Short form: I want to use a 16GB USB flash drive memory stick as RAM, but seem to be unable to use more than 4GB, due to the system requirements, limiting what I can enter for values (size). WHY?? More detail: The computer is a desktop machine, having a 3.0GHz dual-core processor, and 4GB RAM installed. I believe the hard drive is a 1T. I have a 16GB USB flash drive memory stick, which I want to use to boost the RAM, for games, and such. There are 3 spare USB ports on the back of the tower. The flash drive is new, with NO files saved on it. When I go into the Settings; Computer; Virtual Memory, the computer is not allowing me to enter a value greater than 4096 in the field for "Initial Size" or "Maximum Size", for the Page File of the USB drive. The Value for C: that I see is: "2096-4092". Main Question: Is there some reason why I cannot allocate more of the memory stick for RAM? (Does the flash drive need to be formatted?) Does the values for C: need to be changed? I presently have "4090" entered for values "Initial Size" and "Maximum Size" in the custom size, for the Page File of the USB Drive. Screenshot provided of Virtual Memory Settings screen: (you can see the L: drive settings (selected), and the C: settings, also) http://prntscr.com/336ocy Question 2: Also, is the "4G" of RAM which I have added to the machine, being added to the 4GB which is already installed in the tower? Question 3: Does the OS wait until the system RAM is full before using the External RAM? Thanks! edit to add: What I learned from Microsoft article "How To Set Performance Options in Windows XP": http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308417/en-us To manually change the size of virtual memory, follow these steps: ... Note After you change the size of the paging file, you may be prompted to restart Windows. If you are prompted to restart, the changes will not take effect until Windows is restarted. ... To have Windows select the best paging file size, click System managed size. The recommended minimum size is the same as 1.5 times the RAM on your computer, and 3 times that figure for the maximum size. For example, if you have 256 MB of RAM, the minimum size is 384 MB, and the maximum size is 1152 MB. For best performance, do not set the initial size to less than the minimum recommended size under Total paging file size for all drives. The recommended size is the same as 1.5 times the RAM on your computer. It is good practice to leave the paging file at its recommended size as performance can decrease if a paging file is too large. However, you may increase its size if you frequently use programs that use lots of memory , such as graphics programs or games. What I am unclear of here, is that, as you can see in the screenshot, the Recommended Size under Total paging file size for all drives is 3019M. And, the values set for the Paging File in C are 2046-4092 . The tower has been rebuilt, and has 4GB RAM . I do not know if these numbers reflect an original build of 2GB, whereas 3GB (3019M) would be 1.5 times the installed RAM, perhaps. Under Virtual Memory, I see the following (shown in screenshot): Drive C Space available: 725194MB *Custom Size Initial Size: 2046 Maximum Size: 4092 Total paging file size for all Drives Minimum allowed: 2MB Recommended: 3019MB Currently Allocated: 2046MB Given that the system has 4GB RAM installed, shouldn't the minimum be 1.5 times that value, or ~6000MB ? (not 3019MB), and the maximum be 3 times ? (not 4092) "The recommended minimum size is the same as 1.5 times the RAM on your computer, and 3 times that figure for the maximum size." Can I change the values on the Virtual memory for C drive to 2046-12000MB ? That is what I am reading from the article. But, it also says to not have a paging file on the same drive as the programs. "Try to avoid having a paging file on the same drive as the system files, usually drive C." Also, why am I unable to enter values greater than 4096 for the USB drive in Initial or Maximum? I also have a question as to whether I should select "Programs" or "System Cache" in memory usage, due to the cache requirements of games, running very few programs. edit 2: I learned that the usb drive needs to be formatted in NTFS, so I did that, which isn't easy, as that isn't a selection in the choices in the Format menu, without going into Device Mgr. A friend was telling me about formatting a usb drive ex-fat for a newer application, and got me thinking. I had selected FAT32 for this one, and had noticed no change in the page file graph usage after adding the drive, like it wasn't getting any data placed on it. So, as custom settings for this USB drive, I have the Initial value at 4091 and the Maximum at 4096, with "System Cache" selected as opposed to "Programs" in Memory usage, in Performance settings. Any answers or tips would be appreciated. Am I on the right track?

Windows Memory Diagnostic from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2008.09.utilityspotlight.aspx Save CD Image to Disk, from which you can save an ISO image of the program to your hard drive. Then you can burn that image onto a CD and make it bootable using CD creation software. After you build your bootable media, reboot your PC and start the diagnostic from the floppy or CD. Does this mean that first I save the file to hard drive. Then, burn the file onto cd? (What is meant by 'make it bootable')? "...reboot your PC and start the diagnostic from the floppy or CD." You also said to reboot the machine with the cd. Does this mean, install the cd before powering down the machine, and then do a restart? Does the machine automatically start the program from the cd?

