Process Memory limit of 64-bit process

Question

I currently have a 32-bit .Net application (on x86 Windows) which require lots of memory. Recently it started throwing System.OutOfMemoryException\'s.

So, I am planning

Answer 1

IMAGE_FILE_LARGE_ADDRESS_AWARE is only relevant for 32 bit processes. The reason is that the address space on 32 bit Windows is split in two: 2 GB for kernel space and 2 GB for user space. To address 2 GB you need 31 bits. I.e. the pointers in a 32 bit application do not need the last bit for addressing.

Some applications may have used this extra bit for custom purposes, so if the Windows memory manager suddenly hands them a real 32 bit address they can't handle that. By enabling the IMAGE_FILE_LARGE_ADDRESS_AWARE flag the application basically tells the OS that it can handle the entire 32 bit addressable space.

If you run a IMAGE_FILE_LARGE_ADDRESS_AWARE application on 32 bit Windows you can access 3 GB. If you run the same 32 bit application on 64 bit Windows the process actually gets the entire 4 GB address space.

If you run a 64 bit application on 64 bit Windows the user address space is 8 TB (with another 8 TB set aside for kernel address space). .NET applications set to AnyCPU will automatically be 64 bit applications on x64, so you don't have to do anything to address the additional memory.

Keep in mind, however, that the CLR imposes a 2 GB limit on any single object, so while your application may use a lot of memory, you cannot create a 2 TB array for instance. More info in this question: Single objects still limited to 2 GB in size in CLR 4.0?