4 gb RAM shows as 3.50 in system properties?

Hondamaker · 12-20-2006, 03:45 AM

I just added a 4th Gb DDR2 5400 RAM, and when I right click on My Computer and choose Properties, it shows as 3.50Gb, Sandra and BIOS shows it as 4GB. WTH?

mr. Charles · 12-20-2006, 04:07 AM

>>>>> what gives with the "DOUBLE" posting's???????..............

.....

......

mr. Charles

..........

.

Raubar · 12-20-2006, 04:24 AM

I guess u r using XP 32bit. That's the max memory that xp 32 can access. If u want to see, and use, the hole 4Gb, u will have to switch to xp 64bit, or win 2003 server.

Hondamaker · 12-20-2006, 04:30 AM

Lemme get this straight---32-bit xp wont utilize all 4 gigs of RAM? What a jip! According to my sig, then, I'm living a lie!

Hondamaker · 12-20-2006, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr. Charles

>>>>> what gives with the "DOUBLE" posting's???????..............

.....

......

mr. Charles

..........

.

Maybe he's having trouble posting, as am I. Comes back with a page error most of the time after I submit post.

Hondamaker · 12-20-2006, 04:41 AM

This is what I found w/Google search:

Some HP and Compaq PCs support a physical installation of 4 GB of memory. However, maximum memory is limited to approximately 3 GB in Windows XP (32-bit Editions). This limitation is present on all 32-bit PCs and 32-bit operating systems and is not limited to HP and Compaq systems.
Above 3 GB, all memory may not be available due to system resource requirements. The memory above 3 GB is used for PCI I/O and other system resources.
Verifying how much memory is used by Windows
Do the following to open System Properties:
Click Start.
Richt-click My Computer, and select Properties. The System Properties window displays.
Click the General tab. Look in the Computer section. The memory shown is the memory used by Windows. When 4GB of memory is installed, approximately 3.5 can be used by Windows.
Confirming total installed memory
The system BIOS displays the total amount of installed memory. Do the following to open the BIOS menu:
Turn on the PC.
When the first logo screen appears, press the F1 key repeatedly until a BIOS menu displays.
Confirm the Total Installed Memory. The memory shown is the memory used by Windows. When 4GB of memory is installed, approximately 4 can be used by the hardware.

----Stupid windows!

Raubar · 12-20-2006, 07:02 AM

I'm currently running xp64 (i use it for 3d animation) and it uses the hole 4gb. Another minus for 32bit system is that it can only acces 4gb of memory (that includes the pagefile).
There are some versions of windows 2003 server (32bit system) that can use up to 8gb memory.

**k0NG0** · 12-20-2006, 07:38 AM

Windows Server 2003 supports PAE.

The size of the page file, however, has nothing to do with limitations of the addressable memory space. So "that includes the page file" is false, as you can have a page file that's >4GB on a 32-bit system as well, since it contains data paged out of physical memory that in all can have a total size larger than the available physical memory. That is the exact reason why there is a page file in a virtual memory system. That is also why one should always let the OS handle the page file size, since if you limit it you may, in some scenarios, run out of physical memory. Which, with an OS-controlled page file, theoretically won't happen until you run out of disk space. (Performance will suck, though, since you'll be thrashing horribly long before that.)

shaihulud · 12-20-2006, 08:21 AM

Hey Kongo, he is acutally somewhat correct, and you are to some degree: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/237740/en-us

Looks like I need to have a little lengthy post on 32bits and memory management. But I need to go to work......maybe I can get this miscomprehension and poor literature used from the web sites quoted rectified.

**k0NG0** · 12-20-2006, 09:57 AM

Aw man! I sensed I'd be saying a bit too much. Well, in an ideal paged virtual memory system, the situation would be what I said. OS implementations aside, etc. I guess I'm stuck in Theory Land still.

**specmike** · 12-20-2006, 11:29 AM

I stole one of RAM GUY's posts from Corsair/HoH. I didn't feel like typing it all out myself.

Quote:

This is a chipset and O.S. limitation. The MB will see a max of 4 Giga Byte 4000 M-Byte not 4096 M-Byte of memory and the memory used for cache will come off the top like for cache on your CPU and memory in your Video card. In addition, what ever you have the AGP aperture size set too will also come off of that number as well.
Example:
4-1,0 Gig = (4096) Giga Bytes X 8 = 32,768 M-Bits
Any 32 Bit O.S. or Chipset will only see 32,000 M-Bits
Then it would have to subtract any other memory used in the system like for your Video card and or cache on your CPU, LAN or Modem, and the MB bios may reserve some for caching as well. That would make the total size of memory accessible to your system, something between 2.6 to 3.2 Gigs of available memory.

Briton · 12-20-2006, 11:50 AM

This is just a BIOS option. Everyone who thinks 4GB of RAM will not work on XP is wrong. Go into your BIOS, find the "Memory Hole" setting and turn it off. That should fix your problem. If your BIOS does not have this option, you need to wait for a BIOS update (try contacting the manufacturer to see if they have a fix for it already). I would think if you guys looked up what Windows XP supported, you would know that 4GB of RAM is just dandy.

