What is the actual memory limit for Win98se?

[eagerbeaver@nospam.com]

When I look at websites, (and most of them found on google are
discussion groups), I find that no one actually agrees with how much
RAM memory win98 can support. I've seen as little as 512megs to as
much as 4 gigs. Does anyone know a definate answer?
I presently have 384megs and it runs well. I could replace the 128
meg with a 256, a 512, or larger. I doubt I'd want to go any bigger
than that, but a 512 replacement would give me 768 and that seems
plenty for win98. However, can win98 use that or am I better just
going with 512?

Thanks

EagerBeaver

 

[Don Phillipson]

<eagerbeaver@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:2qg4c3lmkjocmqinanu02telo8u4j6lhpp@4ax.com...

> When I look at websites, (and most of them found on google are
> discussion groups), I find that no one actually agrees with how much
> RAM memory win98 can support. I've seen as little as 512megs to as
> much as 4 gigs. Does anyone know a definate answer?

Archives of this NG will tell you Win98 can have
up to 2 Gb RAM with appropriate tweaking e.g.
the [vcache] section of SYSTEM.INI where RAM
over 512 Mb requires a MaxFileCache setting, see
http://aumha.org/win4/a/memmgmt.htm

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

 

[Ingeborg]

wrote:

> When I look at websites, (and most of them found on google are
> discussion groups), I find that no one actually agrees with how much
> RAM memory win98 can support. I've seen as little as 512megs to as
> much as 4 gigs. Does anyone know a definate answer?
> I presently have 384megs and it runs well. I could replace the 128
> meg with a 256, a 512, or larger. I doubt I'd want to go any bigger
> than that, but a 512 replacement would give me 768 and that seems
> plenty for win98. However, can win98 use that or am I better just
> going with 512?
>

W98 can handle 512 MB out of the box. It can address 4 GB, but since
chipset, pci- and agpcards also have address mapping, not all 4 GB can be
used for fysical memory. The actual upper limit is dependant of your
hardware configuration. Some people claim to have W98 running on 2 GB,
other cannot pass 768 MB.

How to get 768 MB working is described here:
<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/253912>

 

[Ron Badour]

Here's some info on ram you might find helpful:

Over 512 mb or more of ram:

"Out of Memory" Errors with Large Amounts of RAM Installed [Q253912]
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kbEN-USQ253912

This article contains instructions which basically say: add this line in
system.ini, under [vcache]: MaxFileCache=512000
***************************

1 gb or more of ram:

Error Message: Insufficient Memory to Initialize Windows [Q184447]
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kbEN-USQ184447
***************************

1.5 gb or more of ram:

Computer May Reboot Continuously with More Than 1.5 GB of RAM [Q304943]
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kbEN-USQ304943


The practical limit for W98 is 1.5 gb however, there are people who claim
to run with 2 gb. Your plan for 768 mb is OK but it takes the tweak
mentioned above.

--
Regards

Ron Badour
MS MVP 1997 - 2007


<eagerbeaver@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:2qg4c3lmkjocmqinanu02telo8u4j6lhpp@4ax.com...
> When I look at websites, (and most of them found on google are
> discussion groups), I find that no one actually agrees with how much
> RAM memory win98 can support. I've seen as little as 512megs to as
> much as 4 gigs. Does anyone know a definate answer?
> I presently have 384megs and it runs well. I could replace the 128
> meg with a 256, a 512, or larger. I doubt I'd want to go any bigger
> than that, but a 512 replacement would give me 768 and that seems
> plenty for win98. However, can win98 use that or am I better just
> going with 512?
>
> Thanks
>
> EagerBeaver

 

[Dan]

98SE can see 511 mb's of ram without any changes. The 511 mb's of ram is
what is reported with my current 512 mb stick of Crucial ram in my computer.
I will try to get 2 gigabytes working when I am feeling adventurous again.

"eagerbeaver@nospam.com" wrote:

> When I look at websites, (and most of them found on google are
> discussion groups), I find that no one actually agrees with how much
> RAM memory win98 can support. I've seen as little as 512megs to as
> much as 4 gigs. Does anyone know a definate answer?
> I presently have 384megs and it runs well. I could replace the 128
> meg with a 256, a 512, or larger. I doubt I'd want to go any bigger
> than that, but a 512 replacement would give me 768 and that seems
> plenty for win98. However, can win98 use that or am I better just
> going with 512?
>
> Thanks
>
> EagerBeaver
>