Illustrative embodiments include a method, system, and computer program product for estimating boot-time memory requirement of a data processing system. A data processing system identifies, using system configuration information associated with the data processing system, a set of components needed for booting up the data processing system. The data processing system determines a dependency of a component identified in the set of components, the component including a memory estimator program. The data processing system determines an ancestry of the component identified in the set of components. The data processing system receives, using the memory estimator program of the component, a boot-time memory requirement of the component. The data processing system calculates a total boot-time memory requirement. The data processing system determines whether an amount of real memory of the data processing system satisfies the total boot-time memory requirement.