Are you thinking along the lines that the machine was just making do with the possibly slightly impaired mem stick, and now that there is a new stick in there, which does not match (because the new one is actually within spec), that this could possibly be causing the problems? (And, therefore, do not rush down other avenues of possibilities?) And, the on-board video using up much of the RAM, interesting. Of note, is that while the system seems unresponsive, Task Mgr shows cpu usage very low (0-10%). We won't know for sure about the memory until you run the memory test, but a quick test would be to remove the sticks and only put the new one back in the slot where the old one was. If the machine boots and reports it all as OK then the old one is defective. On-board video only has no memory of its own, it uses RAM so the OS must share. By contrast video cards have their own memory so all of the RAM can be used by the OS. GPU-Z is another easy to use utility which will show you how much RAM the on-board video is using. About the unresponsiveness, while you work on this you might want to use the machine in clean-boot state, this will eliminate some unknowns from the picture. How to configure Windows XP to start in a "clean boot" state John

Copy the file over to your Windows 7 machine and have it make the bootable CD, Windows 7 can natively handle and burn .iso images. John Thanks. Working on that, now.

That memory diagnostic seems very nice, and comprehensive. It seems that this tower has only a cd player, not a cd-dvd writer. I will get the bootable file on cd so that I have it, and then run it on this machine. (Unless the door is mis-labeled). It HAS been rebuilt. I am eager to get the diagnostic running. Right now, I am extremely frustrated at what has happened. It is odd that there was a discrepancy in the 'MEM OK value vs. the Memory Installed when there was only 2GB installed, and now that there is another 2GB stick in there, I seem to be having problems. Are you thinking along the lines that the machine was just making do with the possibly slightly impaired mem stick, and now that there is a new stick in there, which does not match (because the new one is actually within spec), that this could possibly be causing the problems? (And, therefore, do not rush down other avenues of possibilities?) And, the on-board video using up much of the RAM, interesting. Of note, is that while the system seems unresponsive, Task Mgr shows cpu usage very low (0-10%).

Copy the file over to your Windows 7 machine and have it make the bootable CD, Windows 7 can natively handle and burn .iso images. John

Having trouble: Adding RAM with a USB memory stick to a Windows XP desktop that has 4GB installed

Anonymous

Short form:

I want to use a 16GB USB flash drive memory stick as RAM, but seem to be unable to use more than 4GB, due to the system requirements, limiting what I can enter for values (size). WHY??

More detail:

The computer is a desktop machine, having a 3.0GHz dual-core processor, and 4GB RAM installed. I believe the hard drive is a 1T.

I have a 16GB USB flash drive memory stick, which I want to use to boost the RAM, for games, and such. There are 3 spare USB ports on the back of the tower. The flash drive is new, with NO files saved on it.

When I go into the Settings; Computer; Virtual Memory, the computer is not allowing me to enter a value greater than 4096 in the field for "Initial Size" or "Maximum Size", for the Page File of the USB drive.

The Value for C: that I see is: "2096-4092".

Main Question:

Is there some reason why I cannot allocate more of the memory stick for RAM?

(Does the flash drive need to be formatted?)

Does the values for C: need to be changed?

I presently have "4090" entered for values "Initial Size" and "Maximum Size" in the custom size, for the Page File of the USB Drive.

Screenshot provided of Virtual Memory Settings screen: (you can see the L: drive settings (selected), and the C: settings, also)

http://prntscr.com/336ocy

Question 2:

Also, is the "4G" of RAM which I have added to the machine, being added to the 4GB which is already installed in the tower?

Question 3:

Does the OS wait until the system RAM is full before using the External RAM?

Thanks!

edit to add:

What I learned from Microsoft article "How To Set Performance Options in Windows XP":

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308417/en-us

To manually change the size of virtual memory, follow these steps:

...Note After you change the size of the paging file, you may be prompted to restart Windows. If you are prompted to restart, the changes will not take effect until Windows is restarted.

...

To have Windows select the best paging file size, click System managed size. The recommended minimum size is the same as 1.5 times the RAM on your computer, and 3 times that figure for the maximum size. For example, if you have 256 MB of RAM, the minimum size is 384 MB, and the maximum size is 1152 MB.
For best performance, do not set the initial size to less than the minimum recommended size under Total paging file size for all drives. The recommended size is the same as 1.5 times the RAM on your computer. It is good practice to leave the paging file at its recommended size as performance can decrease if a paging file is too large. However, you may increase its size if you frequently use programs that use lots of memory, such as graphics programs or games.

What I am unclear of here, is that, as you can see in the screenshot, the Recommended Size under Total paging file size for all drives is 3019M.

And, the values set for the Paging File in C are 2046-4092.

The tower has been rebuilt, and has 4GB RAM.

