📎 AI Summary:
The thread discusses the limitations of 32-bit Windows operating systems regarding RAM capacity. While some users mention utilities like Tweak UI or registry hacks, others emphasize that physically, a 32-bit OS can only access up to 4 GB of RAM, with some suggesting that options like the /PAE switch can extend this limit to 64 GB if supported. Overall, the consensus is that without upgrading to a 64-bit OS, increasing RAM beyond 4 GB isn't feasible for 32-bit Windows systems.
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Joe S

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Thread Author #1
I know about the limit of 4 Gig ram on 32 bit system and wondered about this utility Tweak UI For Windows Vista : Ultimate Windows Tweaker From WinVistaClub In performance there is a setting for 4 or more gigs of ram in Vista x 86. I only have 64 bit Vista so I don't know if this would work. I haven't tried this program in Windows 7 yet.
Joe
 

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Kyle said:
....guys. You're not getting it.
It's PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE for a 32-Bit OS to even TOUCH more then 4 GB of RAM. I'm talking physical, put in the slot RAM, not page file, not anything else.
Due to limitations on calculations, it's impossible.
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Using the /PAE switch increases the physical address space from 32bit to 36 bit - allowing access to up to 64GB of physical RAM if the OS supports it...
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Kyle

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#2
You can't do anything with more than 4 GB of RAM in 32-Bit OS'. Period. Tweaker, registry hack, hell, ACT of GOD can't help you there. lol
 

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jimbo45

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#3
Hi Kyle
if you have more than 4GB RAM and a 32 bit OS a nice tweak is to use the extra RAM as a RAMDISK. This really speeds up things like Photoshop etc. -- Of course the RAMDISK is not persistent so anhything written to it needs to be saved to a Real Disk before shutting down.
If you have say 6GB RAM in your system you could use 2GB RAMDISK as your paging device.

I expect however in a few years apart from legacy systems (probably running as Virtual Machines) the 32 Bit OS will be phased out. Windows 7 will probably b the last Microsoft 32 bit OS.

Cheers

-jimbo
 

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Kyle

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#5
....guys. You're not getting it.
It's PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE for a 32-Bit OS to even TOUCH more then 4 GB of RAM. I'm talking physical, put in the slot RAM, not page file, not anything else.
Due to limitations on calculations, it's impossible.
 

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u080570

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#6
Kyle said:
....guys. You're not getting it.
It's PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE for a 32-Bit OS to even TOUCH more then 4 GB of RAM. I'm talking physical, put in the slot RAM, not page file, not anything else.
Due to limitations on calculations, it's impossible.
Click to expand...

Using the /PAE switch increases the physical address space from 32bit to 36 bit - allowing access to up to 64GB of physical RAM if the OS supports it...
 

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