I seem to remember reading about problems with the 9x Kernal and 512mb of memory..I used to have win 98 se and had 512mb of memory...the trick I found was that you have to disable the virtual memory settings and put them I believe at a low setting so that windows will use the memory...instead of trying to cache large amounts of data on the HD....and this was were the error came from...I also had to install a 3rd party memory manager I saw one at ANALOGX...but now I run win xp...which handles it just fine in fact....I now have a 512mb stick,256mb stick and a 128mb stick...all cas 2 MICRON...7.3ns memoroy...which gives me a (896mb)891mb that is what the os registers it as..works just fine ...my TYAN TRINITY K7 (SLOT A) with the majic cache 900mhz processor (you know the classic with the 512mb l2 cache) is rated at handling 1 gig...
but at the time ...I was running a 700mhz (classic) and 512kb (2 256mb)cas 2 micron 8.ns at the time...You have to disable windows from setting your virtual memory and download a 3rd party memory manager...Windows cannot handle anything over 256mb...but with the 3rd party memory manager it can....hope this helps you.

I also before I went to winxp I had win2K installed...I had none of the problems....that you mentioned about the IRQ setting though....I had a tnt2m64 video card....a legacy *ISA* sound card...2 NIC cards...but yet my friend who had the VIA B686 chipset seemed to have the problems with IRQ steering....the trick to getting the thing to work right is in the bios..where you do have it reserve the irq...and the thing that worked for him was available for via chipsets only ...from viaarena.com is labled -----74 patch...as near as I can remember...once he installed the ---74 patch and the latest...via 4 in 1 ' ...the trick to those is installing them in sequence...install the 74 patch first...then start with 4.30 and then work your way up to the latest ones...they say that they are cumulative...I have not found them to be...and you have to reboot after each of the changes...with this way we had mutch success...he does not get the Large file transfer problems......IF you are getting the NV4 Loop...let me know...I know how to fix that...let me give you a clue...the fix for this is in your memory timing and it is in the bios...

oh yah on a side note...through all of this I have been running dual monitors....with a Pci Video card S3trio...and a NVIDIA CARD....I plan on getting the GF4 TI4400...I am currently running in my other computer my tnt2m64 and in my Current computer am running the S3 video card with a GF3 TI 200....
ASUS of course...

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I remember seeing the knowledge base saying that the vcache needs to be modified or something. Oh yeah ..prum I think you need to install service pack 2. That include the VIA AGP fix. That could be why your 3d apps were hanging in win2k. At least according to MS.

Thing is, if you modify the vcache to occupy the RAM above 512Mb you lose the benefits (if any) of having more than 512Mb any so whats the point? You'd be better off install 2k (or better yet, XP) and being done wit it.

And about ACPI and IRQ sharing, I'm almost positive that it was the cause of random IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL to BSODs under Win2k when I went to run certain games (particularly those that used EAX) since my video card (a PCI Riva TNT) was sharing the same IRQ as my sound card (a "notorious" SBLive!). I've come to this conclusion after installing XP and finding that the SBLive! now only shares its IRQ with the USB controller and not the video card. If someone can come up with a better explanation I'd love to hear it.

You could try switching to Standard PC in NT and then you can change things. ACPI tends to choose what IRQs go where, but I don't see it being a problem.
 
I have used Me with 512 MB RAM, but after about 256 MB, you don't see a difference unless you are using a good OS.

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You could try switching to Standard PC in NT and then you can change things. ACPI tends to choose what IRQs go where, but I don't see it being a problem.

The problem only used to occur in games that used EAX and only during the intial resolution change (from 2D -> 3D mode) which is what lead me to believe ACPI and its IRQ sharing (particularly between the SBLive! and the Riva TNT) to be the culprit. Still, XP solved the problem and there isn't a force on Earth that can make me go back to 2k so I don't have to worry about it anymore.

 
That's true.

I have done alot of reasearch on different mobo/video combos...and the only thing that I have found out is adjusting my memory timing...going to 2 way associtive I think ...from 4 way associative...that usually fixed all of my BSOD problems...seems that the video card would save the data to certain parts of the memory but the OS would clear those memory values before it could be displayed...and thus the BSOD...or that is what M$ claims happens...and the reason you probably don't have the error in XP is that Xp doesn't allow the video to write to that part of the memory ...and instead redirects it to a differnt module ...which causes it to have a different IRQ setting...