WinXP /3GB switch 'gotcha'

Just a 'heads up' for anyone out there thinking of adding more RAM to their XP system and use the /3GB switch in their boot.ini to increase the RAM available for Photoshop:
If you're using an 'on the motherboard' video card there's a good chance it will no longer work properly (driver will fail to load). With the /3GB switch enabled the onboard video will no longer have access to the RAM it needs when it gets re-routed away from the system (that's what the /3GB does). The solution is to get a separate video card with its own memory.
This will affect some laptop users and anyone else who is trying to simplify their system by using the onboard video features that are common these days.
I'm not certain if this is the case with all systems. But I get the impression it's a known issue.
Russell

>. I think the /userva= option might only be for "Microsoft Windows Server 2003" which that tech-doc refers to.
no, but i don't htink it's guaranteed to work everywhere... there's more info here on all the switches, and more specific links to info on /3gb and /userva
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/833721
* Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86)
* Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
* Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition
* Microsoft Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Version 2003
* Microsoft Windows XP Professional
* Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
>Isn't the problem address space, not physical RAM?
no. onboard video sometimes (all the times?) uses main ram AS video ram.

Similar Messages

Oracle 9i - Unable to set /PAE and /3GB Switch in Windows 2003 Server SP2

Hi
I was wondering if anyone had any experience on Windows 2003 Server (SP2) with setting /PAE and /3GB switches.
I am unable to set both together, setting one or the other works fine in the boot.ini.
Oracle seem to think you can set both but it causes my OS to crash/become unstable.
Has anyone set both switches together on 32 bit Windows 2003 Server successfully?
I am using Oracle 9.2.0.3 Enterprise Edition.
Thanks

The server is new. But we installed 10g before 11g was available. Then upgraded to 11g, so it is a little mess. What the oracle installer should have done in a fresh install, it is maybe not what the server has now.
I have checked for memory issues, processor issues, http errors, every EM setting and metric, and everything looks just right, but the applications are slow and the users are upset.
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Oracle 9i unstable on Windows 2003 EE with OUT /3gb switch

I am currently running 9.2.0.6 in OLTP confiig with replication using streams on Windows 2003 Standard. We needed more memory for the database, so we purchased a Windows 2003 Enterprise Edition license to break the 3gb limit. I was already using the /3gb switch. We built a new box with 32gb of ram and just put in the /pae switch as I didn't think the /3gb was needed. Our SGA was only 500mg. The docs actually said the /3gb switch would limit us the 16gb. Well, upon migrating the database, I get all these 4030 errors and "skgpspawn failed:category = 27143, depinfo = 9261, op = spdcr, loc = skgpspawn" errors, 12500, 12560s ... like nothing I have ever seen before and the db would crash. We also got errors in Windows Event Viewer: "Unable to begin another thread". I had NOT even given the DB more memory, this was using the original settings. Anyway, we reverted back to old server, thinking we had bad RAM. We tested box new box and it looks fine, so swapped out RAM. We tried again, but same thing happened, errors left and right and the database crashed. So we rebuilt the new EE box like the old Standard with /3gb switch in addition to the /pae and it stabilized.
Can't find much on metalink. Why would I need the /3gb switch? One of my systems guys says the /3gb changes some of the behaviors of Windows and it affects threads.
NOTE: We only pay for oracle upgrades, we don't have support so I can't open a TAR. It's a money issue. This is the first place I have worked that I couldn't open a TAR. It's a bummer.
Edited by: ABD - DBA on Jan 28, 2009 3:51 PM

Not sure if I got this correctly but...
with standard edition of Windows 2003 and with /3GB switch in place, you made the kernel use 1GB of the 32 bit address space.
With Enterprise edition of Windows 2003 and without /3GB switch in place, kernel will use 2GB which is default.
Thus if you have configured the new server without /3GB and your SGA is > 2GB then you will face these issues.
Again, one cannot combine the /PAE and /3GB switches as it would restrict the addressable memory to 16GB only.
Or do I need more coffee?
My choice for > 4GB is always 64 bit system with 64 bit OS and Oracle binaries.
Just my two cents...

