Installing Windows Vista with 8 GB RAM

[ppgrainbow]

Hey there! :wave: Incase you haven't already noticed, I won the unused retail copy of Windows Vista Ultimate DVD as a Christmas present and now I'm planning to abandon Windows 2000 and migrate to the ASUS M5A97 R2.0 motherboard soon.

Once the new computer has been built, it will have 8 GB of DDR3 RAM and can max out at 32 GB. However, looking at the contents of the 32-bit and 64-bit DVDs, I found that the date stamp on the files is 2006-11-02 12:00:00, meaning that it is the original release of Windows Vista (with no service packs installed).

If I want to install Windows Vista on the ASUS M5A97 R2.0 motherboard, how can I do it with 8 GB of memory installed? Would I have to:

1. Downgrade the RAM to 2 GB and install Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit?
2. Slipstream Windows Vista Ultimate SP2 64-bit? I looked on this website regarding the instructions on slipstreaming Vista SP2 on a new computer, you can view it here: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/230249-sliptream-vista-sp2.html

However, I'm a bit confused about all of this...

I have concerns that I will most likely get hit with a STOP 0x0A error when attempting to install Windows Vista with more than 3 GB of memory.

Does anyone have any ideas how to get around this?

If so, please post your thoughts. I would like to hear it.

Edited January 2, 2014 by ppgrainbow

[MagicAndre1981]

the original Windows Vista x64 should also support 8GB.

[ppgrainbow]

the original Windows Vista x64 should also support 8GB.

Thanks for telling me. I appreciate it.

[AnX]

Yeah, I don't see why x64 Vista wouldn't support 8GB. It does on typical configs.

[ppgrainbow]

Yeah, I don't see why x64 Vista wouldn't support 8GB. It does on typical configs.

True that. However, without the KB929777 patch, Windows Vista may not install correctly as I may need to slipstream SP1 in order for it to work reliably.

I'll let you know how this will all turn out when I get the new PC.

Edited January 11, 2014 by ppgrainbow

[JorgeA]

You've probably solved this by now, but another way to approach this would be to bring the Vista installation up to date, and then add all the memory you want. I'm running Vista Home Premium with 8GB, no problem.

--JorgeA

[ppgrainbow]

You've probably solved this by now, but another way to approach this would be to bring the Vista installation up to date, and then add all the memory you want. I'm running Vista Home Premium with 8GB, no problem.

--JorgeA

Thanks for the help. In that perspective, to overcome the 3 GB limitation, I will have to get the OS slipstreamed with SP1 and SP2 respectively in order for it to work. Otherwise, I will have to start with 2 GB RAM, install Windows Vista, apply the service packs and then upgrade the RAM back to 8 GB.

[vinifera]

even if I despise what vista became as final product
I'd never use RTM, not even SP1, SP2 would be my only choice as many things are fixed and tweaked with SP2

so while you're determined to use Vista, why not slipstream SP2 init and solve your miseries

also some things like Platform Update was released after SP2 (I think), should slipstream that thing too

Edited January 16, 2014 by vinifera

[ppgrainbow]

even if I despise what vista became as final product

I'd never use RTM, not even SP1, SP2 would be my only choice as many things are fixed and tweaked with SP2

so while you're determined to use Vista, why not slipstream SP2 init and solve your miseries

also some things like Platform Update was released after SP2 (I think), should slipstream that thing too

I will do that...that is only if I can find a way to slipstream SP2 and get it to work on the new computer.

As for the original CDs that are still around, I agree. Windows Vista RTM (without any fixes incorporated to the DVD) won't even run properly, if not at all on modern hardware and on computers with more than 2 GB RAM.

[ironman14]

As for the original CDs that are still around, I agree. Windows Vista RTM (without any fixes incorporated to the DVD) won't even run properly, if not at all on modern hardware and on computers with more than 2 GB RAM.

I find this strange, since Windows 2000 (2000) and Windows NT 4.0 (1996) recognize 4GB of RAM, DOUBLE what Windows Vista RTM (late 2006) will recognize.

[ppgrainbow]

As for the original CDs that are still around, I agree. Windows Vista RTM (without any fixes incorporated to the DVD) won't even run properly, if not at all on modern hardware and on computers with more than 2 GB RAM.

I find this strange, since Windows 2000 (2000) and Windows NT 4.0 (1996) recognize 4GB of RAM, DOUBLE what Windows Vista RTM (late 2006) will recognize.

So true. The same applies to Windows XP on some modern motherboards whose support is still increasingly limited.

[Soukyuu]

Wait... so it won't boot at all with more than 2GB installed? Doesn't it just ignore the amount of RAM it doesn't recognize, just like XP did?

[ND22]

I personally installed vista sp2 on my newest PC: 2500K CPU, 16 GB of ram, Asus p67 deluxe motherboard, Intel 60 GB SSD back in 2011 with no problems whatsoever! I slipstreamed sp2 into my vista sp1 DVD using VLite and it ran like a champ. Please note that the sp1 was also slipstreamed into my original vista business DVD. The only problem I had was that hibernation was disabled and could only be enabled using the command line (but not advisable because I used a SSD as system drive).

Edited January 26, 2014 by ND22

[ppgrainbow]

Wait... so it won't boot at all with more than 2GB installed? Doesn't it just ignore the amount of RAM it doesn't recognize, just like XP did?

The point is that with the original Windows Vista RTM DVDs, Windows Vista will most likely BSOD with a STOP 0x0A error due to the bug associated with 3 GB or more memory. In order to get around this, Windows Vista SP1 would need to be slipstreamed.

[ppgrainbow]

I personally installed vista sp2 on my newest PC: 2500K CPU, 16 GB of ram, Asus p67 deluxe motherboard, Intel 60 GB SSD back in 2011 with no problems whatsoever! I slipstreamed sp2 into my vista sp1 DVD using VLite and it ran like a champ. Please note that the sp1 was also slipstreamed into my original vista business DVD. The only problem I had was that hibernation was disabled and could only be enabled using the command line (but not advisable because I used a SSD as system drive).

Good for you! Because the DVDs that I have are the original Windows Vista RTM versions, I will need to get the DVD slipstreamed with SP2 in order for it to work on the AMD FX based M5A97 R2.0 motherboard.

Edited February 6, 2014 by ppgrainbow