I do not know if these numbers reflect an original build of 2GB, whereas 3GB (3019M) would be 1.5 times the installed RAM, perhaps.

Under Virtual Memory, I see the following (shown in screenshot):

Drive C

Space available: 725194MB

*Custom Size

Initial Size: 2046

Maximum Size: 4092

Total paging file size for all Drives

Minimum allowed: 2MB

Recommended: 3019MB

Currently Allocated: 2046MB

Given that the system has 4GB RAM installed, shouldn't the minimum be 1.5 times that value, or ~6000MB ? (not 3019MB), and the maximum be 3 times ? (not 4092)

"The recommended minimum size is the same as 1.5 times the RAM on your computer, and 3 times that figure for the maximum size."

Can I change the values on the Virtual memory for C drive to 2046-12000MB ?

That is what I am reading from the article. But, it also says to not have a paging file on the same drive as the programs.

"Try to avoid having a paging file on the same drive as the system files, usually drive C."

Also, why am I unable to enter values greater than 4096 for the USB drive in Initial or Maximum?

I also have a question as to whether I should select "Programs" or "System Cache" in memory usage, due to the cache requirements of games, running very few programs.

edit 2:

I learned that the usb drive needs to be formatted in NTFS, so I did that, which isn't easy, as that isn't a selection in the choices in the Format menu, without going into Device Mgr.

A friend was telling me about formatting a usb drive ex-fat for a newer application, and got me thinking. I had selected FAT32 for this one, and had noticed no change in the page file graph usage after adding the drive, like it wasn't getting any data placed on it.

So, as custom settings for this USB drive, I have the Initial value at 4091 and the Maximum at 4096, with "System Cache" selected as opposed to "Programs" in Memory usage, in Performance settings.

Any answers or tips would be appreciated.

Am I on the right track?

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

149 answers

Anonymous

2014-03-31T02:22:14+00:00
Windows Memory Diagnostic

from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2008.09.utilityspotlight.aspx
- Save CD Image to Disk, from which you can save an ISO image of the program to your hard drive. Then you can burn that image onto a CD and make it bootable using CD creation software. After you build your bootable media, reboot your PC and start the diagnostic from the floppy or CD.
Does this mean that first I save the file to hard drive.

Then, burn the file onto cd? (What is meant by 'make it bootable')?

"...reboot your PC and start the diagnostic from the floppy or CD."

You also said to reboot the machine with the cd. Does this mean, install the cd before powering down the machine, and then do a restart?

Does the machine automatically start the program from the cd?
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2014-03-31T01:59:12+00:00

Are you thinking along the lines that the machine was just making do with the possibly slightly impaired mem stick, and now that there is a new stick in there, which does not match (because the new one is actually within spec), that this could possibly be causing the problems? (And, therefore, do not rush down other avenues of possibilities?)

And, the on-board video using up much of the RAM, interesting.

Of note, is that while the system seems unresponsive, Task Mgr shows cpu usage very low (0-10%).

We won't know for sure about the memory until you run the memory test, but a quick test would be to remove the sticks and only put the new one back in the slot where the old one was. If the machine boots and reports it all as OK then the old one is defective.

On-board video only has no memory of its own, it uses RAM so the OS must share. By contrast video cards have their own memory so all of the RAM can be used by the OS. GPU-Z is another easy to use utility which will show you how much RAM the on-board video is using.

About the unresponsiveness, while you work on this you might want to use the machine in clean-boot state, this will eliminate some unknowns from the picture.

How to configure Windows XP to start in a "clean boot" state

John
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2014-03-31T01:40:06+00:00

Copy the file over to your Windows 7 machine and have it make the bootable CD, Windows 7 can natively handle and burn .iso images.

John

Thanks. Working on that, now.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2014-03-31T01:33:21+00:00

That memory diagnostic seems very nice, and comprehensive. It seems that this tower has only a cd player, not a cd-dvd writer. I will get the bootable file on cd so that I have it, and then run it on this machine. (Unless the door is mis-labeled). It HAS been rebuilt.

I am eager to get the diagnostic running.

Right now, I am extremely frustrated at what has happened.

It is odd that there was a discrepancy in the 'MEM OK value vs. the Memory Installed when there was only 2GB installed, and now that there is another 2GB stick in there, I seem to be having problems.

Are you thinking along the lines that the machine was just making do with the possibly slightly impaired mem stick, and now that there is a new stick in there, which does not match (because the new one is actually within spec), that this could possibly be causing the problems? (And, therefore, do not rush down other avenues of possibilities?)

And, the on-board video using up much of the RAM, interesting.

Of note, is that while the system seems unresponsive, Task Mgr shows cpu usage very low (0-10%).
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2014-03-31T01:10:32+00:00

Copy the file over to your Windows 7 machine and have it make the bootable CD, Windows 7 can natively handle and burn .iso images.

John
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments