Using 'hidden memory' above 4gb in Windows 32 bit machine

[jamminjames]

I am trying ImDisk specifically because of what I read here, where the writer seems to be saying he wrote the program, and in any case, says that, "An additional driver, awealloc, in this install package supports memory allocation beyond 4 GB limit on 32 bit Windows through address window extension, AWE."

Is this correct? By checking "Use AWE physical memory," will I be able to use the so-called "hidden memory" above the 4gb limit imposed by the Windows 32 bit OS? Can I use it as a swap disk?

When hovering over that option, the help says it cannot use the "unmanaged or invisible memory." So, which is it?

If this program cannot access the "hidden" memory, is there another way to do it? Another RamDisk program, perhaps? Or something else? I've tried the infamous "PatchPae2 patch," but it is not working on my machine.

Thanks for any help.

[v77]

AWE can only use the managed memory, that is, the amount of RAM displayed in the system properties.
Only some versions of Windows Server handle more than 4GB in 32-bit.

ImDisk cannot handle the unmanaged memory. So you likely need another software.
Be aware that some drivers can also use the unmanaged memory. As there is no way to know whether an unmanaged memory block is already used or not, there can be conflicts, so you will have to test properly the stability of your system.

By the way, the page you were reading is from the author of the ImDisk driver (Olof Lagerkvist). ImDisk Toolkit was developped by me to answer the lack of simplicity and features of the driver.

[jamminjames]

So, you're saying that when Olof Lagerkvist says, "An additional driver, awealloc, in this install package supports memory allocation beyond 4 GB limit on 32 bit Windows through address window extension, AWE," he is mistaken? It can't use the memory beyond the 4 GB limit, even with the driver?

Also, you said some drivers can use the unmanaged memory. Can you direct me to such drivers?

[v77]

The awealloc driver can allocate beyond the 4GB limit, if Windows allows it. This is a matter of license: as long as the CPU has the PAE (Physical Address Extension) feature, Windows should be able to handle more than 4GB even in 32-bit.
That's why he says "through address window extension", which is an API that uses the memory managed by the system.

This API even allows a 32-bit process to use more than 4GB of RAM. The trick is to access only a small part at a time, by selecting the memory blocks we want through system calls.

To use the unmanaged memory, you can try for instance RamDisk Plus from SuperSpeed or Primo Ramdisk from Romex Software. But they are not free.