The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Upgrading Ram on Macbook But...

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by ItsDaKronic, Jan 24, 2008.

  1. ItsDaKronic

    ItsDaKronic Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    151
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I have the new macbook with the 2.2ghz santa rosa chip and Im thinking about upgrading to 4 gb ram. I have XP Pro also installed with bootcamp. But I want the 4 gb ram to be noticed on the XP side too. I already know what kind of ram I need I just want to know if all 4 gb of ram is going to be recognized and be used by the XP Pro.

    Or do I need to install like 64 bit XP or Vista?

    Thx in advance.
     
    ItsDaKronic, Jan 24, 2008
    #1
  2. Lithus

    Lithus NBR Janitor

    Reputations:
    5,504
    Messages:
    9,788
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    205
    You need a 64 bit OS. Guide in sig.
     
    Lithus, Jan 24, 2008
    #2
  3. ItsDaKronic

    ItsDaKronic Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    151
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    So if I get 64 XP then it will recognize all 4 gb of ram?
    Or does it have to be Vista 64 bit?
     
    ItsDaKronic, Jan 24, 2008
    #3
  4. Sponsi

    Sponsi Badibade

    Reputations:
    478
    Messages:
    1,869
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Any 64-Bit OS will do so yes XP will indeed recognize all 4GB.
     
    Sponsi, Jan 24, 2008
    #4
  5. vespoli

    vespoli 402 NBR Reviewer

    Reputations:
    1,134
    Messages:
    3,401
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    105
    Does Apple even support 64-bit XP? (Just wondering; I don't personally know)

    Generally 64-bit XP has horrendous driver support. Pray tell, what do you need all 4 GB for?
     
    vespoli, Jan 24, 2008
    #5
  6. Lithus

    Lithus NBR Janitor

    Reputations:
    5,504
    Messages:
    9,788
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    205
    Ha! Good point.

     
    Lithus, Jan 24, 2008
    #6
  7. Budding

    Budding Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    1,686
    Messages:
    3,982
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    105
    The next version of Boot Camp (which might come with 10.5.2) will support 64bit Windows. If you are using a VM such as Parallels or VMWare, you can install a 64bit OS. But, it is usually a very bad idea to assign more than 2GB of RAM to them.
     
    Budding, Jan 24, 2008
    #7
  8. Sam

    Sam Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    3,661
    Messages:
    9,249
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    205
    Apple's just secretly allowed it on the Mac Pros, so its probably going to be supported in future updates of Boot Camp: http://www.macrumors.com/2008/01/21/apple-quietly-intros-64-bit-windows-support-in-boot-camp/

    And vespoli has a good point...is there a real need for 4 GB?
     
    Sam, Jan 24, 2008
    #8
  9. kgeier82

    kgeier82 Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    129
    Messages:
    757
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    stick with the 32bit version. its not worth the extra license cost, and driver problems to gain back 500mb of RAM.
     
    kgeier82, Jan 24, 2008
    #9
  10. ItsDaKronic

    ItsDaKronic Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    151
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Oh, So 64 bit wont even work for now.
    Say I do upgrade to 4 gb of ram how much will it see. Like 2.5 or 3gb?

    I mean I'd rather not get 64 bit because alot of programs are not supported for 64bit so it would be even more work to go through.

    Thx for your opinions.
    By the way the reason why I'm asking all this is because I have XP Pro currently and recently I keep getting errors whenever I try to install something new. I always get an error about half way through any installation of any program. So I was wondering if I should reinstall XP 32 bit or go for something stronger (faster).
     
    ItsDaKronic, Jan 24, 2008
    #10
  11. Sam

    Sam Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    3,661
    Messages:
    9,249
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    205
    If you upgrade to 4 GB of RAM, 32-bit Windows will probably recognize around 3-3.4 GB of RAM.

    Yeah, I'd just stick with 32-bit Windows, if you're using Windows. 64-bit still has issues, and there's no real urgent need for it right now.
     
    Sam, Jan 24, 2008
    #11
  12. Arquis

    Arquis Kojima Worshiper

    Reputations:
    844
    Messages:
    1,688
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    I think it recognizes approx. 3.5 GB.

    As for that error, why not try a system restore to a point where things weren't giving you a problem? If that point never existed then reinstalling is your only real option.
     
    Arquis, Jan 24, 2008
    #12
  13. ItsDaKronic

    ItsDaKronic Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    151
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I've used system restore many times in the past and I really dont see the point of that program because it has never solved any issues my computer has had.
    I'm glad you dont have to deal with things like that on the mac.
     
    ItsDaKronic, Jan 24, 2008
    #13