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Plain and simple question, just answer if you know.

Is there any command (shortcut command) or app/utility that makes an app/program "see" a specified amount of RAM? Of course modifying the boot ini (maxmem switch) is out of question, don't want to reboot for a handfull of apps.

I have 4gb of RAM, winxp 32bit, and I want to make some apps "think/see" that I have, for example, 2gb RAM; of course Windows will have the whole 4gb RAM, but the specified app is going to think that my max memory is for example 2gb, or 1.5gb or whatever.. Is this possible?

I know already that a 32bit process is limited in 2gb, but some programs/apps have problem with the total amount of RAM.

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2 Answers 2

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You can use Microsoft's Application Verifier. It doesn't give a lot of options for memory management, but allows to run apps in a'resource constrained' environment. It's primary usage is for profiling/debugging, but it can be used just to constrain bad behaving apps.

Additionally for reference:

http://gusclass.com/blog/2011/10/31/application-verifier-save-your-memory-debug-your-apps-also-hax/

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  • Already have tried after searching and found the very same comment for yours. It does nothing. Probably its for other purporses, like debugging.
    – selfmade.exe
    May 15, 2014 at 19:31
  • Correct its used in development for application debugging and memory leak detection however for you purpose it should work fine. Setting the HEAP_ALLOC on Low Resource Simulation. Its important to note that this value is in KB's.
    – Chad Bonthuys
    May 15, 2014 at 19:49
  • I tried it again, but it didn't worked..
    – selfmade.exe
    May 15, 2014 at 19:58
  • It seems that thats the best way to do it. I found and tried one app and it worked fine!
    – selfmade.exe
    May 19, 2014 at 20:31
  • Sorry for the delayed response, great stuff !! Additionally I'm still looking to see if there may be any better solutions
    – Chad Bonthuys
    May 19, 2014 at 21:00
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I'm going to assume this is because you have a very old application that doesn't behave properly on a modern computer, or you're a developer and want to test your application on different hardware.

For both cases, I would recommend running the application in a virtual machine. For example, in VirtualBox you can set the amount of system memory (RAM), video memory, and processor cores available. You can change this even after the virtual machine has been created.

If the application is a DOS application, you might also want to take a look at DOSBox.

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  • No Vm; I want the full hardware. Also its not dos, I use dosbox already. Good sollution, but I have thought it already and its not an option for me.
    – selfmade.exe
    May 15, 2014 at 18:19
  • @selfmade.exe VMs can get pretty close to the hardware already, especially if you have a processor and motherboard that support virtualization features (which almost all current processors and most decent motherboards do).
    – MBraedley
    May 15, 2014 at 18:25
  • Old hardware,athlon x2 3800(2ghz), ram is also limited, 4gb with 3.2 usable.. So not an option.
    – selfmade.exe
    May 15, 2014 at 18:32
  • @selfmade.exe have you tried it yet? It might not be great, but I'm sure it'd be entirely usable. That processor probably does have the VM features as well (although the motherboard might not support it).
    – MBraedley
    May 15, 2014 at 18:36
  • Guys, I know that solution already, but its just no good for me.
    – selfmade.exe
    May 15, 2014 at 18:37

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