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I ordered a new computer with 8GB RAM with the plan to run Windows 7, 64Bit. Turns out now, that I need to run a 32Bit OS (XP or 7) due to some software which does not run on 64Bit yet (not even with any of the available compatibility settings / modes).

Is there anything I can do with the memory above 4GB in this scenario? I'm willing to consider creative solutions like running a hypervisor under XP that offers the memory as a RAM-Disk for swapping etc. ?

The software that does not run on 64Bit is CISCO VPN (there seems to be a half-working solution for that) and CISCO IP phone / webcam integration "CISCO Unified Video Advantage" (there is apparently no solution for that).

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If it weren't for the fact that it's VPN software I would have suggested that you install Windows 7 64bit, install Windows XP Mode, and run your incompatible software in Windows XP Mode. – joeqwerty May 6 '10 at 0:14
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5 Answers

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I'd recommend going ahead and installing Windows 7 64-bit, and running your Cisco software in a VM.

Edit: I just noticed joeqwerty pointed out that Windows XP Mode might not work very well for VPN software. I'm not familiar enough with Windows XP Mode to know why this would be a problem, but you could still use a different virtualization platform, such as VMware or VirtualBox.

For example, you could use VMware Server to install a 32-bit Windows XP virtual machine, and configure that VM to start up every time your computer boots up. As long as you configure the network adapter as a bridged network adapter, the VPN software should be able to route traffic between the local network and remote hosts, just as it would if it was installed on a physical machine.

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Install Windows 7 x64. Use Shrew to connect to your VPN. Use Windows XP Mode for your communicator software.

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Unfortunately neither Windows XP SP2 32-bit nor Windows 7 32-bit support more than 4GB of physical memory. You'll need to switch to non-trivial variants of Windows Server 2003 or 2008 (or something non-Windows) in order to use all physical memory.

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This question was asked before and Microsoft decided that 4GB is enough for 32bit XP:

http://superuser.com/questions/67444/67596#67596

You could run XP 32bit in a VM, but I don't know if that would be a good solution for you. Although, you can always dual-boot. This way you can get the best of both worlds.

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You could use the remaining memory as a RAM Disk: http://www.superspeed.com/ramdisk.php

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Nothing there implies "works with physical memory the OS can't get to". – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams May 6 '10 at 3:26
@Ignacio : Another user of SU uses this software, I can't seem to find the comment I posted to him. – Sathya♦ May 6 '10 at 14:44
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