# Patch to support more than 4 gb RAM in Windows 7 32bit



## Badhon_raj (Jul 6, 2011)

> Windows 7 (32-bit) Patch to Support 4 GB Ram or more! | 3.68MB -=FS=-
> 
> In the Internet often haunts thestatement a 32-bit operating system can technically only managed a maximum of 4 GB of RAM. This is wrong and Microsoftis even evidence itself.
> Yes, this is all wrong Guys!! Now technology are advancing, and here come PAE from the year 1995!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! duhhhhh!!!
> ...



can any one please comment on this? Does it work? Is it safe to use? I found it on the internet and I don't know whethe it works or not. Do any of you have any idea on it? Please help.
Thanks in advance...


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## caleb (Jul 6, 2011)

Don't you think that the word "*Physical*" and Software patch to bypass it somehow doesn't fit ?


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## Maban (Jul 6, 2011)

I have heard that PAE on Windows 32 bit was buggy. However this was quite a while ago and it may have just been regarding Vista. I could also be misremembering.


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## Yukikaze (Jul 6, 2011)

Is there any real reason to be running 32-bit Windows 7 anyway?


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## Maban (Jul 6, 2011)

If you already have it there is.

This is a nifty little tool for Windows. Allows enabling/disabling of PAE. Never tried it myself (the PAE option that is).
http://www.thewindowsclub.com/ultimate-windows-tweaker-v2-a-tweak-ui-for-windows-7-vista


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## FordGT90Concept (Jul 6, 2011)

The reason why you see less than 4 GiB RAM with 4 GiB installed on a 32-bit OS is explained here:
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91260


If you are looking to make a 32-bit program use more than 2 GiB RAM, use this application here:
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112556


PAE is an old trick Server 2000 and other server software used in order to allow more memory to be used in a 32-bit environment.  Using it takes a huge performance hit.  Since XP x64/Server 2003 x64, PAE has gone the way of the do-do bird.  If you want Windows to register all your memory, get a 64-bit OS and profit.


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## Mussels (Jul 6, 2011)

yeah PAE wont solve the problems with games.


Hell, all the spelling mistakes, typos, and sheer arrogance in that original post make me wonder how anyone believed it in the first place.


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## Badhon_raj (Jul 6, 2011)

Thank you guys for your replies. I actually didn't have enough knowledge about that. So I wondered if it is possible to utilise more than 4 gb ram in x86 os. There are some program compatibility issue (very little, but there is) with x64. So I thought it would be good if it was possible. Anyway now according to your replies I came to the conclusion that it would be much better to use a x64 os.
And another off topic subject, I read a lot of topics in this forum. And I learn a lot of things about computer hardwares and staffs here.
Thanks again.


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## mlouis (Jul 6, 2011)

http://wj32.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/pae-patch-updated-for-windows-7-sp1/

http://ntcore.com/4gb_patch.php


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## brandonwh64 (Jul 6, 2011)

windows Xp x64 was problematic but windows 7 x64 has a wide range of programs that perform perfectly and also is backwards compatible with many programs.


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## Mussels (Jul 6, 2011)

Badhon_raj said:


> Thank you guys for your replies. I actually didn't have enough knowledge about that. So I wondered if it is possible to utilise more than 4 gb ram in x86 os. There are some program compatibility issue (very little, but there is) with x64. So I thought it would be good if it was possible. Anyway now according to your replies I came to the conclusion that it would be much better to use a x64 os.
> And another off topic subject, I read a lot of topics in this forum. And I learn a lot of things about computer hardwares and staffs here.
> Thanks again.



32 bit OS is capped at 4GB. the real problem is that applications are capped at 2GB maximum - which is where the problems come in with games.


with LAA patching (see fordGT90's links) on a 32 bit OS, you can kick that limit to 3GB - or 4GB on a 64 bit OS, thus preventing (or at least, hugely delaying) those crashes.


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## lilhasselhoffer (Jul 6, 2011)

PAE works, but it is at best a stop-gap on your way to a fully 64 bit OS.  At worst, it is a foolish endeavour for those with too much money spent on RAM and not enough spent on the OS.

