Member Avatar for jbennet

will windows run on 640 of ram?

  • 3 Contributors
  • 4 Replies
  • 140 Views
  • 1 Day Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by jbennet

Dani AI

Generated

Clarification first: the thread mixes two very different meanings of "640." As noted, 640 KB is a DOS-era "conventional memory" boundary that affects MS‑DOS and Windows 3.x programs; it is not the same as 640 MB of system RAM. correctly flagged that older 9x-era Windows have their own quirks. 's notes about vintage machines reinforce that era-specific memory management matters.

Historically, the 640 KB limit is about address space layout on early IBM‑PC compatibles. DOS programs (and Windows 3.x running on top of DOS) had to use conventional, upper and expanded/extended memory and often required drivers like HIMEM.SYS / EMM386 plus smart CONFIG.SYS / AUTOEXEC.BAT setup to free conventional memory. By contrast, modern Windows versions use protected‑mode memory management and treat kilobytes vs megabytes very differently.

For the practical decision of what will run on a particular box: identify the target Windows version first, then match hardware. On vintage machines check CPU type and the motherboard’s RAM module format (30‑pin or 72‑pin SIMMs, later DIMMs), because old boards often require matched banks. Use DOS mem on pre‑NT systems or systeminfo / System Properties on NT‑based Windows to confirm installed memory. If the goal is a usable GUI on very low‑RAM hardware, consider lightweight OS alternatives or ensure paging/swap is configured sensibly.

Note: older Windows 9x can behave poorly with atypically large or misinstalled RAM and sometimes needs specific tweaks; conversely, the very latest Windows releases require substantially more RAM than 640 MB. The most reliable route is to pick the intended Windows release, check that release’s documented requirements, and verify module type and motherboard limits before buying or installing memory.

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for caperjack

will windows run on 640 of ram?

what version of windows !!
winVista=yes
winxp =yes
win98= not sure , issues over 512 and may even get running out of ram errors
same for any older version

Edit= just found this again , about over 512 with win98 .

Member Avatar for yogi_bear_2k2

Sorry, but do you mean 640 MB or 640kb. If its the latter (which I am guessing it is,) then no. Windows needs a minimum of 16MB to run. And Windows 98-higher needs a minimum of 64mb

Member Avatar for caperjack

Sorry, but do you mean 640 MB or 640kb. If its the latter (which I am guessing it is,) then no. Windows needs a minimum of 16MB to run. And Windows 98-higher needs a minimum of 64mb

Never even though of it like that ,my first computer,a 486 had 4 megs of ram and ran windows 3.11

Member Avatar for jbennet

well i once had 3.11 on like 4 megs and 98 on like 12 so it must be possible to run something on it.

I should be able to upgrade it to 10 soon (found some really old ram)

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.