How Use /Fastdetect /3GB switch for Utlizing 2G RAM

DB : 10.2.0
OS : Microsoft Server 2003
Processor : 2xDual Core Intel Xeon
Physical Memory : 4G (But showing 3.5G)
i want to configure my databse for utlizing 3g RAM ( using 3gb switch in boot.ini file 1G for OS Kernal and 2G for user related applications proces i.e ORACLE.EXE and lsnrctl etc.
After changing parameter USE_INDIRECT_DATA_BUFFERS=TRUE in init.ora file. what value i have to cinfigure for DB_BLOCK_BUFFERS=XXXXXX
and how i can update registery for AWE_WINDOW_MEMORY
how i adjust SGA and PGA for establishing Aproximatly 400 sessios.
Boot.ini file is as : (it is work or not)
[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 Server 2003 " /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /3GB /Userva=3030

You may want to refer to the Metalink Note:
implementing Address Windowing Extensions (AWE) or VLM on Windows Platforms. Note 225349-1
Another good reference can be found at Memory Support and Windows Operating systems
~ Madrid

Using the /userva & /3gb switches with windows 2003 server

hey guys ....
i get the following errors wher performing an rman db backup (db 10.2.0 , on windows server 2003 enterprise edition):
unable to queue I/O
RMAN-03009: failure of backup command on ORA_DISK_1 channel at 10/30/2008 23:32:24
ORA-19502: write error on file "\\10.10.1.214\BK_F\abs10G\FULL\6AJUFS85_1_1", blockno 6145 (blocksize=512)
ORA-27091: unable to queue I/O
OSD-04008: WriteFile() failure, unable to write to file
O/S-Error: (OS 1450) Insufficient system resources exist to complete the requested service.
ORA-19502: write error on file "\\10.10.1.214\BK_F\abs10G\FULL\6AJUFS85_1_1", blockno 1 (blocksize=512)
ORA-27091: unable to queue I/O
after doing some research , it seems like the problem is caused by the /3gb switch i'm using in the windows boot.ini as follows:
[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="Windows Server 2003, Enterprise" /fastdetect /3GB /PAE
( metalink NOTE:297498.1 : Resolving Instance Evictions on Windows Platforms was really helpful)
using the performance monitor as described in the note , here's an average of the output on a moderately busy day:
pool paged bytes=131460000
pool nonpaged bytes=42738000
free system page table entries=900
now as indicated in the note , i intend to add the /userva switch too set to an apropriate value , but before doing that on the weekend , does anybody have any recommendations ?
do u think the /pae flag will cause a problem ? & won't the memory reduced from the 3gb & added to the os kernel's PTE's force me to reduce any of the following components?
3GB =
a) AWE_WINDOW_MEMORY (used to address/map the indirect data buffers) +
b) non-buffer_cache part of the SGA (Shared Pool, Large Pool, Java Pool, Streams Pool, Log buffer) +
c) Oracle Process overhead +
d) (Thread stack x number of threads(ie Oracle processes)) +
c) PGA
thank you in advance...
Edited by: user6739264 on Nov 2, 2008 3:40 AM

thank you for replying ....
no im not using raw devices, im using disk & i have plenty of free disk space for the backup,
& i was refering to the
O/S-Error: (OS 1450) Insufficient system resources exist to complete the requested service.
error
any suggestions?
nb:
this is a new db server configured with 12 gb of ram that's why we're using AWE
& THE PROBLEM NEVER HAPPENED WITH THE OLD SERVER where manual memory management & only 4 gb of ram were in use.

Firefox 3.5.1 on WinXP automatically switches to "Work Offline" when a connection to the internet drops. User must un-click "Work Offline" for it to work once a connection has been restored. Why?

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Do I need the /3gb switch on Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition

I have an Oracle 10g database running on a Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition with 16gb of RAM. Do I need to set the /3gb and or /PAE switch in the boot.ini file for Oracle to use this memory?

This metalink doc talking pretty extensively about the setting
Implementing Address Windowing Extensions (AWE) or VLM on Windows Platforms
Doc ID: Note:225349.1
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IntelMac (newest Tiger) not connecting after installing WinXP and switching

Hi Everyone. I tried searching the discussions for this, but I couldn't find a suitable answer (or anyone else having this problem). Here's the issue (and my temporary solution, but really really annoying):
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....Yes I realize I can just tell her how to get around the issue, but >_>..... Or if there is a way I can create a script to run at startup that will turn airport off and then on, after startup, then that would be great too....
If there is someone that can help me out, that'd be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.
iMac Intel Core Duo 2.0GHz 1.5 GB RAM Mac OS X (10.4.8) WinXP installed and can connect to airport express

