3GB switch my findings
3GB switch my findings
(OP)
I don't know if this will be helpful to anyone, but I wanted to share this with all of you.
I was reading back through thread559-189982: 2007 Solidworks is SLOW? and decided to investigate 3GB switch again.
I started reading up on just about all the 3GB articles I could find. I read Ed Eaton's and Wayne Tiffany's articles on the 3GB switch along with Microsoft's info. but Wayne Tiffany showed me the most of what can be done.
thread559-155411: 3GB Memory Switch..
http://kcswug.com/documents/articles/
Other articles I found:
http: //www.gehr ytechnolog ies.com/ca tia/catia/ catia_wind ows_large_ memory.htm
http://www.amiravis.com/3GBswitch-instruction.html
On my system I have just 3GB of RAM. But XP of course could only use 2GB still. I initially used the MS line for the 3GB switch and I have to say it ran like crap... it was slower, SW was slower it was ridiculous. So I went back to just the readable 2GB. I had not pursued it further until this morning. I am still testing, but I found an option that seems to have worked.
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional 3GB Limited" /fastdetect /3GB /userva=2000
This one worked for me. I have other bootable lines, but this one works and the memory allocation is actually better then it was before. I don’t have an AV on my system and that does allow for less memory to be taken away from Windows and SW. Which is why I don’t want an AV, I will take my chances. I now have Outlook open along with IE, Mozilla (4 tabs), SW (complex assembly opened), Word, 2 windows Explorers, Task manager and my boot.ini file opened. I am approximately using just around a single GB of memory. I have a total of 36 processes running along with my PDMworks services running on this machine.
I have to say I am very impressed as before I would be running a higher amount of memory and running slower.
But this is just how my system is reacting to these changes. Your Mileage may vary... so if you decide to pursue the 3GB switch I recommend those articles and any others you can find online. Then try it out on your system as long as you keep your default boot, you should not have to worry about not getting back into windows.
,
I was reading back through thread559-189982: 2007 Solidworks is SLOW? and decided to investigate 3GB switch again.
I started reading up on just about all the 3GB articles I could find. I read Ed Eaton's and Wayne Tiffany's articles on the 3GB switch along with Microsoft's info. but Wayne Tiffany showed me the most of what can be done.
thread559-155411: 3GB Memory Switch..
http://kcswug.com/documents/articles/
Other articles I found:
http:
http://www.amiravis.com/3GBswitch-instruction.html
On my system I have just 3GB of RAM. But XP of course could only use 2GB still. I initially used the MS line for the 3GB switch and I have to say it ran like crap... it was slower, SW was slower it was ridiculous. So I went back to just the readable 2GB. I had not pursued it further until this morning. I am still testing, but I found an option that seems to have worked.
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional 3GB Limited" /fastdetect /3GB /userva=2000
This one worked for me. I have other bootable lines, but this one works and the memory allocation is actually better then it was before. I don’t have an AV on my system and that does allow for less memory to be taken away from Windows and SW. Which is why I don’t want an AV, I will take my chances. I now have Outlook open along with IE, Mozilla (4 tabs), SW (complex assembly opened), Word, 2 windows Explorers, Task manager and my boot.ini file opened. I am approximately using just around a single GB of memory. I have a total of 36 processes running along with my PDMworks services running on this machine.
I have to say I am very impressed as before I would be running a higher amount of memory and running slower.
But this is just how my system is reacting to these changes. Your Mileage may vary... so if you decide to pursue the 3GB switch I recommend those articles and any others you can find online. Then try it out on your system as long as you keep your default boot, you should not have to worry about not getting back into windows.
, Scott Baugh, CSWP ![[pc2] pc2](https://www.tipmaster.com/images/pc2.gif)
www.scottjbaugh.com
"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"
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RE: 3GB switch my findings
Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
CAD Administrator
SW '07 SP2.0, Dell M90, Intel 2 Duo Core, 2GB RAM, nVidia 2500M
http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog
RE: 3GB switch my findings
In http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316739/ Microsoft recommends /userva=2900 or less for stability. This is probably why some experience problems when the /3GB switch is enabled; by default it sets aside too much space for applications, and not enough for the OS.
Eric
RE: 3GB switch my findings
Cheers,
Scott Baugh, CSWP![[pc2] pc2](https://www.tipmaster.com/images/pc2.gif)
www.scottjbaugh.com
"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: 3GB switch my findings
RE: 3GB switch my findings
Bottom line: For people like Scott, who know what they're doing, running without AV can work, as long as lots of caution and know-how are involved. For the rest of us, why take unnecessary risks?
Just my $0.02
RE: 3GB switch my findings
Scott, would you mind doing a check with the new SW benchmark and posting updated results with your present configuration? I'm quite interested in knowing what sort of difference you're seeing in performance with that bit of code in the boot.ini.
Also, can someone else explain what the "new" bits of code in the file really mean/do? I'd like to understand what's going on before making the change in my own system. Eric mentioned variations in the settings above, but I don't quite understand what is being done with those settings.
Thanks!
Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
Reason trumps all. And awe transcends reason.
RE: 3GB switch my findings
RE: 3GB switch my findings
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316739
RE: 3GB switch my findings
Taken from http://w
I interpret that to mean that a 32 bit system can use more than the stock 4GB. Can anyone shed more light on this?
RE: 3GB switch my findings
I use Avast at home and never thought about going to Professional. I will check it out.
Bradley
SolidWorks Premim 2007 x64 SP4.0
PDM Works, Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU
3.00 GHz, 5 GB RAM, Virtual memory 12577 MB, nVidia 3400
RE: 3GB switch my findings
Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
Reason trumps all. And awe transcends reason.
RE: 3GB switch my findings
http://w
So if stability goes down the drain when enabling PAE try updating your drivers before giving up. I've personally never messed with PAE (64bit is the future in my opinion).
Stefan Hamminga
EngIT Solutions
CSWP/Mechanical designer
Searching Eng-Tips forums
RE: 3GB switch my findings
64 bit is definitely the way to go for memory issues, but unfortunately, some (most ?) of us are going to be stuck with 32 bit for quite a while.
RE: 3GB switch my findings
I found this while doing a quick google on PAE... Seems like PAE in XP SP2 is only to be able to turn DEP on (a safety feature, which most people don't use). The amount of RAM does not differ from /3GB anymore.
Also I came across a site hinting that AGP videocards could be robbing address space in the address region that is used by the 3GB swich, so perhaps experimenting with BIOS settings (lower AGP apperture) could make larger Userva settings stable
Stefan Hamminga
EngIT Solutions
CSWP/Mechanical designer
Searching Eng-Tips forums