To all the power users out there who are running 4GB RAM or more on typical 34bit systems, you may realize that only about 3GB of that RAM can be used by the operating system efficiently. The remaining memory is pretty much wasted due to the nature of 32bit addressing making it a bummer if you have spent all that money to get so much RAM.
Only 3GB of RAM can be used by 34bit Systems
The reason this is a problem is due to the way 32bit systems allocate addresses. Back in the days, 4GB of ANYTHING was considered huge and as a result, the assumption that we would never need so much of anything was made. Well, fast forward a few decades and the problem is coming back to haunt us.
You may also notice that the limitation is also apparent in hard disks still running FAT32 filesystems. On those filesystem, you cannot have a single file exceeding 4GB in size, otherwise the OS will complain about running ‘out of space’. Nowadays, people are running on NTFS which do not have such a limitation.
Regardless, if you do own more than 4GB of RAM, it is recommended to upgrade your OS to a 64bit version, like XP64 or Vista 64. But let’s assume that is not possible or desirable? What then?
Use RAMDISK
Enter the RAMDISK. A ramdisk is basically a disk partition created in your ram. By doing so, you can then put a page file or browser cache on it giving you the ability to do something useful with that wasted RAM.
If you are running 4GB, simply create a 1GB ramdisk and place your computer’s page file into it, maximizing the use of RAM on your 32bit system.
Word of advice: do not do this if you have less than 4GB of RAM, or are already running a 64bit OS. It provides no benefit at all under these circumstances.
Anyway, Gavotte Ramdisk (of course free) will allow you to set up your ramdisk easily. After that, simply go into your computer and change the page file size and location so that it resides in your ramdisk and you’re done! Give it a try!