Re: XP SP-2 System Boot Fails using /3GB switch in Boot.ini

Like it or not, some part of installed RAM has to be available for kernel
processes, pci memory address, video etc. The fact that a system does not
make the user aware of this until such time as 4gb is installed does not
take away from the that fact. By using the /3gb switch in a system where
only 3gb was installed, the system was attempting to do as asked, but in
doing so was cutting away resources needed for the 'system' to operate.

Even in a 64bit system which accurately reports 4gb installed RAM, a portion
of that is required for system processes, and so will not be directly
available to Windows purely because the system will not allow it.

As far as I am aware, Windows XP can't use more than 2gb for any one single
process, so forcing by using the /3gb switch will not work for just one
process anyway.

To rebuild your boot.ini file such that the machine boots properly, go to
this website..

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/330184

--
Mike Hall
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User



"Gaikotsu" <Gaikotsu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:718CC440-DA30-4572-8D06-9CAD71DDDCEC@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Andrew,

Thanks for the response I'm glad there is an explanantion.

I DO need the 3GB switch! I am an illustrator and I work heavily in
Photoshop. The programers at Adobe saw fit to limit Photoshop to 1.7 GIG
of
RAM. However, if you apply the 3GB switch it will allow upto 2.8 GIG of
RAM.
This will assist me in having less data to swap on 'scratch' discs. A
simple 200MB file will take 5 minutes just to gausian blur :(.

I want to increase performance in Photoshop. I have a decent system...I
just want it to run like one ;).

-Gaikotsu

"Andrew E." wrote:

On a new hd,specially SATA it doesnt get recognized,to solve
this,download
the MS-DOS utility from its mfg web site.Install to a MS-DOS formatted
floppy,
boot to floppy,run the formating/burn in utilities.Also,you dont need to
use
a 3GB switch,what does this accomplish....Also,make sure the BIOS is set
for SATA,by default it isnt.

"Gaikotsu" wrote:

Greetings,

I am trying to increase the amount of Physical Memory used by Photoshop
CS2.
It is stated by Adobe that this can be accomplished by using the /3GB
switch
in Boot.ini on a Windows Xp Professional Service Pack 2 system. I have
this
version and I am using SP2.

When I place the /3GB switch in Boot.ini the system fails to boot. The
system will post, then there is a Blue Screen, however it goes by in an
instant and it doesn't fully display. THe system then reboots itself.
it
will do this in a continual loop. Windows Recovery Console will not
repair
the problem as it cannot properly see the Partition on the Boot Drive.
I
beleive that this is because it's a Seral ATA drive. Even when using
F6 to
load in the Serial ATA driver, it still cannot read the partion. It
states
that the file system is [unkown] and that there maybe corruption that
is
unrecoverable. Obviously this is BS as all I did was change the
Boot.ini
file. I resolved the issue by installing Windows to a new drive and
used
that Windows session to change the Boot.ini file back to normal.

With that said, is there a way to use this switch with my system?
Perhaps I
didn't place it in the right place? Is the order in which the switches
are
executed important?

Here are my system specs:

Mainboard: ASUS P4800 SE
CPU: Intel P4 3.0 Ghz (Presscott)
Memory: 2x 512MB PC3200 Corsair 2x 1024MB PC3200 Corsair (Running in
Dual
Channel)
Drives:
1) Maxtor 300GIG Serial ATA 7200RPM 16mb cache (2 partitions of 150GIG)
2) Maxtor 160GIG E-IDE UATA 7200 RPM 8mb Cache (Contains the Windows
Swap)
3) Western Digital 40GIG E-IDE ATA 7200 RPM 4mb Cache
4) Creative DVD-ROM
5) Creative DVD-RW
VIDEO: AGP 8x Biostar 6800 Ultra 512MB using Forceware 93.71(latest)
SOUND: SundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS
OS: Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 Version 2002

Thanks in Advance!

-Gaikotsu


.

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