As others have said, get the program to flag 32 bit applications as large addressing aware (LAA).  They will be able to use all the RAM that is available.  

32 bit OSs are going to die.  As soon as the next generation of consoles comes out, there will be now reason for developers to stick to 32 bit (read: M$ has hinted at 8 being 64 bit only, consider it hints at the next gen xbox...), so we can finally have fully 64 bit programs.  I look forward to the day.  

Back to topic, PAE is a joke.  It does address the extra RAM, but it can't access the stuff as fast.  You can double the RAM, but have the same performance level you would have with 4 GB (3 recognized).  It's a good idea, but poorly executed at best.


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## mlouis (Jul 6, 2011)

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/dcook/archive/2007/03/25/who-ate-my-memory.aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/gg487503.aspx


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## FordGT90Concept (Jul 6, 2011)

lilhasselhoffer said:


> 32 bit OSs are going to die.  As soon as the next generation of consoles comes out, there will be now reason for developers to stick to 32 bit (read: M$ is 64 bit only, consider it hints at the next gen xbox...), so we can finally have fully 64 bit programs.  I look forward to the day.


It really has nothing to do with consoles.  Hell, I doubt the next gen consoles will have 4 GiB of RAM total (including VRAM).  It'll probably be closer to 2 or 3 GiB.  Remember, they cut corners everywhere they can to keep the per-unit cost as low as possible.

Windows Server 2008 R2 is only available as 64-bit.  Windows 8 is 50/50 on having a 32-bit version available for netbooks.  It is very unlikely the Windows version after that will have a 32-bit option.


PAE was useful before the advent of AMD64/EM64T, not afterwards.  IA-64 (which Intel was pushing before AMD introduced AMD64) was not backwards compatible with x86.  That created a huge obstacle in terms of hardware and software (needed new programmers or at least compilers for all your applications).  PAE was a bandage for the memory issue while still being able to use x86.  After AMD64, there's no reason to use a bandage when the hardware has evolved to allow address of more memory without using memory tricks.


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## LAN_deRf_HA (Dec 24, 2012)

Could have sworn if you have a 32bit disc you can just call up Microsoft and they'll send you a 64 bit. Maybe they don't do that anymore.


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## newtekie1 (Dec 24, 2012)

PAE does allow you to use more than 4GB of RAM on a 32-bit computer when using *SERVER* operating systems.  Microsoft has locked their desktop 32-bit OSes to 4GB maximum, so PAE does nothing in Windows 7.  

The only exception to this was, I believe, Windows XP Pre-SP2, but once SP2 came out Microsoft limited the OS to 4GB of RAM because machines with PAE enabled with more than 4GB of RAM were having driver issues.


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## AsRock (Dec 24, 2012)

LAN_deRf_HA said:


> Could have sworn if you have a 32bit disc you can just call up Microsoft and they'll send you a 64 bit. Maybe they don't do that anymore.



I know if you have a Vista  64bit and 32bit OS CD's you can use the same key..  Can he not just download the 64bit version from MS as a ISO and put it on a disk ?.

Hopfully you can do the same with win7 too.


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## newtekie1 (Dec 24, 2012)

AsRock said:


> I know if you have a Vista  64bit and 32bit OS CD's you can use the same key..  Can he not just download the 64bit version from MS as a ISO and put it on a disk ?.
> 
> Hopfully you can do the same with win7 too.



Yes, you can do the same with Windows 7.

He can download the 64-bit ISO for the version of Win7 he has from here:

http://techdows.com/2011/07/downloa...h-sp1-iso-official-direct-download-links.html


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## silkstone (Dec 24, 2012)

Why was this necro'd?


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## johnspack (Dec 24, 2012)

Yes,  if you have Win7 32bit,  you can just download a legal copy of Win7 64bit,  and install it with the same key.  Unfortunately,  you can't do an upgrade from 32bit to 64bit,  you'll have to do a fresh install.  You also must stay with the same version,  ie Home Premium,  Ultimate ect.


