4gb RAM, what to do with unusable 1gb on WinXP

I'm looking for the best way to use the 1gb of RAM, which is not usable on windows XP 32bit. I don't want to change it to 64bit system or vista...
I found information about two ways to use it:
1) Turn on the PAE switch which enable 36bit addressing and allow XP to use 4gb of RAM, however this doesn't work on every motherboard and procesor and some apps might have problems with this addressing and blue screen are more ofter...
2) Use this unrecognized 1gb as RAM disk to store temp files or browser cache/cookies and so on... Seems pretty interesting coz RAM is much faster than HDD.
Maybe someone know other ways to not waste it?

Second option seems more practical so I tried it... I downloaded SuperSpeed RamDisk Trial and was able to create RAM Disk with size of 255MB from RAM not recognized by Windows with default addressing. Does anyone know how to manually specify address to use whole 1gb or did it using different software and could share short tutorial/overview here?

 

You cannot use that extra 1GB of RAM with a 32bit OS. PAE does not do it, nor will any other 'hack' that claims to make it work. If the OS cannot address it, it is because the hardware cannot address it in 32bit mode...no program is going to change that.

 

Install a 64-Bit OS

 

Vista64, along with Vista32, is quite stable and useful now.

 

Sell it.

.

 

Hmm wikipedia says:

Microsft MSDN says ( http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa366796(VS.85).aspx ):

So acording to this it should do it

 

What Service Pack is your XP?

I'm asking this because PAE might be already enabled. I've 3 GB of RAM, and when I installed XP with SP3 integrated, PAE was already enabled by default without using the /PAE switch in the Boot.ini file.

Go to Start -> Control Panel -> System

Under the CPU speed and RAM, do you see " Physical Address Extension"?

I've never added the /PAE switch, even when I check the boot.ini file, there was no /PAE switch added, but I do have " Physical Address Extension" showing in my system properties.

 

Yes I use XP with SP3... and yes it says that PAE is enable however only 3gb are avaible... Now I'm little bit confuzed coz don't know why there are so many contradictions...

 

I guess the only way to find out is to try adding the /PAE switch in boot.ini and see if there is any difference.

 

PAE will do it, but applications have to be specifically coded to take advantage of the extended address space.

PAE is a waste on Windows systems, a hack that you really only want on Server level hardware. I have 5GB usable on my 32bit desktop, but that runs Linux. The best bet you have is to upgrade to a 64bit OS, and run your 32bit software under that.

 

Not to mention that PAE caused enough problems that drivers that were not PAE aware would have severe compatibility issues. Which is why it is only really a server hack as Pitabred mentioned.

I do believe that MS's default PAE install only works to enable the PXE disable bit with processors, which requires another bit or two in addressing that cannot be used elsewhere.

 

Address the extra 1GB to the keyboard so you can type faster.

 

I think we will need a how to for this

 

Easy.

Measure out 1GB of the leftover RAM with a tablespoon, and lightly sprinkle it over your keyboard.

And remember; you can always add, but you can't take away.

 

1. Shut down the notebook.

2. Remove a 1 GB stick from the notebook.

3. Take the 1 GB stick into the kitchen, place it on top of a dry chopping board, then use a very sharp knife, preferably the Chinese cooking one cause they're sharper, and chop the 1 GB stick into very tiny pieces.

4. Now take those tiny pieces of your 1 GB stick and spread it across the keyboard evenly.

5. You should now able to type 50-200% faster.

EDIT: S***! Arkit3kt beat me to it... lol

 

Only problem fellas is he has a 2GB stick. Heard it called 1GB one to many times. Cut stick in half, reinstall one half. Then follow stewie's advice followed by Ark's?

 

Guys, please stay on topic, or I'll be forced to close this thread, I've already deleted a few inappropriate posts. And Arkster will get an infraction

- Vigilante Mod



On a more serious note, OP - why not just save the hassle and go 64bit?

 

Well, considerably the 1 GB stick cost less than $20, I think it's a good investment to increase your typing speed.

 

Dang, how'd you find out my secret of typing so fast? (well you still have to figure out how I did it with my ipod touch )

 

Addressing 1 GB to the iPod Touch's virtual keyboard is not recommended. It will overheat your iPod and might even explode under high WPM condition. I recommend chopping a 256 MB stick instead.

 

not with my ipod. I jailbroke it in order to put in an aftermarket heatsink

 

Ok back to topic, troublemaker, have you tried the /PAE switch yet to see if there is any difference than the default enabled PAE?

 

stewie very hard to get back on topic when the topic is what OP asked? Is not going to happen? I think should be closed unless you and I know more? And I don't? You?

 

Yes but didn't get me any positive results :/ Strange thing... I tried also RAMDisk... it did create ram disk in the ram memory which windows doesn't recognize, however I cannot access or format this device :/
I guess for now it stays unused...