Re: Question.
The Physical Address Extension (PAE) allows 32-bit Windows systems to use more than 4 GB of physical memory. PAE also enables several advanced system and processor features, such as hardware-enabled Data Execution Prevention (DEP), Non-Uniform Memory Architecture (NUMA) and the ability to add memory to a system while it is running (hot-add memory), so it can also be used on computers that have less than 4 GB of memory. PAE is supported only on 32-bit versions of Windows; 64-bit versions of Windows do not support PAE. The following 32-bit Windows releases support PAE:
- Windows Server 2008
- Windows Vista
- Windows Server 2003
- Windows XP
- Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
- Windows 2000 Advanced Server
On most computers, PAE is disabled by default. (PAE is enabled by default only if DEP is enabled on a computer that supports hardware-enabled DEP, or if the computer is configured for hot-add memory devices in memory ranges beyond 4 GB.) PAE must be explicitly enabled for Windows to run in NUMA mode on a NUMA-capable computer.