XP Memory Hole.

[ScotWm]

I understand the 32-bit Windows XP 3.25 GB memory threshold. My Dell Dimension 4600 BIOS recognizes 4 GB of memory (4 sticks of 1 GB) and as expected, Windows XP Pro SP 3 recognizes only 3.25 GB. My current configuration consists of (2) 1 GB and (2) 0.5 GB sticks of memory and XP shows the total memory as 3 GB. I don't see any way to hit the 3.25 GB XP limit exactly: I must either go under it, or go over it and create a memory hole.

So, my question is: Will installing (4) sticks of 1 GB memory cause any problems with XP having to work around a 0.75 GB memory hole? If so, gaining an additional 0.25 GB of memory would not be worthwhile.

Thanks for reading this far.

 

[WyomingKnott]

You can install 4 sticks of 1 GB memory. XP will handle it perfectly, just not using some of it.

 

[ScotWm]

You can install 4 sticks of 1 GB memory. XP will handle it perfectly, just not using some of it.

Thanks for your reassurance that extra memory won't cause Windows XP any problems. An 8.3% increase in memory isn't much, but it's better than nothing.

The memory totals that I originally gave (for both 4 GB of memory and 3 GB of memory) were obtained with an Nvidia 256 MB video card installed. With an Nvidia 512 MB video card installed, along with 4 GB memory, the total memory available dropped to 2.5 GB. I already knew that the Nvidia 512 MB card would cause a drop in total memory, because with 3 GB of memory installed, the total memory was also 2.5 GB. This was a surprise. Apparently, the Dell BIOS or XP can't accommodate the extra 254 MB of video card memory, even with an additional 1 GB of memory installed. However, 4 GB of memory combined with an Nvidia 256 MB video card, when compared with 3 GB, does increase total memory by 0.25 GB, so this is the video card that I will continue to use. This video card allows me to use Dual-view without any problems, so apparently it is the ideal video card for the Dell 4600.

After experimenting with system memory and video cards, I now understand why some people install more memory in their XP systems and see little or no increase.

 

[WyomingKnott]

I had an XP 32-bit system at work once with 8 GB of memory. Useless. So I build a 4 GB ramdisk as my temp space. At least it was doing something.

64-bit XP or Win7 can, of course, handle much more memory.