4gb ram windows xp question

[tonedog12]

im assumin there are a few people here with xp 32bit who have 4gb of ram. ive read that the boot.ini file can be edited with a /3GB switch command so that applications will use 3gb of ram.

here is my boot.ini file -

[boot loader]
timeout=3
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOW S
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Micro soft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

what do i have to type?

[echo1]

I have yet to come across anyone who has managed to make XP support more than 3GB with those commands. The only time I saw someone get 32bit Windows is to work is by messing around with the kernel and running it in safe mode so that Windows woudnt reject it. Obviously that is not a workable solution.

[DesertJedi]

Yeah, I've run XP 32-bit with 4GB of RAM for quite some time. What you're referring to, the /3GB or /PAE (physical address extension) switch is the most misunderstood concept on the net - regarding PC memory.

I researched the /3GB switch for quite some time before I realized that it indeed, was completely misunderstood and was being incorrectly recommended to your average user.

I forget the exact explanation I found that clued me in to the FUD concerning this switch. It might have had something to do with a server environment. But I realized it was definitely not meant for the home PC environment. I recommend you don't use that switch. Arma runs just fine with XP 32-bit with 4GB of RAM installed.

[tonedog12]

from what ive read, by default on an xp 32 bit system with 4gb of ram, windows will allocate 2gb for the system and 2gb for applications.
what this switch is supposed to do is allocate 3gb for applications and 1gb for the system which doesnt sound like a bad thing.

has anyone tried this?

[DesertJedi]

from what ive read, by default on an xp 32 bit system with 4gb of ram, windows will allocate 2gb for the system and 2gb for applications.
what this switch is supposed to do is allocate 3gb for applications and 1gb for the system which doesnt sound like a bad thing.

That's exactly what I thought based on what I had heard - until I dug a little deeper in the topic.