a handful of forums members have a misunderstanding of the purpose and use of the 'os install mode' option in the bios.

you do not need to turn on 'os install mode' on a dell dimension 3000 (or any other dell) in order to install windows xp pro sp3 (or any other version or service pack level).  

when os install mode is enabled the system limits the total available system memory so that operating systems that are unable to recognized large amounts of memory can be installed.  this does not include windows xp.  note that it is called "os install mode" and not called "windows xp install mode."

I disagree.   If you have more than 2 gigs of ram and you are installing 32 bit Drivers there can be stop errors related to "too much ram" at the time of install.  When the physical RAM that is installed on a computer equals the address space that is supported by the chipset, the total system memory that is available to the operating system is always less than the physical RAM that is installed. For example, consider a computer that has an Intel 975X chipset that supports 8 GB of address space. If you install 8 GB of RAM, the system memory that is available to the operating system will be reduced by the PCI configuration requirements. In this scenario, PCI configuration requirements reduce the memory that is available to the operating system by an amount that is between approximately 200 MB and approximately 1 GB. The reduction depends on the configuration.

I disagree.   If you have more than 2 gigs of ram and you are installing 32 bit Drivers there can be stop errors related to "too much ram" at the time of install....

a dimension 3000 can not accept more tha 2gb of ram so your argument is completely absurd.

rdunnill,

Great explanation!   I really appreciate it.

Have a great new week everyone.

T'care,

Mike

the real problem is that there are a handful of people in this forum that insist tat it is necessary to adjust the "os install mode" before installing windows xp when in fact it is not necessary and confuse novices.  ironically these are the same people that recommend the use the dell's instructions on how to reinstall the operating system, instructions which do not include directions to change the os install mode switch.  

if you want to know about the 2gb limitation and the various versions of windows operating system there is a nice write up on it here: msdn.microsoft.com/.../gg487508

rdunnill, Great explanation!   I really appreciate it.

Anytime, Mike!

and great that you posted your experiance of how turning 'os install mode' on hindered installation of windows xp on a dimension 3000 with 2gb of ram installed.  perhaps the people spreading bad information about the use of this feature will learn from your remarks.

muto,

That would be nice. And thanks for the article. Very informative.

T'care,

Mike

if you want to know about the 2gb limitation and the various versions of windows operating system there is a nice write up on it here: msdn.microsoft.com/.../gg487508

there is no need to need to turn on 'os install mode' before installing windows xp or windows 7 on a dimension 2400 with any amount of installed memory.  if one did not waste their time pointlessly turning on the setting prior to installing windows xp or windows 7 then they would not have to turn it off after.  unfortunately there are some people here promoting the need to change this setting becuase of a misunderstanding of its purpose.

Dimension 3000

Memory:DDR PC2700, DDR PC3200

Memory Type: DDR PC2700, DDR PC3200, DDR (non-ECC)

Maximum Memory: 2GB

Slots: 2

The Dimension 3000 has "install mode" and that is the subject of the Post.

If you receive a "Memory available limited to 256MB!" message after installing more than 256MB, enter BIOS and turn OS Install mode to OFF.

Exit saving changes.

Although the memory can be installed one module at a time, the best performance comes from using matched pairs of modules.

WIN98 and WIN98SE will crash on boot when more than 512 Megs of Ram is installed.

Some Early XP WDM Drivers were developed and compiled on WIN98 Machines and drivers were tailored to work both with XP and WIN98.

This can cause blue screens during the install phase of XP and this is another reason why it is recommended.

Using Install mode 256 Megs Ram to install XP in no way harms or causes problems with XP. :emotion-16:

Drivers with Ram Issues over 1 Gig of ram can have a Blue Screen that Says

Memory management

0x0000001a (0x00041284 0x0536E001 0x000036BC 0xc0503000)

Which can be reversed by

(reboot the cpu and choose the 'last good known configuration' option when starting up with f8)

"Stop Error" may be displayed after the hex number, IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.

*** STOP: 0x0000001A: (0xAAAAAAAA, 0xBBBBBBBB, 0xCCCCCCCC, 0xDDDDDDDD)
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

Windows STOP Errors - Stop 0xA, 0x1E, 0x7B

"Out of Memory" Error Messages with Large Amounts of RAM Installed

If a computer that is running any of the versions of Windows that are listed above contains more than 512 megabytes (for example, 768 megabytes) of physical memory (RAM), you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

CAUSE

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods:

• Use the MaxFileCache setting in the System.ini file to reduce the maximum amount of memory that Vcache uses to 512 megabytes (524,288 KB) or less. For additional information about how to use the MaxFileCache setting, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  108079  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/108079/EN-US/ ) 32-Bit File Access Maximum Cache Size
• Use the System Configuration utility to limit the amount of memory that Windows uses to 512 megabytes (MB) or less.For additional information about how to use the System Configuration utility, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  181966  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/181966/EN-US/ ) System Configuration Utility Advanced Troubleshooting Settings
• Reduce the amount of memory that is installed in your computer to 512 MB or less.

[quote user="muto"] if you want to know about the 2gb limitation and the various versions of windows operating system there is a nice write up on it here: msdn.microsoft.com/.../gg487508

[/quote]

right, there cannot be more than 2gb of memory installed in a dimension 2400, and that is why the discussion of the 'os install mode' switch for installing windows xp on a dimension 2400 is so entirely pointless. 

WIN98 and WIN98SE will crash on boot when more than 512 Megs of Ram is installed. I doubt too many are using Win9X today.

Actually the Impetus to get people off of WIN98SE was youtube no longer supported Internet Explorer 6.

Then Antivirus Companies following that lead dropping support for WIN98SE.

WIN98SE exists only on my Virtual PC 2007 machines now.