04
Jun
2008
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Windows Vista is the first Microsoft operating system which needs a specific tailored computer to work. As a matter of fact it is so memory hungry that it requires a powerful computer to run. This thing didn’t happen with XP which was as fast as a rocket even with as low as 512 MB of RAM and a low performing hardware. When Vista was released, Microsoft itself was very aware of its RAM-needs and in fact advised “at least” 1GB of RAM to run the O.S. on a computer. In the meanwhile a lot of people started buying 3,4,5 GB of RAM but what they didn’t know was that their 32 bit Windows Vista could only handle 3 GB at most! Luckily for those guys there is a little trick which enables their Vista “to overcome” that limit. Here is the trick:
- Click Start.
- Type CMD in the Search Bar.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to run cmd in administrative mode.
- Type BCDEdit /set PAE forceenable
- If this does not work try other 2 times at least. As a matter of fact Vista does not take this command right away in some cases. Make also sure to type the command in the same way it is written on point 4.
- If Vista got this command successfully you should see the following message: the operation completed successfully.
- To undo it, type: BCDEdit /deletevalue PAE
Tags: hack, Windows Vista
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24 Comments to “Enable more than 4 GB of RAM in 32 bit Windows Vista”
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November 19th, 2008
haha nvm I didn’t have sp1 that fixed it
December 10th, 2008
There’s no 3GB limit in Vista.
You can only address 4GB in a 32-bit architecture, the end…read the rest of this comment here: http://www.webtlk.com/2008/12/10/enabling-more-than-4-gb-of-ram-in-vista-myth-or-truth/
December 12th, 2008
Here are some info from MS: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929605
And some more on memory here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/888732
Explains a bit…
December 12th, 2008
Thanks Spectralvortex for the links. They are very enlightening!
December 22nd, 2008
This article is innacurate and misleading and will not help you.
Commenter #14 above is 100% correct – follow the link in the comment and you’ll see why.
December 22nd, 2008
The 4GB limit is a limit of 32 bit addressing, however, the operating system has to be specifically configured to use 64 bit addressing, or, in the past, 36 bit addressing (for a 64GB limit). Comment 14 says it all, though, much better than I could explain it.
February 19th, 2009
I have a question about this article. The article says that this is how you can go over 4 gb of ram, but what if I just want my 32 bit operating system to read the exact limit of 4 gb of ram, and not over. I have heard the 32 bit systems can only read up to 2 or 3 gb of ram…
February 20th, 2009
Hello Mike,
The article you read, despite well written, doesn’t do what promises. As a matter of fact, due to the “nature” of Windows Vista 32 bit itself, the total amount that it can read is limited to 3 GB. Click the link in comment number 14 to know more.
February 21st, 2009
It is not true that 32-bit operating systems cannot address more than 4GB. All 32-bit Windows releases since Windows 2000 have supported PAE for access to more physical memory. However, enabling PAE does not get you access to memory above 4GB, due to licensing issues. The code is there in 32-bit Windows Vista, but you are not licensed to use it.
For details, see my article http://www.geoffchappell.com/notes/windows/license/memory.htm.
February 21st, 2009
Thanks Geoff for your comment on a subject which is still controversial and maybe not well understood by most people (including me!)
May 18th, 2010
[...] @lutz -> http://www.webtlk.com/2008/06/04/ena…windows-vista/ __________________ Help me OCing my sys! More infos here: [...]
October 27th, 2010
The article says that this is how you can go over 4 gb of ram, but what if I just want my 32 bit operating system to read the exact limit of 4 gb of ram, and not over.