Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Will Snow Leopard 32 bit recognize 8gb ram?

W

windnsea26

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 10, 2010
84
9
San Diego
I'm thinking of upgrading to 8gb ram for my Mid 2009 Macbook Pro 15" since I run a few virtual machines for work but was wondering if I can keep running at the 32 bit level or if I need to run Snow Leopard in 64 bit mode?

Thanks

I have googled but can't really find much info.
 
Snow Leopard can run both 64 and 32 bit applications, and can address over 64 GB of RAM with the latest 12-core Mac Pro. It all depends on your hardware.
 
I'm actually running a Macbook Pro 15 (late 2009). I received the ram and installed it. Instead of reformatting my machine and installing 64 bit SL, I just edited some file that now allows me to boot into 64 bit mode instead of pressing "64" everytime I boot.

Runs great especially with the Windows 7 and Ubuntu VM I have installed!
 
windnsea26 said:
I'm actually running a Macbook Pro 15 (late 2009). I received the ram and installed it. Instead of reformatting my machine and installing 64 bit SL, I just edited some file that now allows me to boot into 64 bit mode instead of pressing "64" everytime I boot.

Runs great especially with the Windows 7 and Ubuntu VM I have installed!
Click to expand...

It's completely useless booting into 64Bit. You're only booting into the 64Bit kernel. Snow Leopard is 64Bit regardless and runs your 64Bit apps in full 64Bit without needed to boot with the 6 and 4 command, but if you feel more comfortable doing that, it's fine. BTW, that little file (I think you're talking about) doesn't always work well. Resetting the PRAM and after a few reboots it ends up switching back to the 32Bit kernel. You don't need it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back