Re: A8N-SLI SE and PAE

MTCS wrote:
Does the A8N-SLI SE motherboard support PAE (physical address extentions) anywhere in the BIOS? I have a friend with one of these boards. He wants to max out the board with 4Gb of RAM (4 x 1024 ddr) so I wanted to make sure it was possible to set PAE on so it dosn't let most of the last 1Gb go to waste. I don't know which BIOS it's currently using but we can update it if needed.
If there's no PAE or memory hole options we can try PAE in the boot.ini but I don't know if thats going to work.
Thanks for any advice.

Your motherboard has these BIOS options.

S/W DRAM Over 4G Remapping [Enabled]
H/W DRAM Over 4G Remapping [Enabled]

A guy plays with the settings here, and settles on WinXP x64 as
the best way to see all 4GB. This motherboard is roughly the
same era.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/245958-30-windows-issue

*******
OS limitations are listed here. From the 4GB address space limitation,
you need some address space for I/O, such as video card memory and PCI cards.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa366778(VS.85).aspx

"Physical Memory Limits: Windows XP

The following table specifies the limits on physical memory for Windows XP.

Version Limit in 32-bit Windows Limit in 64-bit Windows
Windows XP 4 GB 128 GB "

"Physical Address Extension - PAE Memory and Windows"
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platform/server/PAE/PAEdrv.mspx

"A detailed description of the Data Execution Prevention (DEP) feature in Windows XP SP2"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875352

"However, Windows will automatically enable PAE mode to support DEP.
Users do not have to separately enable PAE by using the /PAE boot switch."

*******

If you're lucky, you'll try many experiments, throw in the towel,
and live with 3.25GB or so. If you run two video cards, available memory
may drop to 2.75GB of the 4GB installed. Depending on the Service Pack level
of WinXP x32, PAE may already be enabled, as a means of making DEP
work.

And if you think you're disappointed now, try and use the memory. More
fun is yet to come. (Large address aware, 3GB switch, apps with
internal limits etc.) It's an uphill battle all the way.

Good luck,
Paul
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: PAE
    ... Available switch options for the Windows XP and the Windows Server 2003 Boot.ini files ... RAM, Virtual Memory, Pagefile and all that stuff ... As you mention the OD must be able to use PAE I am getting ... The /pae parameter enables Physical Address Extension. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.configuration_manage)
  • Re: Cannot activate sbcl
    ... Somehow I've managed to use 16GB and I'm using the 32bit version of Windows XP, and I was able to use all that memory (e.g. ... supports PAE. ... at any one time, but can access RAM above 4GB through AWE, a paging ...
    (comp.lang.lisp)
  • Re: Windows does not see all RAM
    ... The memory modules are fine. ... I also tried other modules with the same result -- BIOS sees it ... The computer has 1GB of RAM. ... However when you login to Windows and view the system properties it ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support)
  • Re: PAE
    ... PAE Short for Physical Address Extensions, PAE is an extension that enables Intel compatible computers running Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows 2003 applications to address more than 4 GB of physical memory. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.configuration_manage)
  • Re: Vista Ultimate 64-bit 8GB on ASUS 3A32-MVP Deluxe
    ... It first addresses a Windows 32bit issue only, the effect of the BIOS reserving memory for devices. ... The subject changes midway, beginning with the Workaround. ... I did have one AMD64 x2 box that needed the BIOS memory remapping option turned off or I would only see 3.5GB. ... It is relevant to program space, but by this time the KB has suffered severe mission creep and the PAE part should have been merely a link to the same info elsewhere. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.vista.hardware_devices)