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I have windows 7 in 32 bit mode and apparently it doesn't know how to use more than 3.4 GB of RAM, but I have 8. I read about the PAE thing, and it is enabled on my system but it still limited to 3.4 :(

Is there any way to fix this, without upgrading to 64 bit?

kimberly
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  • See the linked answer, especially "This 4 GB limit is still in place for Windows 7 32-bit. If you want to see more than 4 GB of RAM you will have to use a 64-bit version of Windows." – slhck Aug 23 '14 at 18:08
  • Even if you were to fully activate PAE, it might cause a lot of problems. Just upgrade to x64—it’s free! – Daniel B Aug 23 '14 at 18:08
  • But I have to reinstall everything :( – kimberly Aug 23 '14 at 18:08

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No. Look at the official limits and what each version of every Windows supports:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa366778(v=vs.85).aspx

akira
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  • but why ubuntu can use all ram and windows can't :( – kimberly Aug 23 '14 at 18:06
  • Because Microsoft reads from memory differently than ubuntu. If you upgrade to windows 7 64-bit then you can use up to 192GB (16GB for home premium, 8GB for home basic and 2GB for starter) – Jon Aug 23 '14 at 18:08
  • @kimberly: a) it does not matter what other OSes can do or not: look at the limits of the versions microsoft ship. i do not like to become wet in the rain but that's just what happens. b) about which version of linux do we talk here? – akira Aug 23 '14 at 18:11
  • @kimberly, although linus, the chief architect of the main kernel (Linux) used by ubuntu, has stated, using many swear words, what he thinks of PAE, the Linux kernel has one of the best implementations of PAE. Also PAE breaks drivers, unless recompiled, and in some cases fixed; As no one has the full source code for the NT kernel, including drivers, this is impossible (Note the same is true for 64 bit, but vendors where forced to rewrite drivers or users to throw away hardware). Also in ubuntu, you will just have to install the 64 bit or PAE kernel and reboot, to get what you want. – ctrl-alt-delor Aug 23 '14 at 22:24