Checklist: Enabling Physical Address Extension (PAE)

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Checklist: Enabling Physical Address Extension (PAE) X86

Step	Reference
Review the concepts behind Physical Address Extension.	Physical Address Extension (PAE) overview; Physical Address Extension (PAE) and application memory tuning
Read Enterprise Memory Architecture hardware requirements.	Enterprise Memory Architecture hardware and software requirements
Determine whether your hardware supports PAE by consulting the hardware compatibility information for products in the Windows Server 2003 family, which you can find by clicking the appropriate link in Support resources. Also, contact your vendor for additional compatibility information.	See the hardware compatibility information in Support resources. Every computer listed has been tested with the maximum amount of memory the computer supports. To ascertain this amount, contact the appropriate vendor. If the amount is more than 4 gigabytes (GB), and if the computer meets all other requirements, PAE can be used with the computer.
Determine whether your network and storage adapters support PAE by consulting the hardware compatibility information, which you can find by clicking the appropriate link in Support resources.	See the hardware compatibility information in Support resources.
If your hardware is unsupported, do one of the following: Update your hardware. If you update your hardware, first back up your system. Or select different hardware on which to enable application memory tuning.	If necessary, contact the hardware vendor about updating your hardware. Consult your user documentation for information on backing up your system.
Enable Physical Address Extension (PAE) X86.	Enable Physical Address Extension (PAE)

Note

• This topic does not apply to Windows Server 2003, Web Edition.