220-1002 · Question #646
Which of the following is the maximum amount of RAM a computer can access if it is using a 32- bit version of the Windows OS?
The correct answer is B. 4GB. A 32-bit operating system uses 32-bit memory addresses. The total number of unique addresses is 2³² = 4,294,967,296 bytes, which equals exactly 4GB. This is the hard ceiling - regardless of how much physical RAM is installed, a 32-bit Windows OS cannot address more than 4GB. In…
Question
Which of the following is the maximum amount of RAM a computer can access if it is using a 32- bit version of the Windows OS?
Options
- A2GB
- B4GB
- C6GB
- D8GB
How the community answered
(49 responses)- A6% (3)
- B88% (43)
- C2% (1)
- D4% (2)
Explanation
A 32-bit operating system uses 32-bit memory addresses. The total number of unique addresses is 2³² = 4,294,967,296 bytes, which equals exactly 4GB. This is the hard ceiling - regardless of how much physical RAM is installed, a 32-bit Windows OS cannot address more than 4GB. In practice, usable RAM is often slightly less (~3.2–3.5GB) because some address space is reserved for hardware. 64-bit systems dramatically extend this limit.
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