When your computer starts to slow down than usual, you start tinkering with your computer's software to try to give you back a few years of youth. You also consider the possibility of changing the processor or expanding the RAM, to last a few more years.
However, this is not always the best solution, since it is likely that your computer cannot use all the RAM that you install it for different reasons related to both the software and the hardware of your computer. If you want to know how to use all the RAM in Windows 10 I invite you to keep reading.
What version of Windows we have installed
Windows 10 was the last operating system that Windows released in two versions: 32-bit and 64-bit. Without going into technicalities that you probably won't understand, 64-bit processors were born out of the need to use more memory on computersas 32-bit processors can only handle 4 GB.
32-bit processors can only handle 32-bit operating systems and applications. While a 64-bit processor can be managed by both a 32-bit and 64-bit operating system.
Windows 10 is the latest version of Windows that is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions to meet all the needs of users, however with Windows 11, Microsoft has taken the next step to force users to start upgrade your old computer equipment and it is only available in a 64-bit version.
How to use all RAM
Once we know the operation of 32-bit and 64-bit processors and operating systems along with their limitations, the time has come to know if how to use all RAM in Windows 10.
Step 1 - Find out the specifications
The first thing we need to know is know the amount of RAM that our equipment has installed. To know all the specifications of our equipment, we are going to use the CPU-Z application, a free application that we can download through this link.
Once we have downloaded and installed the application on our computer, we run it. This process will take a few seconds, seconds that the application uses to collect all equipment specifications and it will show us a table with tabs with all the specifications of our equipment.
As the information that we are interested in knowing in the first place is the installed memory, click on the tab Memory. In the General section, in the Size section, the amount of RAM that you have physically installed is displayed. On my computer it is about 16GB.
It also shows us the type of memory (in my case DDR3) and the frequency speed 800 MHz (798.1). This information is necessary to know if we plan to expand the memory of our team, since we must buy the same type of memory that we have installed to be able to expand its capacity, since otherwise it will not be compatible.
Other information that we need to know if we want to expand the RAM memory of our equipment is to know if we have any free slot (slot) to expand the memory or if we have to buy new modules with more memory. This can be seen through the tab, in the Memory Slot Selection section and clicking on the drop-down.
On my computer I have 16 GB of RAM and as the application shows us, separated into two 8GB modules. Each slot (slot to put a memory module) is occupied by an 8GB module. If I want to expand the memory, in case the board accepted it, I would have to buy two 16GB modules for a total of 32GB.
But before launching ourselves to buy the specific memory that our team needs, we must know the maximum memory capacity supported by the board.
On the CPU tab, the board and processor model are displayed. With this information, we must go to the manufacturer's website to know the maximum amount of memory it accepts.
Step 2 - Check which version of Windows we have installed
Once we have found out what is the amount of physical memory our computer has, if we want to take advantage of all the memory in Windows 10, we must know what version of Windows we have installed. To find out which version of Windows 10 we have installed, we must follow the steps detailed below:
- First, we must access the Windows configuration options through the cogwheel located in the start menu or through the keyboard shortcut Windows key + i.
- Next, click on System.
- Within System, in the left column, click on About:
- All the specifications of our equipment will be shown below along with the version that we have installed.
- We must look at the Type of system section. Here it will show if we have a 64-bit or 32-bit version.
Step 3 - Install Windows 10 64-bit
If instead of displaying 64-bit operating system it shows 32-bit operating system, it means that Windows version is limiting memory usage.
So that if we want to use all the physical memory available on our computer, we must install the 64-bit version of Windows 10.
Differences between 32 and 64 bits
In addition to the main limitation to 4 GB of memory offered by 32-bit processors, there are another series of limitations associated with it, for example when having more or fewer applications open.
If we open many applications together, the amount of RAM that we will need it is much higher than the 4 GB that the 32-bit versions offer us. 32-bit versions can use a maximum of 2 GB per open application while a 64-bit operating system can use up to 128 GB of RAM.
While 32-bit applications work on 64-bit operating systems, the opposite does not happen, again due to the amount of memory that can be managed by open application.
64-bit versions of Windows and applications, cannot be installed on computers with 32-bit processorsHowever, if we can install 32-bit versions on 64-bit processors, although practically nobody usually does so because it limits both access to memory use and the number of processors it can use, as well as not allowing us to use 64-bit applications. bits.