Increase RAM on older system

Bree said:

A standard 32-bit Windows OS can only use 4GB of RAM. I'm not sure PAE will help for x86 Windows 10, it seems to only extend addressable RAM for Server editions. Installing 64-bit W10 would be my preferred solution. You can check the documentation for yourself here:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...ndows-releases

Tks Bree

Would it harm or brick the computer if I tried a 16 GB RAM stick on my Windows 10 32-bits? It may not work, but if this is all I risk, I can always put back the 4 GB ram stick.
I prefer not to install a new Windows 10 64-bits, because I don’t want to reinstall all the programs.

Ittiandro

Afaik using PAE to extend the memory capacity over 4GB is only supported in Windows XP SP1 (XP last SP was SP3) and in servers or some servers. Since XP SP2, PAE is used for security. The 32 bit architecture in general is full of dedicated absolute RAM addresses ranges for managing the peripherals, that don't understand virtual addressing. It's like an extension of the I/O map in RAM. These addresses are usually wisely located in the upper part so that most 32 bit systems can address 3 GB at least.

With 64 bits you'd lose 16 bits programs, very ancient apps that need the Virtual86 mode, present in 32 bit mode but not in 64 bit mode. Anyway this is rarely important nowadays.

You'd be very lucky if you find new DDR3 RAM, although RAM bought from other users should go well. I went that route for buying DDR2 in 2022 (the mobo, bought in 2020, came with free RAM to say it so, 2x1GB + 1 GB + 1GB, I bought 4x2 GB). Shipment was expensive from the US to Europe, but it's been absolutely worth it. Avoid cheap modules from some big distributors.

I'd also consider a 2nd hand computer or combo more modern than yours but still ancient enough for not being too expensive. I've caught 2 refurbished ones in a big international distributor here for like 150 euros each: an HP Intel Core i7-3770 RAM 16GB DDR3 SSD 480GB and a Dell Intel Core i5-6400 RAM 8GB DDR4 SSD 240GB. Both have those slim cases that can be below or beside the monitor. I would ask specially the first vendor about memory and stability (in general, I'd trust genuinely original or ancient modules that have been used and are in good condition, but not some current cheap ones), as it's a big amount of DDR3 that cannot be easily replaced.

This was from the MSI website:

https://storage-asset.msi.com/file/t.../TR10_2338.pdf


Another option is to view results running the Crucial scanner:

Crucial System Scanner | Crucial.com


Run: getmemoryconfiguration > post a share link

https://www.tenforums.com/attachment...figuration.bat

Batch files for use in BSOD debugging

Batch files for use in BSOD debugging

Code:

DDR3 MEMORY:  DDR3 1066/1333/1600* (*DDR3-1600 MHz is only supported with Intel® Ivy Bridge processors)
MEMORY CHANNEL:  Dual
DIMM SLOTS:  2
MAX MEMORY (GB):  16

JLArranz said:

Afaik using PAE to extend the memory capacity over 4GB is only supported in Windows XP SP1 (XP last SP was SP3) and in servers or some servers. Since XP SP2, PAE is used for security. The 32 bit architecture in general is full of dedicated absolute RAM addresses ranges for managing the peripherals, that don't understand virtual addressing. It's like an extension of the I/O map in RAM. These addresses are usually wisely located in the upper part so that most 32 bit systems can address 3 GB at least.

With 64 bits you'd lose 16 bits programs, very ancient apps that need the Virtual86 mode, present in 32 bit mode but not in 64 bit mode. Anyway this is rarely important nowadays.

You'd be very lucky if you find new DDR3 RAM, although RAM bought from other users should go well. I went that route for buying DDR2 in 2022 (the mobo, bought in 2020, came with free RAM to say it so, 2x1GB + 1 GB + 1GB, I bought 4x2 GB). Shipment was expensive from the US to Europe, but it's been absolutely worth it. Avoid cheap modules from some big distributors.

I'd also consider a 2nd hand computer or combo more modern than yours but still ancient enough for not being too expensive. I've caught 2 refurbished ones in a big international distributor here for like 150 euros each: an HP Intel Core i7-3770 RAM 16GB DDR3 SSD 480GB and a Dell Intel Core i5-6400 RAM 8GB DDR4 SSD 240GB. Both have those slim cases that can be below or beside the monitor. I would ask specially the first vendor about memory and stability (in general, I'd trust genuinely original or ancient modules that have been used and are in good condition, but not some current cheap ones), as it's a big amount of DDR3 that cannot be easily replaced.

Thanks
I might afford a SSD. The thing is that I don’t have a M.2 slot on my older MS-7680 mptherboard and I would have to use a PCI-e to M2 adaptor, that requires a long PCI –E slot, ( about 4”) already taken up by the graphic card.

In addition to the long PCI slot for the graphic card, there are three short PCI-E slots, about 1” long, but they are too short for the adapter. They are identified on the board as PCI E2, PCI E3 and PCI 1.
I believe there might be a solution with a flat cable-type of M2 adaptor, but I am a bit fuzzy about this. None of the videos about installing these adaptors show a terminal which fits into the short PCI-e’s slots. Perhaps there is a solution using the long PCI slot already taken by the graphic card, but then where does the graphic card go?
If the SSD solution doesn’t work, the only way would be to install a 64-bits Windows 10 with my 32-bits machine.
Perfhaps somebody can comment on this.


Thanks

Ittiandro

ittiandro said:

Thanks
I might afford a SSD. The thing is that I don’t have a M.2 slot on my older MS-7680 mptherboard and I would have to use a PCI-e to M2 adaptor, that requires a long PCI –E slot, ( about 4”) already taken up by the graphic card.

In addition to the long PCI slot for the graphic card, there are three short PCI-E slots, about 1” long, but they are too short for the adapter. They are identified on the board as PCI E2, PCI E3 and PCI 1.
I believe there might be a solution with a flat cable-type of M2 adaptor, but I am a bit fuzzy about this. None of the videos about installing these adaptors show a terminal which fits into the short PCI-e’s slots. Perhaps there is a solution using the long PCI slot already taken by the graphic card, but then where does the graphic card go?
If the SSD solution doesn’t work, the only way would be to install a 64-bits Windows 10 with my 32-bits machine.
Perfhaps somebody can comment on this.


Thanks

Ittiandro

Those free PCIe slots do only have one lane and are V2.0, 500 MB/s bandwidth. SATA2 allows up to 300 MB/s, but I don't think the hassle is worth. I've got a SATA SSD connected to my said above DDR2 system, to SATA2 too, and it's very fast, but it's also a decent drive that can do sustained writes at over 200 MB/s. Many cheap ones go below 100 MB/s ("sustained" writes means when a faster but smallish section of the drive, that reaches the maximum rated speed, gets full in large enough transfers and the drive has to write directly to the big and slow part; if the transfer is short enough, it will be written to the fast section and in the idle interval afterwards, transferred to the slow section silently in the background, w/o affecting the rest of the system; any section is "non volatile" and the firmware can serve data from any of them, of course files that happen to be half in the fast half in the slow are well served and stored too; slow "sustained" writes speeds are common in cheap drives of any bus).