I have 3 gb of RAM installed in my computer.
Two sticks of 1gb each and 2 sticks of 512 each.
When I open a program to see all the specs of the computer called System Information for Windows I can see that the system identify all 4 pieces of memory.
The problem is that when I open the preferences panel of CS4 to allocate more or less of the available memory it reads a total of 1.5 GB
Furthermore, CS4 seems to be slow as when is starving for RAM, specially noticeable when running filters, takes a very long time to finish a pass of a filter.
My motherboard has 4 RAm ports 2 colored black and two colored white. I have the 1gb sticks in one color and the 512 in the other color. So they are alternated phisically on the motherboard.
Since the system see all of them, should Photoshop be able to use them as well?
Hugo, what version of Windows are you running, and do you have the /3GB and /PAE switches in your boot.ini file (assuming you're running XP)? If not, that would explain why Photoshop can't see more of your RAM.
I see you're still struggling on with your RAM troubles. If the BIOS can see all the RAM then so should Windows. However, you'll probably need to use the boot switches that Bob suggests. When using large amounts of RAM some motherboards also "reserve" about half a gig of it for system use (so you only "see" 3.5Gb listed). Never fully understood this, but my old Opteron board did it.
HI Bob AN 15bit.
I don't know what board I have. Is a Dell 8400 and the motherboard is the one installed from factory.
what are the "switches on the bios" ?
How do I get to them and specifically what do I switch on or off to get more ram available?
I think what Huguito is seeing is normal for 32 bit windows. I had 4GB in my Dell with Vista 32bit and a 512MB video card, and Vista never saw more than 3.5GB of it, and didn't seem to even be able to effectively use that much.
Because I have been scanning lots of 4x5s and producing 500MB to 900MB files, the system was just dog slow. I bit the bullet last weekend and backed up all my data and installed Vista 64 bit with 8GB of RAM.
HUGE difference! Vista 64 sees and uses all 8GB and it absolutely flies now. Well worth doing if you're running PS and editing big files.
Hugo, I've already given you this information in a previous message, but here it is again:
Open your boot.ini file (root directory of your C: drive) in Notepad and add the /PAE and /3GB switches to it. Your resulting file should look something like the following:
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /PAE /3GB
HI Bob and Bifurcator
Can you tell me the steps to open the BIOS file and the boot.ini file to change the settings on the switch for PAE and 3GB switches?
Hugo, you don't need to go into the BIOS to add the switches. You just need to open the boot.ini file in Notepad. The boot.ini file is a system file, so you'll need to open My Computer and select Folder Options from the Tools menu. On the Folder Options dialog, select the View tab. Go the "Hidden files and folders" section, and click "Show hidden files and folders". Click on OK to apply the changes. You should now see the boot.ini file in the root directory of the C: drive. Double click on the boot.ini file to open it in Notepad. After adding the /PAE and /3GB statements, select File/SaveAs and save as boot.ini
He's right. That's how to set the switch. I was saying how to tell if you're machine actually sees it as 3 simm modules instead of the MS MessUp saying it was 4. most BIOS's I've dealt with will report RAM module, size, type, and location.
Ok, I did this, and CS3 does show a gig more Ram, but now itunes crashes, and after uninstalling and reinstalling itunes a couple times, more research dug up that the 3GB switch can make itunes crash and damage the library. Supposedly turning the switch off brings everything back in line for itunes. I'll be doing this soon. My question is, anyone know how to fix this to be able have the switch on and have itunes happy too?
BobCollette wrote:
Hugo, I've already given you this information in a previous message, but here it is again:
Open your boot.ini file (root directory of your C: drive) in Notepad and add the /PAE and /3GB switches to it. Your resulting file should look something like the following:
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /PAE /3GB
OK
I did go to the folder options on the tools menu, View hidden files was a selected options.
I open my computer and click on the C drive to see a list of the items on it, but could not see a boot.ini file in the list after opening Drive C
How do you open the root directory of drive C?
Is it a different path that the one I took?
If you clicked on the C drive you were in the right place. In the Folder options menu, you may also have to uncheck the "hide protected operating system files" box, which is three down from the view hidden files checkbox.
Hugo, as Dave mentioned, you also need to uncheck "Hide protected operating sytem files". I neglected to mention that. After doing that, you should see the boot.ini file.
I did uncheck the " Hide protected operating system files"
Now I can open the file on the directory of the C drive that reads Boot, with the words "Configuration settings" typed in the line rigth below.
After I double click that file, the system opens another small screen labeled "BOOT Notepad". In the screen I can see this:
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
How do I get to the two switches?
Should I just change that line to read as follows?
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /PAE /3GB
I feel like James Bond taking apart a nuclear bomb with the clock ticking and the fate of civilization on my shoulders
Dave Jr wrote:
Removed the 3GB switch entry from the bootini file and everything with itunes is groovy again. Kinda sucks to have to choose between the two.
You don't have to. Instead of /3GB, use the userva boot init. This allows up to 3 gig to be allocated for apps, but also lets the OS "borrow from this reserve if it is starving for ram. I don't understanding more than that, but I know it works. It got my audio system running safely, when the 3GB init was causing starvation crashes.
You can set it to allow any amount you want to your apps, up to 3 gig with 4 gig physical ram. You can also set less. for instance, with my system and 4 gig of physical ram, I set Userva to 2800 meg.
You add this to the boot init string just as you would the straight 3GB, but it looks like this:
### VERY IMPORTANT: The Userva and/ or 3GB switches will not operate correctly if you do not ALSO bump up your virtual ram setting. Some folks say to allocate 2X your physical ram. Others say it's enough to allocate 2X the amount of ram available to the computer (typically around 3.15 - 3.2 gig) so set virtual ram to at least 6.4 gig minimum value.
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BTW- From what I've read, the PAE thing is a bad idea. It was designed for servers, and some specific programmer tricks. Read up on it. For desktops, it does nothing, and can actually cause more problems.
most BIOS's I've dealt with will report RAM module, size, type, and location. 