I just recently installed it (maybe 3-4 wks ago?).... It's BootCamp 1.1.2, assuming newest drivers for the computer.
Yes I've noticed about the date-time thing being offset by the amount of hours I'm on the XP -- almost always 5h, too, for some reason.
I read in another post that XP might be stealing my IP address which is why I have to restart the Airport card (so I can get it back). But there's no viable solution. Happen to know any for the window's side? I'll have to ask my windows buddy this too.
In the meantime....
Do you think that there are scripts out there (or is it possible to make a script) that will automatically run when the computer restarts... and have it turn the airport card on/off? ...As well as go to date and time? I'm not very familiar with Scripting, and Automator Robot is bloody confusing....
Any help is greatly appreciated!!
Thanks.
PS - Have you tried Parallels, if you switch back n forth so often? Aside from the drivers not existing, it's great for using regular applications. I tried to use it but, honestly, the games wouldn't load because of lack of drivers for video card (and lack of "finding" the video card to get a driver for it lol)

MSI R9 280X BF4 3GB SWITCH DVI TO HDMI???

Hi All
It has been quite a while since I have been in this forum, My old profile seems to have vanished maybe due to lack of login so I have re-registered
I am still running my trusty old 990FXA-GD80 mobo (see sig) & today I just received an MSI R9 280X BF4 3GB graphics card, I installed it & did not get any signal via the HDMI output so I found a VGA cable & DVI adaptor & connected it to the TV (Sanyo 42" LCDd) via the VGA input & it booted up fine & I was able to install the drivers & AMD catalyst etc software
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I have both cables - DVI to VGA & HDMI to HDMI connected between the TV & graphics card
I might just have to buy a DVI to HDMI cable in the morning & see how that goes?
Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated

Thanks Nichrome
Yes it is currently connected to a 42" LCD TV, It may not be easy to get hold of a monitor with HDMI input on loan to test either
I will be able to connect my brand new LG 60" LED LCD 3D (60LB6500) TV tomorrow & see if the HDMI will work that way? (The new LG only has HDMI inputs as far as I can find but I will know for sure tomorrow?) It may just be the older 42" LCD TV not playing the game, If the new LG 60" does not work via the HDMI output then its onto the other options........>
The previous Geforce drivers & software was completely removed before the Radeon install but I do agree it may be an issue & a clean install via driver fusion might be needed?
The current or latest drivers I could find is> 14.501.1003
I originally installed the latest drivers from the MSI site & could not find the option to connect via HDMI so I went to the AMD site hoping to fix the issue with new AMD drivers
The audio runs direct to a receiver via SPDIF so for me there is no real need for HDMI output unless it is going to be a better quality option?
From what I have read the quality or performance should not really be any different between the DVI & HDMI output so it should not be any major trouble to buy a DVI to HDMI cable? Any opinions

Server Performace abnormal after adding /3GB and /PAE Switch..... :(

Hello Everyone,
We have windows server 2003 Enterprise edition x86 with 16 GB RAM. our application team use MS.net application and want /PAE & /3GB switch in boot.ini file.
Today morning I add /PAE /3GB switch in my boot.ini file and restart server, once server get start at abnormal state..
then I reboot server and login with safe mode option and removed both switches.
- application team -
They are unable to use more than 2GB ram in .net application. so they want /PAE /3GB switches in boot.ini
so how can resolve this issue......
Regards, Sushant

u should move to 64bit
consequences of running 3GB and PAE together
http://blogs.technet.com/b/brad_rutkowski/archive/2007/04/03/consequences-of-running-3gb-and-pae-together.aspx

KT4 Ultra MS-6590 - Win XP Home boots with 2GB DDR333 installed but not 3GB

Spec...
KT4 Ultra MS-6590
AMD Athlon XP 3000+ (FSB set to 166MHz in BIOS)
BIOS MS-6590v1.4
Win XP Home 2002, SP3
Problem...
Previously, had 768MB RAM installed, and XP strangely identified CPU as a 2200+.
Recently upgraded the RAM to 3GB DDR333 (3 sticks of 1GB 184-pin unbuff DIMM 128MX64 DDR PC2700), and changed BIOS settings for CPU and DRAM.
In the DOS boot screen, Win XP progress indicator fills completely from left to right, then stops with a half-blinking cursor in the top left of the screen.
Removed 1GB stick and Win XP successfully loaded, also now recognising the Athlon XP 3000+, and running a heck of a lot faster.
Tried adding the /3GB switch to the boot.ini file, which didn't do anything, and after reading more forum advice, guessed this might be irrelevant. I don't think this is a 4GT and PAE issue, as I'm not trying to install above 4GB (if I've correctly understood).
Also, forum advice (various sites) conflicts on whether Win XP 32-bit is limited to 2GB or 4GB, and I can't find any workarounds for my current setup.
Any ideas?

