Cant Enable PAE mode

[Cael]

i've tried what Microsoft suggests. i've Tried EasyBCD but still it snot enabled, and i still show 3.5GB of 4GB usable. (where thers 512MB Hardware reserved) Any idea how to force this to work?

 

[biggles1000]

I'm afraid 32 bit windows 7 has a 3.5GB RAM limit no matter what. The limits then vary working your way up the 64 bit version ladder. (the unofficial PAE stuff for Windows 7 is unstable)

Actually, scratch that. Apparently the limit is 4GB for all 32 bit versions but starter :/

 

[biggles1000]

Apologies for my confusion :/
You may find this handy, as it sound like the same issue: The usable memory may be less than the installed memory on Windows 7-based computers

 

[Cael]

i gues im stick as i dont have a memory mapping function in my BIOS. and theres no new updates :/

 

[biggles1000]

Guess so, sorry :/
Upgrading to 64 bit may fix it, but that costs money and you'd need to do a completely fresh install :/

 

[stormy13]

All 4 GB should be available if you install 64 bit as according to the specs for your motherboard (assuming the one in your specs),

ECS Web Site

it supports up to 16 GB total (2x8 GB). Also as far as the memory remapping, if I'm reading the manual for it this is the setting (worded differently than what would be expected),



and is enabled by default.

 

[pallesenw]

PAE is enabled by default (DEP), but Microsoft has crippled it, so it cannot help you.

 

[logicearth]

PAE is enabled by default (DEP), but Microsoft has crippled it, so it cannot help you.

It would not help in this situation either way. The hardware will still take the 512 MB of address space. Windows does not control how the address space is allocated, that is left to the hardware. Its out of its hands.

 

[pallesenw]

I haven't checked the specs, but according to stormy13 the hardware supports > 4GB plus memory remapping, so a non-crippled PAE kernel can use all of it.http://www.sevenforums.com/member.php?u=11335

 

[Cael]

i got it enabled so now i just need an patched PAE Kernel then.:/ and i know its at the windows 7 side. i've tested and Ran 4gb full under XP before with this board ( awhile back my bro lost ram once before sp i yanked the 2nd 2GB stick back then and put it in his PC) but this was before Windows 7 (well i got my copy in october 09 at the Detroit's "The New Efficency" seminar)

 

[logicearth]

Windows XP didn't use all your memory. It was a display quirk in Windows XP.
Use a 64bit edition instead. If you have a license already you can use it for the 64bit edition as well.

 

[Nigsy]

Ubuntu anyone??

 

[biggles1000]

Ubuntu anyone??

To be honest, I've never really had the best experiences with Linux. I'd recommend it for fixing problems as a live CD, but very few Windows users can cope with the incompatibility.

 

[Nigsy]

Ubuntu anyone??

To be honest, I've never really had the best experiences with Linux. I'd recommend it for fixing problems as a live CD, but very few Windows users can cope with the incompatibility.

It was more around the PAE issue with windows and the fact that such restraints don't exist in Linux, so if you want 32bit Ubuntu with 24gb Ram..go ahead, but yes it can be fustrating as an OS at times!! (I run SUSE btw)

 

[biggles1000]

true, Linux does have insanely high memory limits. SUSE is a pretty good distro. I used mint for two years without a hitch, but I've had four Ubuntu installs that failed critically (eg. one stopped booting as it claimed the HDD didn't exist after just reading from it. I promptly reintsalled Windows 7 on it, apparently the HDD existed again )

 

[SamCPP]

I'm afraid 32 bit windows 7 has a 3.5GB RAM limit no matter what. The limits then vary working your way up the 64 bit version ladder. (the unofficial PAE stuff for Windows 7 is unstable)

Actually, scratch that. Apparently the limit is 4GB for all 32 bit versions but starter :/

32-bit server editions of windows can actually use up to 128GB (Win2k3 x86 Datacenter edition) so technically 32-bit Windows CAN use more than 4GB of memory (as implied by pallesenw).
Memory Limit – Windows Server 2003 | SQL Server Training
Pushing the Limits of Windows: Physical Memory - Mark's Blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

The reason it is not supported in end-user versions of the 32-bit operating systems is mainly due to drivers from my understanding. Poor nvidia and creative drivers back in the day.

 

[yowanvista]

I'm afraid 32 bit windows 7 has a 3.5GB RAM limit no matter what. The limits then vary working your way up the 64 bit version ladder. (the unofficial PAE stuff for Windows 7 is unstable)

Actually, scratch that. Apparently the limit is 4GB for all 32 bit versions but starter :/

32-bit server editions of windows can actually use up to 128GB (Win2k3 x86 Datacenter edition) so technically 32-bit Windows CAN use more than 4GB of memory (as implied by pallesenw).
Memory Limit – Windows Server 2003 | SQL Server Training
Pushing the Limits of Windows: Physical Memory - Mark's Blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

The reason it is not supported in end-user versions of the 32-bit operating systems is mainly due to drivers from my understanding. Poor nvidia and creative drivers back in the day.

On consumer versions of Windows, PAE not used for memory. DEP (Data Execution Prevention) and a couple other tricks, yes. But not for memory.

The way it works for Memory is it allows an added table the OS can use to add the “same” address in more than one place. Think of this as adding a "street name" to your "address". 1234567890 on table A is not the same as 1234567890 on table B. The limitation is that this *must* be provided for in your programs and drivers in order to work. If your mailman only looks at the '1234567890' but never looks at the street name, then he can and will sometimes deliver a letter to the wrong place. The same thing is true of PAE - If/when then individual program haven’t been coded to look in multiple tables for the needed memory locations in addition to the numerical addresses, messages can and will often go to the wrong place. In Windows, this is a called a “memory access violation”, and results in a blue screen. Additionally, individual programs under PAE can still only use up to 4 GB. Kernels and drivers can be made aware of PAE, but they can still only use 4 GB ranges at a time.

In short: PAE is not that great. In a server environment the number/version/type of programs and drivers can be tightly controlled, so this works and so this functionality is available on server versions of 32 bit Windows (NT, 2003, 2006, etc). In a consumer environment, this is not true at all.

Bottom line for ‘regular’ users: If you want to use 4 GB of RAM or more, then you should buy 64-bit hardware and use a 64-bit OS.

 

[pallesenw]

Well, technically the above post is not very accurate. Memory is virtualized no matter what mode you are running in, so every application has the same addresses.

PAE adds some addressing bits to the physical address.

 

[yowanvista]

Well, technically the above post is not very accurate. Memory is virtualized no matter what mode you are running in, so every application has the same addresses.

PAE adds some addressing bits to the physical address.

Physical Address Extension (Windows)

PAE is not recommended for home/casual users, because of potential driver issues.

 

[pallesenw]

I know about the reasons Microsoft give.

Just to make an edit: PAE is recommended, because DEP depends on it. Addresses above 4G are just not made to use.