Limitations discussed below may be caused by limitations in the BIOS, hardware, or operating system.
32 or 64 BIT COMPATIBILITY - If you are going to buy a new PC, get a 64-bit version of Windows and the disk. The only reason to limit yourself to a 32-bit version is if you have expensive software or hardware that only works with a 32-bit operating system.
Usually you can Make older programs run in Vista
For Windows 7 (Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise only), you can Download Windows XP Mode with Virtual PC which will allow you to run older programs in Windows XP Mode.
For hardware (printers, scanners, etc.) check the manufacter's web site for a 64-bit driver. Windows has been available in 64-bit editions for over a decade now (XP released in 2001, Vista in 2006, and Windows 7 in 2009). If your gear is fairly new and the company didn't make a 64-bit driver, learn a lesson and buy a different brand next time.
If you bought a new computer within the last few years from somewhere else, you probably have a 32-bit version of Windows, no disk, and less than 4GB of slow memory. You may be further dissappointed when you try to add more memory and discover that your computer has no more memory slots available, and your version of Windows won't support 4GB of memory. Learn a lesson and buy your next computer from us.
Windows Vista reports less than 4GB of RAM - According to Microsoft's knowledge base article 929605, all 32-bit versions of Vista support up to 4GB of memory, but the actual usable address space will be less than 4GB. The reason is that a section of the memory is set aside for memory map interfaces. This is generally a space that is set aside to ensure driver compatibility. The amount used varies, depending upon the devices installed. Typically, a system with 4GB of RAM will report only about 3.5GB of addressable space.
Maximum RAM Support for 64-Bit versions of Windows Vista:
- Vista Basic: 8 GB
- Vista Home Premium: 16 GB
- Vista Business/Enterprise/Ultimate: 128+ GB
LINKS:
Windows Vista 64-bit editions
Memory Limits for Windows
Memory Support and Windows Operating Systems
Physical Address Extension (PAE)
Compare Windows Versions
Compare Windows 7 Editions
Windows 7 system requirements
Microsoft Support
HARD DRIVE AND FILE SIZE LIMITATIONS:
- All versions of non-Windows® DOS, such as 6.22 and earlier, as well as Windows NT version 3.5 do not support Int13h extensions and cannot use hard disks over 8.4 GB in size.
- Windows 95-A or the first version of Win95 could support an 8.4GB hard drive, However, because of the size limitations of the FAT16, you had to partition the drive in 2GB partitions. That meant five partitions on an 8.4GB drive. In addition, Windows® 95A is still entirely reliant on MS-DOS® version 6.22, which does not support FAT 32, and like Windows® NT, it cannot see FAT 32 volumes.
- Hard disks and other media that are larger than 32 gigabytes (GB) in size are not supported in any version of Windows 95. In general, computer systems with a BIOS dated 1998 or later can work with drives up to 32 gigabytes (GB) in size.
- Windows 95B, 98 and Me use FAT32 partitions - save a file that is larger than 4 GB will be met with an error message of “Disk is full or Not enough space” even though the hard drive may have a large amount of space still available. The maximum disk size is approximately 8 terabytes (TB). The ScanDisk tool included with Microsoft Windows 95 and Microsoft Windows 98 is a 16-bit program that cannot process volumes using the FAT32 file system that have a FAT larger than 16 MB less 64 KB in size.
- Windows 2000 and XP accept both FAT32 and NTFS partitions. You cannot format a volume larger than 32 GB in size using the FAT32 file system in Windows 2000. NTFS partitions also have no limit for file size.
- You cannot format a volume larger than 32 gigabytes (GB) in size using the FAT32 file system during the Windows XP installation process. Windows XP can mount and support FAT32 volumes larger than 32 GB (subject to the other limits), but you cannot create a FAT32 volume larger than 32 GB by using the Format tool during Setup. If you need to format a volume that is larger than 32 GB, use the NTFS file system to format it. Another option is to start from a Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Startup disk and use the Format tool included on the disk.
EMAIL LIMITS:
Outlook 97, 98, 2000 and 2002 - 2GB [American National Standards Institute (ANSI) format]
In Outlook 97, 98, 2000 and 2002, IMAP and HTTP accounts (GMail, Windows Live Hotmail) use .pst files that do not use the Unicode format - 2GB
Outlook 2003, 2007 - Practical limit of 20GB [Unicode format]
In Outlook 2003, IMAP and HTTP accounts (GMail, Windows Live Hotmail) use .pst files that do not use the Unicode format - 2GB
In Outlook 2007, IMAP and HTTP accounts (GMail, Windows Live Hotmail) use Unicode format .pst files - not limited to 2GB
If you want to access an Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2003 .pst file from a different computer that has an earlier version of Outlook installed, or if you installed Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2003 and have decided to remove it and to use Outlook 2002 or earlier, you must change your .pst file back to an ANSI format. To do so, follow these steps:
Note If your e-mail messages or other items contain Unicode characters, they will not show up in the new .pst file you create.
- Start Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2003.
- On the File menu, click Data File Management, and then click Add.
- Click Outlook 97-2002 Personal Folders File (PST).
- Click OK.
- Name the .pst file, or click OK to accept the default name.
- Click OK.
- Click Close.
- Click Folder List at the bottom of the navigation pane.
- In the navigation pane, you will now see your new .pst file that you named in step 5.
- Drag the .pst file information from your existing Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2003 folders to the new .pst file that you created.
You can now use the .pst file that you created in an earlier version of Outlook.
LOCAL ISP LIMITS: (This section needs updating; service providers may have changed these limits)
| Internet |
Shaw |
Telus |
| High Speed Lite |
Download speed: Up to 256 Kbps
Download/Upload usage: 10 GB/mo. |
Download speed: Up to 256 Kbps
Download/Upload usage: 10 GB/mo. |
| High-Speed |
Download speed: Up to 7.5 Mbps
Download/Upload usage: 60 GB/mo. |
Download speed: 1.5 to 6.0 Mbps
Download/Upload usage: 60 GB/mo. |
| High-Speed Xtreme/Turbo |
Download speed: Up to 15 Mbps
Includes PowerBoost
Download/Upload usage: 100 GB/mo. |
Download speed: 10.0 to 15.0 Mbps
Download/Upload usage: 100 GB/mo. |
| High-Speed Warp |
Download speed: Up to 25 Mbps
Includes PowerBoost
Download/Upload usage: 100 GB/mo. |
N/A |
| Email |
Shaw |
Telus |
| Mailbox size |
1 GB |
100MB |
| Maximum number of messages that can be stored in a mailbox |
100,000 |
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| Maximum outbound message size: Sending through SMTP server |
7 MB before encoding, 10 MB total |
15 MB |
| Maximum outbound message size: Sending through Webmail |
5 MB before encoding, 7 MB total |
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| Maximum number of recipients per message |
99 |
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| Maximum number of messages that can be sent per day |
1000 |
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| Maximum inbound message size |
10 MB while within mailbox limit |
10 MB while within mailbox limit |
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