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## johnspack (Dec 24, 2012)

Arg,  didn't check the date of the op,  I'm embarrassed....


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## Frick (Dec 24, 2012)

brandonwh64 said:


> windows Xp x64 was problematic but windows 7 x64 has a wide range of programs that perform perfectly and also is backwards compatible with many programs.



necro reply, but i've found several old games that worked out of the box with win7 32 but not with 64.


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## free_357 (Feb 21, 2013)

*It can be done*

i know this is an ancient thread, but still i haven't seen anybody giving a proper answer to the guy. first let me start by saying that sometimes there are legitimate reasons why you'd want to stick to the win32-bit version. two of the tools i use for work do not work with win7 64bit, no matter what you try. the only way i managed to make them work was by installing a windows xp virtual machine within win7 64 bit. talk about performance hits 

secondly, and more importantly, there IS a way to let your 32-bit win7 use more memory - allegedly up to 64GB, but i only use 8, so i can only confirm it definitely works up to 8 GB, with each inidividual application still being limited to 4 GB. once you install this patch (even though your antivirus will probably report is as a virus and advise you not to install it), you will be able to see (in system properties, task manager) the full amount of your memory.

http://www.bcastell.com/tech-articles/enabling-more-than-4-gb-of-ram-under-windows-7-32-bit/

i have not witnessed any performance losses, my machine works just as good as it did when i only had ~ 3GB of memory enabled... the only difference is that i can feel and see that it's been using the hard drive virtual memory page file much less... the reason has to be that now i have the full 8 GB of memory at my disposal


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## nazala (May 24, 2013)

hello im new 
searching from google and i get here

in the end of line

which one better

Win 7 32 bit with 4 GB ram ( PAE enable )
or
Win 7 32 bit with 3.25 GB ram (default)


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## Aquinus (May 24, 2013)

FordGT90Concept said:


> IA-64 (which Intel was pushing before AMD introduced AMD64) was not backwards compatible with x86. That created a huge obstacle in terms of hardware and software (needed new programmers or at least compilers for all your applications). PAE was a bandage for the memory issue while still being able to use x86. After AMD64, there's no reason to use a bandage when the hardware has evolved to allow address of more memory without using memory tricks.



Itanium was also geared for a very different market. In short, the real benefit of IA-64 was that what would normally be done in the pipeline of a modern X86 processor was done at compile time on an Itanium processor. So some of the CPU tasks were taken away from the application at run-time in favor of a more complicated build process. The benefit of this method of compiling made applications inherently more concurrent because the compile determines what operations can be done in parallel which is a neat concept.

All in all IA-64 was never really being made for the consumer market. It has always really been an enterprise and HPC thing. AMD64 hadn't been around very long before EM64T came out on the skt775 Pentium 4s. By the time AMD really started using AMD64 on machines with more than 4Gb of ram, Intel had already created EM64T.


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## newtekie1 (May 24, 2013)

free_357 said:


> i know this is an ancient thread, but still i haven't seen anybody giving a proper answer to the guy. first let me start by saying that sometimes there are legitimate reasons why you'd want to stick to the win32-bit version. two of the tools i use for work do not work with win7 64bit, no matter what you try. the only way i managed to make them work was by installing a windows xp virtual machine within win7 64 bit. talk about performance hits
> 
> secondly, and more importantly, there IS a way to let your 32-bit win7 use more memory - allegedly up to 64GB, but i only use 8, so i can only confirm it definitely works up to 8 GB, with each inidividual application still being limited to 4 GB. once you install this patch (even though your antivirus will probably report is as a virus and advise you not to install it), you will be able to see (in system properties, task manager) the full amount of your memory.
> 
> ...



Yes, that patch will allow you to use more then 4GB of RAM, it also causes issues with some drivers.  It is a use at your own risk thing, but by default PAE won't enable more than 4GB in desktop versions of Windows without using a patch like this.  Microsoft did this, obviously, to prevent all the support calls from peoples hardware not working.



nazala said:


> hello im new
> searching from google and i get here
> 
> in the end of line
> ...



I'd just leave PAE on, but the difference will be negligible.


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