1

I've Windows 32 bit OS with 4GB RAM and installed Linux Kubuntu on virtualbox on it. The entire memory has been split up between the two. Both Windows and Linux running on 2GB RAM simultaneously which is not enough for any of them. I'm coping with sluggish performance and affecting my development also.

When I asked for more RAM to I.T. Department, they are giving an excuse that the problem with 32 bit OS. According to them what I really want is 64 bit Windows OS which they do not have and adding up more RAM will not resolve my issue.

I do not understand why adding up more RAM would not resolve the problem.

Are they right? Do you guys concur? How do I convince them?

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

The 32bit OS can't address more than 4GB RAM. So even if they give you more ram - you won't be able to use it. In Linux there is a workaround - PAE. It allows you to address more than 4GB RAM. However for Windows maybe 64bit OS is the only solution.

About the virtual installation - are you sure that the RAM is the bottleneck?

Improve this answer
5
  • When I allotted 2.5GB RAM to Linux (virtualbox) and kept 1GB for Windows, it became extremely slow. How do I make sure that RAM is the bottleneck?
    – codef0rmer
    Sep 21, 2012 at 12:19
  • Well, you should also make sure that Windows has enough RAM to operate well. For start, what are you doing on the virtual machine? You can use top to examine CPU and memory usage. Linux caches memory so if your used percentage is high it may be normal. However if you have swap usage - probably you need more RAM.
    – Tsvetomir Dimitrov
    Sep 21, 2012 at 12:35
  • Well I'm frontend developer - came from a backend background and prefer to use Linux over Windows. But I'm using Linux on virtualbox running on windows (4GB RAM). So I actually do all my development on Linux and for that 2 GB RAM (from 4GB of host) is not enough.
    – codef0rmer
    Sep 21, 2012 at 18:33
  • Can Windows XP 32bit OS allow to address more than 4GB RAM?
    – codef0rmer
    Sep 24, 2012 at 8:41
  • As far as I know - Windows XP 32bit can't address more than 4G RAM. If you do all your development on Linux why don't you install Kubuntu for your main OS and run Windows XP in virtual machine?
    – Tsvetomir Dimitrov
    Sep 25, 2012 at 6:53

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.