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Why can't 32-bit Windows access 4GB of RAM? |
November 19, 2012
32-bit processors and operating systems, in theory, can access up to 4GB of memory. So how come Qasim Zaib's PC, with 4GB installed, only sees 3GB?
[Email your tech questions to answer@pcworld.com or post them on the PCW Answer Line forum.]
Every byte of RAM requires its own address, and the processor limits the length of those addresses. A 32-bit processor uses addresses that are 32 bits long. There are only 4,294,967,296, or 4GB, possible 32-bit addresses.
There are workarounds to these limitations, but they don't really apply to most PCs. I discuss them briefly below.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2013751/why-cant-32-bit-windows-access-4gb-of-ram.html
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