces given to every device must be allocated somewhere within the 4GB limit. Devices such as timers, keyboard controllers, usb controllers, irq controllers, bios, etc must each have at least some memory allocated in order to function. Anything and everything that is part of the motherboard internal functions, or an expansion slot. This allocation happens on the hardware level, and whatever remains is available to the system, and varies depending on configuration. My old motherboard, when using a 32-bit Windows, showed 3.5GB available.
The only open alternative to you would be to either get a better motherboard that makes more efficient use of memory, or to change to a 64-bit operating system. Switching to 64-bit is the better choice, not the least of which would be because of enhanced security and stability.
Try this:
Go to "Start" then type in the search bar "msconfig" and press "enter."
Next go to the "Boot" tab and click on "Advanced Options..."
Now check in the "Maximum Memory" box and raise the amout as high as it can go.
Restart the computer and in control panel go see how much is usable.
This is an excellent summary of the differences between 32 and 64 bit by LordBob. It will explain everything for you.
https://www.sevenforums.com/general-d...omparison.html
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