Another test I've done is to enable boot logging with Win XP. This appends command lines to the file 'ntbtlog' in the windows directory, which mainly shows drivers being loaded as Win XP is launched. The log is normally date and time-stamped for every boot-logging session.
When all 3 sticks are installed, I cold boot, then press F8 and select 'enable boot logging' from the options menu. This is what appears on the screen as the system, attempts to load Win XP.
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\hal.dll
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\KDCOM.DLL
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\BOOTVID.dll
Loaded driver ACPI.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\System32\DRIVERS\WMILIB.SYS
Loaded driver pci.sys
Loaded driver isapnp.sys
Loaded driver viaide.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\System32\DRIVERS\PCIIDEX.SYS
Loaded driver MountMgr.sys
Loaded driver ftdisk.sys
Loaded driver PartMgr.sys
Loaded driver VolSnap.sys
Loaded driver atapi.sys
Loaded driver disk.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\System32\DRIVERS\CLASSPNP.SYS
Loaded driver fltmgr.sys
Loaded driver sr.sys
Loaded driver PxHelp20.sys
Loaded driver KSecDD.sys
Loaded driver Ntfs.sys
Loaded driver NDIS.sys
Loaded driver Mup.sys
Loaded driver BTHidMgr.sys
Then the process freezes and a solid white block appears in the top-left of the screen, with the top-right corner of the block blinking.
At this point, I turn off the PC using the main power switch, then remove the 3rd memory stick. After booting up again, with only 2 sticks installed, opening the text file 'ntbtlog' reveals that this boot event wasn't logged.
So, I reboot Win XP with only the 2 sticks installed, and select 'enable boot logging'. This time, the above list of loaded drivers is shown in the text file, plus a whole lot more. The potentially interesting observation is the next in the list after "Loaded driver BTHidMgr.sys" which is "Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\DRIVERS\amdk7.sys".
'amdk7.sys' is a driver file which seems to come with one of the Win XP Service Packs, and which "is necessary to enable Windows XP support for AMD PowerNow! technology on computers that use a mobile Athlon 4 or mobile Duron processor." http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306458
Various other posts refer to it in relation to AMD Athlon XP 3000+ Mobile, whereas mine is a 3000+ in a desktop. Also, if 'amdk7.sys' isn't available, then Win XP will load the generic driver 'processr.sys'. In fact, my 'ntbtlog' includes the entry "Did not load driver \SystemRoot\System32\DRIVERS\processr.sys" which would make sense.
However, my curiosity is that with the 3 sticks installed, Win XP fails to continue loading when reaching 'amdk7.sys' in the driver list.
Another test I did was to change the power management settings in the BIOS.
"IPCA Function: This item is to activate the ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power
Management Interface) function. If your operating system is ACPI-aware, such
as Windows 98SE/2000/ME, select Yes. Available options: Yes, No."
This was normally set to Yes. When I set it to No and rebooted with 3 sticks installed, instead of a half-blinking white block (as described above), the screen went black and then the system rebooted itself...
The plot thickens!...
Maybe there's a clear explanation for this - however, I'm wary of doing something to the 'amdk7.sys' driver file (whether removing or disabling it somehow) in case it prevents Win XP from launching with just my 2 sticks installed. I'd guess there are precautions, but need further info on whether this is relevant, and what the implications might be.

Adding RAM over 2GB - will it help performance? (WinXP)

Hey guys,
I have LR running on a Dual Core AMD Windows XPpro machine with 2GB ram.
When I built the machine last year, I was advised that 2GB was all that XP and CS2 could utilise and that there was no point getting more.
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Thanks
Kev.

