This really boils down to two questions. First, I understand that XP 32bit has a limitation that may prevent it from seeing 4MB of RAM. Is there any danger in upgrading from 2GB to 4GB before installing Vista? I’d prefer to make any hardware upgrades first and then do a clean install, but only if I’m not setting myself up for trouble.
Second question: whenever I do decide to upgrade RAM, I will be doing so with closely matched, but not identical DDR modules and I could use some guidance. The MoBo is an Asus A8N32-SLi-Deluxe. It has two channels, A & B, with 2 slots per channel. A1 and B1 are color coded blue; A2 and B2 are color coded black. The system came with 2 Patriot DDR400 1GB modules, one in each channel at A1 and B1. I could not find another pair selling new anywhere, so I bought a pair of OCZ DDR 400 1GB modules with the same timings, 2-3-2-5. So here is the real question… Should I put the new modules into A2 and B2, splitting them between the two channels, or move the Patriots into A1 and A2 and put both OCZ’s into the same channel at B1 and B2? I assume that I shouldn’t need to go into the Bios, but correct me if I’m wrong.
No danger. Windows will just report around 3 gigs of RAM instead of 4. Vista 32bit version will report the same, you’ll need to run the 64 bit version for the OS to see all of the 4 gigs of RAM.
You should have no problems placing your modules anywhere. I’d stick the same brand modules into the same channel just to be sure though.
Thirty-two-bit Windows only sees 3 gigs of RAM, and you need 64-bit Windows to see 4 gigs? How compatible are 32-bit and 64-bit Windows? If I run 64-bit Windows, will my 32-bit software work??
For XP, I understand that 64bit would be needed to see all 4GB of RAM, but I didn’t think this was true for Vista. Am I still going to see 3GB after the upgrade?
I have to install the 32bit version of Vista, BTW. My processor is an X86 (AMD X2 4400+).
64 bit windows requires 64 bit drivers. Most hardware will have compatible drivers, but not all hardware will, and the older the hardware the higher the chances drivers won’t be developed. Older printers and scanners are the most likely casualty of switchign to a 64 bit OS. 32 bit software should run fine on 64 bit windows.
I believe that vista 32 bit does SOMETHING with the extra RAM above 3 gigs and upto 4 gigs, but I’m not sure what - maybe reserves it for system purposes? Hopefully someone else can clear this up.
Yep same deal with Vista, though as I mentioned above, I think this memory gap is not usable by you, but might be available for other system processes. I’m not 100% certain though.
All AMD X2 processors support 64 bit operations. My old X2 6000 ran 64 bit vista fine.
Interesting. Maybe I should just jump to 64bit Vista. Vista Ultimate came with both versions in the box.
I’m not really sure how much 64bit software or compatible drivers I’m going to have, though. Until just now I had all of my software queued up and ready to re-install.
How much of a performance boost and under what conditions can I expect for my trouble and the possibility of having to replace a peripheral or two? Is there a 64bit MS Office? I just bought Office 2007 :smack:
Office will run just fine on 64 bit. Performance wise you might see some improvement here and there, but for the most part and in most applications it will be transparent to you.
I would visit the manufacturer websites for all your hardware and double check their 64 bit driver availability.
Back again. I went ahead with the 64 bit installation, and it wasn’t without its headaches. As I usually do with MS installs, I unselected any option that was going to hijack my internet connection and unplugged it from the wall. Sure enough, the installation hung for over an hour until I gave in and plugged it back in. Then it unhung itself but proceeded to crash, but was more or less fine after a restart.
But that isn’t why I’m back! I appreciate the help so far, but alas, I need more. Lots more, but this isn’t a technical support forum, so I’ll stick to my original issue. I am showing only 3GB of my 4GB of RAM. I was expecting x64 to eliminate this problem. What gives?
How much exactly does it say you have? 3069 MB of RAM or more? I’d try checking system info and/or your BIOS and make sure all your RAM modules are being detected by the mobo.
Thanks, Kinthalis. This seems to be very poorly documented, and is one of those times that gooogle will get you more disinformation than good information. Every blogger who has ever seen a RAM module knows how to troubleshoot it. Only they don’t!
Back to what’s important. Me. All 4 sticks are being detected. Here is what I gather since I last posted: I think that since this machine was purchased with 32 bit XP, the bios is still making a memory hole under 4GB and what I’m seeing is 4MB minus my video card’s memory and few other things. There are two setting I can play with, but it will be trial and error: MTRR mapping and Hardware Memory Hole Mapping. I won’t get a chance to play around with it until much later today.
I’m a bit concerned that there is also a problem with my installation. When I tried to [manually] run Windows Updater it failed and Office 2007 also failed during install. I’m quite pissed at the thought that my install is glitched because I didn’t want to be connected to the internet. After fixing the RAM, I may just reformat and install again.