Missing RAM ??

damian44

damian44

damian44

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Joined
26 May 2004
Posts
154
I have just put 4x 1gig sticks of RAM into my PC (which is running XP64) and when I check boot up and check it in system properties it says I only have 3 gig!

Anyone know where the missing gig is - is this normal ?
 
With XP 32-bit? Yeah, it's normal - you should have over 3GB though (3.4-ish?). There are reserved memory addresses above 3GB which knock a hole in the amount of RAM available for use.
 
tech support at OC told me they struggle to run 4xramsticks in any configuration properly
despite mobo specs sayin its ok
look at the top OC systems
they gave me a refund on 2 i bought cos of this

i put4x 512 ddr in an asus premium board
wont work right
had to buy 2 x1gb, b4 you ask i think its all the slots being used not necessarily the size of the sticks imho
 
Weel I think you may be right as it is the motherboard that is not regonising that I have 4 gig it just sees 3!

Any ideas?? its a MSI RD480 Neo 2
 
Yeah you're right - I've just downloaded the manual and I can't see it

I have this option on my Via based ASUS SK8V motherboard and I thought it was universal

All I can think of is to contact MSI support - sorry
 
MSI will say, i imagine that it should work, but it may not like it didnt in my asus,
i assume you have tried multiple configurations of that ram to make sure none of it is faulty.
e.g. 2 of each
you know, to eliminate the poss of a faulty slot or a faulty ram stick
enjoy
 
Yes - individually on the RAM works and I had 4x512MB sticks in before so I do not understand why 4x1 gig ones only show up as three?

This is going to really bug me!!!
 
despite what ive said earlier, it sound like (now you've said it runs with 4x512) there is some bios issue or or other config issue.
do you really need all that ram, are you running a dual core as well
 
Yes I am running an AMD x2 4400 on WINDOWS XP 64.

I have not flashed the Bios on the board as I am not too sure how as Live Update does not wotk in xp 64.

It just seems like the BIOS is restricting my system to 3 gig.
 
damian44 said:
Yes I am running an AMD x2 4400 on WINDOWS XP 64.

I have not flashed the Bios on the board as I am not too sure how as Live Update does not wotk in xp 64.

It just seems like the BIOS is restricting my system to 3 gig.
Click to expand...


does the mb report 4 gig installed 3 gig used , i have tried it with a diff mb and thats what i get BTW a bios flash to fix other prob have stopped it booting with four stick in

the best i have ever done with amd is 3.7 gig used with 4 gig in but not with this board
 
This is from Intel which slightly explains it...

Not All Memory is Available after Installing 4GB or More of System Memory

Due to PC architectural requirements such as motherboard resources and OS limitations, platforms using larger memory may be unable to take full advantage of all memory populated on the system.

When systems with chipsets that support 4GB or more of system memory are populated with 4GB or more, the Operating System (OS) may report a lower amount of available memory.

Standard PC Architecture System Resources require addressing which overlaps physical memory below 4GB:

System BIOS
Motherboard Resources (I/OxAPIC)
Memory Mapped I/O
PCI Express* Configuration Space
Additional PCI Device Memory (Graphics Aperture)
VGA Memory
Others as included, etc..
These requirements may reduce the addressable memory space available to and reported by the Operating System. These memory ranges, while unavailable to the OS, are still being utilized by subsystems such as I/O, PCI Express and Integrated Graphics and are critical to the proper functioning of the PC.
Click to expand...

Here is a link to the white paper that explains all in more detail... :)

http://www.dcomputer.com/proinfo/support/support/mainboard/4GB_Rev1/4GB_Rev1.pdf
 
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