Windows XP SP0 x86 Corporate Edition 4GB and beyond

1842 Views 3 Replies 4 Participants Last post by LMiller7, Apr 13, 2011

veggiop

Discussion Starter · Apr 13, 2011

Hi there, i was reading on the forums and all over google that XP SP0 can actually see and use 4GB or above with PAE enabled and that from SP1 onwards microsoft has locked down the limit or ram to be used due to driver issues etc ... is this true.
If so i have just got a version of XP SP0 from my cousin which has no service packs upgrades patches etc ... it is a fully original cd untouched version of XP SP0 corporate edition released in 2001.
i would like to install this on my second pc which has 6gb of ddr3 ram. My main pc i am running win7 x64 ultimate but would like to have this XP SP0 version on my second computer
what changes would i have to make to the boot ini etc after i install XP SP0 to achive 6gb ram to be used if at all possible.

Any help you advise you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

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TheGift73

· #2 · Apr 13, 2011

Hi veggiop,

Windows XP SP0 x86

Regardless of which Service Pack you do or don't have installed, you will still be limited by the fact that you are running an operating system that uses a 32bit architecture. A 32bit OS will not be able to address more than 4GB of RAM (in real world probably about 3.75GB)
If you want to address the full 6GB of RAM you will have to install a 64bit (x64) OS.

Also running XP without any Service Packs is a bad idea as your security will be at risk.

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Jay_JWLH

· #3 · Apr 13, 2011

It sounds like you are trying a workaround. It's probably like installing a SATA card into a computer to increase the amount of SATA ports that it already supports.

Microsoft Windows implements PAE if booted with the appropriate option, but current 32-bit desktop editions enforce the physical address space within 4GB even in PAE mode. According to Geoff Chappell, Microsoft limits 32-bit versions of Windows to 4GB due to a licensing restriction, and Microsoft Technical Fellow Mark Russinovich says that some drivers were found to be unstable when encountering physical addresses above 4GB. Unofficial kernel patches for Windows Vista and Windows 7 32-bit are available that break this enforced limitation, though the stability is not guaranteed.

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LMiller7

· #4 · Apr 13, 2011

I believe it was possible to access more than 4GB of RAM with the original XP. Most modern processors have a 36 bit address bus so can theoretically access much more than 4 GB of RAM. This capability was removed because of driver compatibility issues.

I suspect it is not legal for you to use that CD. Others can advise you on that.

In any event it is going to be difficult to install any version of XP on modern hardware. The issue is availability of device drivers. The XP CD won't have them and they may or may not be available from the manufacturer.

Most modern software will not run on XP without at least SP2.

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