Thread: The /maxmem switch in the Windows Boot.ini file

SUMMARY

This switch allows you to identify the highest amount of random access memory (RAM) that Windows NT utilized.This switch is undocumented because it works only on particular patterns. Memory should be adjacent. Microsoft has not devoted to keeping switch in any further releases of Windows.

MORE INFORMATION

This switch is located at the end of the ARC path of the Boot.ini file, as in this example: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows NT" /MAXMEM=12

This example forces Windows NT to utilize only 12 MB of RAM. This switch is valuable in troubleshooting errors, incompatible SIMM speeds, or other memory associated difficulties.Please note that you should never set the value of /maxmem to be less than 8, or Windows NT may not boot reliably. This switch is valid only on the x86 architectures, and is not available on the MIPS or Alpha platforms.In Windows 2000 Professional, do not put /maxmem lower than 64 MB. In Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server, do not put /maxmem lower than 128 MB. In Windows Server 2003, do not put/maxmem lower then 1024 MB. In other operating systems, test the minimum system needs before you put /maxmem.