8 Gig Ram in 32 bit XP System - how to avoid problems

[mdmmm]

Hi,
my current System is a Vista 64 machine with 8 gigs of ram.

I am planning to install 32 bit XP on another Partition on the same machine

Now I have heard that 32 bit XP might produce severe errors with 8 gigs of ram installed.

One of the possible problems I have heard of are random HD write errors which will lead to heavy data loss while others say that XP32 doesn't care about how much ram is installed it will only use as much as it can handle and completely ignore anything above it's limits.


Does anoyone know FOR SURE if it is save to run XP32 on a 8 gig (or more) machine.
Or about a possibility to avoid possible problems. (except pulling out the ram manually each time I boot 32 bit )

 

[Jorsoft]

I've never had any trouble, it just detects the ~3.xgbs that it can and it's been smooth.

 

[TheOtis]

Well my friend. No 32-bit operating system can address more then 3-3.5GB of memory. So where you got this crazy idea that 8GB of RAM in 32-bit XP is going to cause problems, I have no idea.

The work around- 64-bit operating system. Or stick with 32-bit and use the 3-ish GB of RAM available.

 

[KSoD]

http://www.techist.com/forums/f9/difference-between-32-bit-x86-64-bit-x64-171390/#post1349279

You can have 8GB installed. Won EVER be able to use it. Seriously, you will just be better off getting VMWare and installing XP 32 bit in a Virtual Machine. It will be nothing but a waste of hard drive space and resouces trying to go with a dual boot with that much RAM.

 

[mdmmm]

I heard about this "problem" from two different people who work at PC hardware stores.

One specifically warned me when I wanted to buy 4 gigs ram when I built my last 32 bit machine about 2 years ago. he said they had a customer who also used 4 gigs in a 32 bit machine and that he nuked his raid 0 with this setup and lost all his data. problems were gone after switching back to a 3 gig setup.
btw. I also use raid 0

Then about 2 months ago I "upgraded" to vista 64 because I do 3D and need the ram (I REALLY regret not to have chosen XP64) When I bouth the ram at the hardware store I asked the guys if I can have an extra partition with XP32 while havein 8 gig ram installed and I was told NOT to do that because Windows possibly might destroy data. As far as I can remember this problem seems to be related to windows randomly using some sectors of the available memory which it is not supposed to use - and the pagefile - and calling back memory and then dumping it back to disk at the wrong places where it is overwriting data.

I followed the advice until now but now I really need an additional 32 bit setup.

So any more experiences or suggestions are welcome. especially concerning my raid 0 setup.

I thought maybe there is a possibility to somehow "deactivate" the additional ram in XP32 so that XP doesn't even "see" it. well.... ; )

http://www.techist.com/forums/f9/difference-between-32-bit-x86-64-bit-x64-171390/#post1349279

Won EVER be able to use it.......
.....off getting VMWare and installing XP 32 bit in a Virtual Machine.

I know I can't use the additional ram. This is not the problem.

Thanks for the VMware hint. I actually have VMware installed and run XP32. It works like a charm.

Only In this particular case VMware is not an option because I need to directly use my physical soundcard which is not possible with VMware.... at least not afaik I tried it.
(VMware only uses some emulated basic soundblaster to my knowledge)

 

[KSoD]

There is no way to deactivate it. If the BIOS Sees it so will Windows. So you would have to physically remove the RAM. Even so you wont see XP even tell you that you have more than 3.25GB- 3.5GB so that isnt the issue.

 

[zedman3d]

You can have 8GB installed. Won EVER be able to use it.

Not in the conventional way no. hehehe

http://www.techsnack.net/gavotte-ramdisk-free-virtual-hardisk

Of course your info will be lost on reboot buts its **** FAST temporary space.

 

[KSoD]

Yeah could also set that RAM Disk as your Pagefile as well. I have seen that done. But the truth is that even doing that you still wont get the full benefit of it being RAM. You will have to trick Windows into thinking it is a Drive and then trying to utilize that drive.

A single update to Windows can cause this whole line of thinking to come crashing down. Which is why i didnt suggest it.

 

[mdmmm]

While I was searching for some additional info I found this...
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platform/server/PAE/PAEdrv.mspx
... never came across this before.
I actually don't know if I can get soundcard drivers for Server 2003 or WK2 Server.... adn I also don't know if my XP32 apps will run on it. but I'll certainly look into that....


The Ramdisk would also be a nice option for XP since I dont need to run any updates on this setup. Once it's installed it will stay that way.

 

[KSoD]

I can almost guarantee you that your XP Programs will work in Server 2003. The reason i can say that, XP X64 is based off of that Kernel. There are a few programs, like anti-virus software and firewalls that will cause you grief cause you can not use desktop solutions on a Server OS. You would need a business or server grade solution to have a anti-virus on there.

The real question is what apps do you need to run. From that we can tell you what will work and what wont.

Check the Creative Site. I can almost bet that you can find drivers for your sound card. I know that my installs of Server 2003 and Server 2008 worked just fine with my Audigy 2ZS.