Vista - X86 to 64 not using full potential

Ok so this is the deal I have an Acer laptop pretty new with windows 7
on it its a 32 bit version. When I go to look at my system it says to me
that I have 4 gig of ram but in brackets it is also saying that I am
able to use only 2.99 of it. I have done some research and apparently I
need a 64 bit version of windows which I downloaded but my computer is
X86 based so is there anyway round this? Aprogram that might change
something or am I stuck with 32bit windows then?

Please help


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kallides13
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"kallides13" wrote:
You didn't say what processor your laptop has, most modern processors are 64
bit capable. If the processor is 64 bit capable, drivers still need to be
provided by Acer. Go to the Acer website and locate 64 bit drivers for your
model. If none are available, you won't be able to use a 64 bit OS.

It's using all your memory. It's just that some of it is reserved for system
use.
It's working fine. Don't worry about it.
Don't get 64 bit Windows unless you have MORE than 4 GB of memory.

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"kallides13" <kallides13.3warna@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:kallides13.3warna@xxxxxx

"DaveD" <dd@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%234Zk8D6EKHA.3556@xxxxxx
Not true.. It is using 3gb of the four available. The rest of the
addressable space up to the 4gb limit is being taken up by the motherboard
resources..

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Mike Hall - MVP Windows Experience
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/

On Sun, 2 Aug 2009 13:42:27 -0500, "DaveD" <dd@xxxxxx> wrote:

Not correct. Here's the correct info:

All 32-bit client versions of Windows (not just Vista/XP) have a 4GB
address space (64-bit versions can use much more). That's the
theoretical upper limit beyond which you can not go.

But you can't use the entire 4GB of address space. Even though you
have a 4GB address space, you can only use *around* 3.1GB of RAM.
That's because some of that space is used by hardware and is not
available to the operating system and applications. The amount you can
use varies, depending on what hardware you have installed, but can
range from as little as 2GB to as much as 3.5GB. It's usually around
3.1GB.

Note that the hardware is using the address *space*, not the actual
RAM itself. If you have a greater amount of RAM, the rest of the RAM
goes unused because there is no address space to map it to.


--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
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A crucial difference! Thanks for the clear explanation.

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