/3GB Boot.ini switch confusion

[redwoodtwig]

Since I'm sure some folks are searching like I did, there is an equivalent to the /3GB switch in Vista (32 bit) home basic.  It will bump what photoshop sees from about 1.7GB up to about 2.5GB.  This is not for the faint of heart, it is modifying the bootup settings for Vista, the equivalent of editing the registry in XP.

Type cmd in the search window, hit CTL-Shift-enter to put you in admin mode. In the resulting command window, type BCDEdit /set increaseuserva 3072 then hit enter. After a reboot, photoshop will now show 2.5 something rather than the 1.7 it was showing before.

These are the two places where I found this information.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa906211.aspx http://blogs.msdn.com/tims/archive/2006/11...keystrokes.aspx

My fledgling photo gallery site http://redwoodtwig.com

[Paul2660]

What you are modifying is the boot.ini file.  If you are concerned, just copy of the line of the boot ini where you are going to add the /3Gb.  Now on boot you will get two options, to either boot up with the 3GB switch or without it.  Net, if you get into trouble, you can always get  back to your box by selection of the non 3Gb boot.ini.

I use the 3Gb on all my machines that can run 4Gb.  I agree with Jack that the actual increase in performance is nominal.   I have always felt that CS2 (haven't loaded CS3) seems to start out fast but over time bog down like a memory leak is happening.   So having the /3Gb switch on delays this for a period of time.  

Also it's my understanding that in a windows world, CS2 can only address around 2.5GB of ram, no matter if you are running a 64 bit version of XP/Vista or not.  I have one machine running XP 64 bit edition, and windows will see all 4Gb of ram, but CS2, can only take around the same amount as my 32bit Xp machine.   I don't know if CS3 fixed this or not but it would be nice to know for that would make a good fit for my 64 bit machine more than my current 32bit XP machine.  

Paul C