Adding 2GB more (4 GB total) can help, especially if you use the /3GB switch in the boot.ini file. At least photoshop can use up to what's left between ~3GB and what the operating system takes of ~3GB (in my machine PS allows me to set up to ~2.7 GB for PS only).
But the memory between ~3GB and 4GB can only be used by some device drivers atc, so XP will only show something like ~3.2GB RAM, so some of those 4GB is wasted.
But I'm certainly much happier with 4GB than I was with 2GB, much less swapping/waiting these days!
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Oracle 9i and Windows Memory /PAE /3GB

I have a server running 6 Oracle 9i 9.2.0.4 databases. Each database is using different memory amount - 30MB, 80MB, 156MB, 237MB, 373MB, and 418MB. The server total memory is 4GB and there is about 2GB free. We are looking to add a new database which will require about 1GB of RAM.
Will using the /PAE and /3GB switches for extended windows memory help in this situation? Or does this only affect single oracle databases that exceed 2GB? What is the best practice for a mix of database using less than 2GB each but approaching the total server memory limit? Is there a certain memory amount required to keep free?
THANKS

oldchappy wrote:
we have 3 (soon to be 4) different vendor/3rdparty applications on this server.
for support and maintenance reasons, they must be kept in separate instances.
so no, combining databases on one instance is a really bad idea.
a little help with the actual question please?Hi
The /3gb switch is a per server switch that limits the kernel address space to 1gb instead of 2 leaving you more memory for userland processes. It likely will be useful to you in reducing swapping of userland processes (your database SGAs ). PAE enables addressing larger total RAM than 4gb and so likely will not be of use to you. AWE which you maybe confusing with PAE allows individual processes to address more than 2gb ram using a windowing technique, as each individual database addresses less than 2gb RAM from your description then I don't believe that will be of use to you either.
Niall Litchfield
http://www.orawin.info/
Co-Author: Expert Oracle Practices - Oracle Database Administration from the Oak Table

/3GB and /LARGEADDRESSEAWARE

Hi,
i've read a good PDF about heap memory in the JVM : [dw3gbswitch3.pdf |http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/jdk/diagnosis/dw3gbswitch3.pdf ].
Shortly, the doc says:
without /3GB : maximum Xmx is about ~ 1.5G (pratical) 1.75 (theory)
with /3GB and /LARGEADDRESSEAWARE : maximum Xmx is about 1.7 or 1.8 GB (practical)
So i've check to see if java.exe (jdk1.6) has the PE flag "/LARGEADDRESSEAWARE" but it does not. So i guess there must be a reason, since IBM explains it can add a little heap (200MB) and some native memory for threads; so:
Why Sun JVM doen't support the /3GB (with /LARGEADDRESSEAWARE) ?

When you use /3GB switch, you can push the data block buffers into higher memory and use the lower 3GB (almost) for SGA only.
But your post makes me think that your current requirement for SGA (including the buffer cache) is under 3GB; so you can very well use upto theoretical 3GB process memory limit.
If the AWE window for the business processes are set to a smallish amount (not the default 1Gb), have you heard of any problems with Oracle utilizing the 3Gb switch and not PAE, when the PAE switch is specified for the server and used by other processes?You mean to say you will setup AWE_WINDOW_MEMORY parameter in registry (to a non-default value) but not setup Oracle to use the PAE? I don't know how many of other applications use this setting (AWE) to a good effect but if you have not configured Oracle to use AWE/PAE, there should be no affect on Oracle performance.

/3GB on Failsafe environment

Hi all,
I found a article about set /3GB on Domain server that is not work that is true?
I have oracle 10.2.0.1 enterprise edition on Windows server 2003 32bit and 8GB of RAM, I need to set SGA to 2GB and PGA to 512MB so I try to set /3GB on Windows server but it's fail that windows cluster is terminated and take to another node and listener will take also.
I'm not sure that about the server is domain and database server in same machine that is root cause?
If you have any suggest, please, because end-user want to know what is happened?
Regards,
Hiko

In a RAC enviroment, a good policy is to have the same config(inti params) on both instances.
To access more then 2GB, you obviously need to stop everything and restart the server with the proper /3GB switch.
Now for oracle, to be able to use the extra memory, you need to set the memory parameter statically, thus removing sga_target, sga_max.
Also you will need to remove any other memory settings set by oracle if you were using automatic memory management.
Finally you will need to enable indirect_data_buffers. To make things single i've included an example that I'm using. Please not that the amount of block buffers, computes as (block_buffers*db_block_size)=X amount of bytes
mydb.use_indirect_data_buffers='TRUE'
mydb._db_block_lru_latches=32
mydb.db_block_buffers=44800
mydb.java_pool_size=50331648
mydb.large_pool_size=8388608
mydb.shared_pool_size=1848576000
mydb.pga_aggregate_target=100572800
mydb.sga_target=0
Hopefully this get you pointed in the right direction.

WinXP /3GB switch 'gotcha'

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