Memory issue

Evilsod · 19 Jan 2011 at 13:56

I should really have cottoned on to this sooner but i always just assumed it was working.

When i bought this pc it had 3gb of RAM (2+1) running Windows Vista 32bit. A while back i upgraded to 4gb of RAM (new 2+2, both the same) running Windows 7 64bit.

I'd always just assumed it was working fine but now i'm 100% certain i'm still only getting 3gb. Control Panel says i have 4gb installed (2.94gb usable). Decided to have a look in the BIOS and its saying i have 3007mb of memory.

What should i do to get it registering all of the installed RAM? I don't see any reason why its not working and can't figure out how to correct it.

kae2 · 19 Jan 2011 at 14:18

You need 64bit windows to take advantage of all that volume of memory. 32bit will only address 3.5gb in total, including Vram.

Evilsod · 19 Jan 2011 at 14:20

I know, i'm running 64bit Windows 7. I'm just wondering if the fact the computer originally ran 32bit Vista (before Win7 was even out) it could be whats causing it to not register the 4th gb of RAM.

kae2 · 19 Jan 2011 at 14:23

Have you tried each stick individually in each slot to see if one is faulty?

Evilsod · 19 Jan 2011 at 14:42

Not tried that. I'm not sure they'd be faulty though otherwise i'd be getting 2gb or 4gb. Its also registered that i have 4gb installed but only 3gb usable. I was wondering if theres some settings in BIOS thats making my system think its only running 32bit for the purposes of RAM.

Philtor · 19 Jan 2011 at 15:21

Look for a setting called Memory remap or Memory hole remapping in the BIOS and ensure it's enabled.

Blue160 · 19 Jan 2011 at 22:06

Did you do a full clean install when you went to 7 or an upgrade? If the latter, you're probably still on 32bit.

Philtor · 20 Jan 2011 at 08:27

Forget about whether he's running a 32 bit or 64 bit o/s. The BIOS is not showing the full amount of RAM available so the issue is at a hardware level. Some of the RAM can be allocated to the onboard GPU but in this case I suspect Memory remap needs to be enabled just.

1Day · 20 Jan 2011 at 09:22

Could you please post your full system details.

CPU
Motherboard
GFx
Ram

Thanks

Evilsod · 20 Jan 2011 at 12:01

It was actually an upgrade. I bought the Win7 64bit Professional Upgrade because they had a student discount going so it cost around £30 or something.

Where abouts in BIOS would i find that function? I had a look earlier for something that might affect memory but couldn't see any options. I'll take another look after writing this reply.

From the DXDiagnostic Tool.

OS: Win 7 Pro 64bit
System Manufacturer: Packard Bell BV
System Model: iXtreme X2712
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @2.40GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Directx Version: DirectX 11
GPU: GeForce 9600 GSO
Current Dispaly Mode: 1920x1080 (32bit) (60Hz)

Philtor · 20 Jan 2011 at 12:18

Im not sure exactly where it is on your board but with mine it's under 'advanced' and then 'chipset'.

Evilsod · 20 Jan 2011 at 12:26

I couldn't see anything resembling that feature, went through every option and the word memory wasn't even mentioned.

Philtor · 20 Jan 2011 at 12:41

Im just wondering if you are limited to what you can change or play around with in the BIOS as it's a Packard Bell machine. This is often the case with other OEM's too where they use a very restrictive BIOS.

Evilsod · 20 Jan 2011 at 12:45

Yeah i've heard quite a bit about Packard Bells being very restrictive. Luckily i intend to start building my own in the future so won't have that trouble.