bjc: i'm running 98SE with all the latest windows updates; i don't have to worry about the OS not utilizing my ram, do I?
in order to even boot windows98 you may need to limit vcache settings.
my current vcache settings are: (system.ini)
[vcache]
MaxFileCache=524288
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 181594
Windows 95 Can Access Up to Two GB of RAM
The information in this article applies to:
Microsoft Windows 95
This article was previously published under Q181594
SYMPTOMS: If you install more than two gigabytes (GB) of memory (RAM) in your computer, you may be able to use only two GB of RAM in Windows 95.
CAUSE: Although Windows 95 has the ability to address up to four GB of virtual memory, it can access and use only two GB or less of physical RAM.
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How much memory can Windows 95/98/Me handle? (the 64mb myth and all that)
One oft-heard myth is that "Windows 95 can only handle 64 mb of RAM" or some variant on that theme. The truth is that Windows 95 and 98 are both designed to address 2 gb of RAM and there are as yet no motherboards which can hold this quantity although with 768 mb boards now widely available the 2 gb models can't be too far behind.
This myth originated with the Pentium systems that used certain versions of the Intel chipsets (VX and TX I believe) which were designed so that only the first 64 mb of RAM would be supported by the L2 cache on the motherboard and RAM beyond 64 megabytes would therefore operate without the benefit of the L2 cache. On these motherboards the L2 cache was often described as "pipelined burst cache" and there was either 256K or more often 512K of this cache available.
The report of memory beyond 64 mb not using the cache somehow got transformed into "more than 64 mb of memory won't work" and this misinformation persists.
These particular Intel chipsets have long since gone out of production. I believe they were discontinued when the switch was made to the MMX version of the Pentium. Even if you have one of these older systems (I do) there is no need to feel that you would not benefit by having more than 64 mb of RAM installed.
First of all, the overall impact of the L2 cache on system performance is about 10%. This has been measured by doing a series of timed application tests on a PC where all of the memory was being handled by the L2 cache. Then the system was reconfigured so that the L2 cache was totally shut down and the identical series of timed application tests was repeated. The end result was that shutting off the L2 cache completely increased the time required for the test series by 10%. So if you add additional RAM beyond 64 mb to your older Pentium system and as a result some part of your processing is done in uncached RAM rather than in cached RAM the maximum performance penalty you can expect is 10% with respect to that portion of the program load that is so affected. On the other hand, if the added RAM has the effect of reducing the use of the virtual memory swap file because more of the total system load can now be retained in physical RAM then the performance will be improved many many times. Raw access times for RAM are 1000 times faster than a hard disk, and data transfer rates are at least 25 times as fast. So the gain is very substantial indeed.
The actual RAM limit for Windows 95. 98 and Me is 2 gb of physical RAM, as described in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q181594
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q181/5/94.asp
However there are some vcache limitations that should be put into place with larger amounts of RAM by adding a MaxFileCache value to the [vcache] section of system.ini. The value entered should be approximately 70% of the total installed RAM in kilobytes, with an absolute maximum of 524288. Thus for a system with 384 mb of RAM the entry would read
MaxFileCache=275000
and for systems with 768 mb or more it would be
MaxFileCache=524288
The 70% limit is intended to prevent problems with vcache "runaway" that can otherwise occur when working with huge data files, meaning files that are equal to or greater than the total installed RAM, or when working with folders that contain vast numbers (tens of thousands) of data files. The 524288 absolute limit is an additional protection against "out of memory" errors that can otherwise occur if the vcache builds up to a very large value resulting in a lack of space in the 1 gb system components portion of the 4 gb virtual address space used by Windows.
Recently, there have been a few instances with Windows 98/Me were it has been shown to be advantageous to manually place a maximum size limit on vcache. These instances can occur when any one or more of the following three circumstances exist:
1. The computer has a huge amount of RAM (512 mb or more) installed.
2. The computer is used to update or modify huge data files (equal to or larger than the amount of RAM installed in the computer.
3. The computer has subdirectories that contain a vast number of files (numbered in the thousands).
In any of the above situations it is now considered prudent to set a vcache maximum limit of approximately 70% of the total installed RAM but in no case larger than 524288k.
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