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32-bit: Use “bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVA” to increase RAM used by single application

Did you know that Windows basically splits your RAM into RAM for apps and RAM for the kernel/system? Using bcdedit we can change the settings

IMPORTANT: The following only applies to 32-bit users, not to 64-bit users. If you do not know the difference please stop here and do not attempt any of the tips below unless you are keen on learning and don’t care about crashing your system

32-bit Windows is a little limited because you can’t use 4GB RAM without some tweaks. We previously explained how to use 4GB RAM on that version here:


 

Instructions on Unlocking More Than 2GB Ram on Windows 7 32-bit (May Work on Windows 8)

By default, Windows 32-bit uses a maximum of 2GB RAM for any single application even if you unlocked 4GB as explained above. However, you can change that by editing the boot loader using bcdedit. This is a common fix that can also help to fix games such as The Witcher 2 and Battlefield 3 who may use more than 2GB of RAM at certain times.

1. Step Open an elevated command prompt

2. Step Enter the following command

bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVA 3072

3. Step Reboot your PC.

4. Step You can confirm this by entering bdedit again and checking all values.

5. Step If you decide that this messes up your system RAM usage too much you can delete the option by entering:

bcdedit /deletevalue IncreaseUserVa

We haven’t tested it on Windows 8 32-bit, but it should work

If you run into any problems, you are welcome to ask us any questions below