If you have more then 2GB of RAM in your computer, you may be surprised to learn that your Windows computer only allows a single process (program) to use a maximum of 2GB of RAM.  So, if for instance your computer has 4GB of RAM and you are trying to run a single application that would benefit from more RAM (After Effects), your out of luck, it’s limited to 2GB.  But there is a way to get around this.

If your using WinXP or older, you can put a switch statement in your boot.ini.  But, I’m using Vista so it’s a bit more complicated.  You need to run a command  at the command line with administrator privileges.  Enter the following: “BCDEDIT /set increaseuserva xxxx” where the x’s are the amount of ram you want to increase to.  Use 3072 for 3GB.

I tried increasing my laptop to 3GB and the system is still stable, although I’ve noticed that it slows down a bit more then usual when closing and launching applications.  This may be due to the OS running out of physical RAM to use, but that is just my speculation.  I’ve definitely notice a marked improvement in the performance and rendering time of After Effects!