**specmike** · 12-20-2006, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Briton

This is just a BIOS option. Everyone who thinks 4GB of RAM will not work on XP is wrong. Go into your BIOS, find the "Memory Hole" setting and turn it off. That should fix your problem. If your BIOS does not have this option, you need to wait for a BIOS update (try contacting the manufacturer to see if they have a fix for it already). I would think if you guys looked up what Windows XP supported, you would know that 4GB of RAM is just dandy.

No one said it would not work. You can install and run with 4gb just fine. However, the OS cannot fully utilize all of the 4gb. You can verify this with Microsoft. Also, your chipset and CPU must be able to handle 64 bit memory extensions. And, it is not related to Memory Hole or bios. For a good memory hole explanation, try Tech ARP - Where The Best In Technology Gather

Briton · 12-21-2006, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by specmike

No one said it would not work. You can install and run with 4gb just fine. However, the OS cannot fully utilize all of the 4gb. You can verify this with Microsoft. Also, your chipset and CPU must be able to handle 64 bit memory extensions. And, it is not related to Memory Hole or bios. For a good memory hole explanation, try Tech ARP - Where The Best In Technology Gather

Disabling the memory hole has done it everytime I have run into the problem. It may not make Windows utilize all four gig's, but it at least shows the memory there (which is the only thing customers care about).

Hondamaker · 12-21-2006, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Briton

Disabling the memory hole has done it everytime I have run into the problem. It may not make Windows utilize all four gig's, but it at least shows the memory there (which is the only thing customers care about).

Are you saying it 'may not make windows utilize all 4', might not, or cannot?

12-20-2006, 04:07 AM	#2
mr. Charles Lost > but still at it Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: P.N.W. Posts: 1,402	Hey ! ! ! ! ! >>>>> what gives with the "DOUBLE" posting's???????.............. ..... ...... mr. Charles .......... . __________________ .....Gaming_rigg#1 ..... _AMD Opty 170 {CCBWE 0530 TPMW} dual core@2.8 * [now] ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe mthrbrd * 2GB G.Skill {HZ} * 2(ea)=Nvidia Geforce 7800 GTX 512MB=>>SLI<< * HHD's = WD 74GB Raptor & Maxtor 250GB/16mb/7200 rpm * PSU=OCZ-600w_Adj SLi PwrStream * SB X-Fi XtremeMusic * Swiftech H2O "Xtreme Duty"_cooling(w/*Storm_wb* ) * . ..."Gaming"_rigg#2... AMDFX-55 MSI K8N Neo2 Plat. nVidia nForce3 mthrbrd2GB Mushkin's XP4000ATi (R) X800* XT Plat.Ed.(cat's 5.20)* OCZ-520w_Adj PwrStream PSU*H2O-cooling = CPUAC_Silencer4-cooling = GPUAudigy2 ZS_Gamer* >>>Ground Poundin<<< Logitech's Z680 spkr.systm. * Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard & Logitech MX518 Gaming Mouse * Samsung 940b LCD * yeah >>> yeah ..... i-No * . _ the "other" rigg: P4 2.4C@3.4 {SL6Z3}Asus P4C800-E Dlx_rev2.0 {Bios=1016}OCZ PC4000(2x512) dl ch GOLD's* H2O-cooled = Koolance/EXOS-AL { rad, CPU, GPU, res/pump }NB = Swiftech's MCX159-P ATi (R) X800 Pro {cat's 5.20}Aerogate-2 {mntr-temp's/fan rpm's}Enermax-550w psu* 2(ea)=Maxtor hhd's 160gb w/8mb buffer_7200Lian-Li PC60usb (mid_Alum.cs) Audigy 2 ZSViewSonic PF790 (19" mntr.) ..... ..... .
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12-20-2006, 04:24 AM	#3
Raubar Registered User Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Timisoara Posts: 221	I guess u r using XP 32bit. That's the max memory that xp 32 can access. If u want to see, and use, the hole 4Gb, u will have to switch to xp 64bit, or win 2003 server. __________________ Tsunami: Asus P5WD2 bios 1006.001; D805 @ 3.6Ghz XP-90; Corsair 4x1024Mb; ASUS 7600GT; Maxtor 250Gb SATA + Seagate 320Gb SATA; Plextor PX-712 DVD+-RW; Plextor PX-116A DVD; Enermax Case + 600W Enermax EG701AX-VH PSU; Logitech MX Desktop Dlx;Logitech MX Revolution. Laptop: IBM T23; PIII 1Ghz; 512Mb Ram; 60Gb HDD; 8xDVD-Rom Fantasy is more important than knowledge! Knowledge without fantasy is dry, fantasy without knowledge is useless. www.3hstudio.ro
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12-20-2006, 04:30 AM	#4
Hondamaker Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Sidney, OHIO Posts: 246	Lemme get this straight---32-bit xp wont utilize all 4 gigs of RAM? What a jip! According to my sig, then, I'm living a lie! __________________
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12-20-2006, 04:41 AM	#6
Hondamaker Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Sidney, OHIO Posts: 246	This is what I found w/Google search: Some HP and Compaq PCs support a physical installation of 4 GB of memory. However, maximum memory is limited to approximately 3 GB in Windows XP (32-bit Editions). This limitation is present on all 32-bit PCs and 32-bit operating systems and is not limited to HP and Compaq systems. Above 3 GB, all memory may not be available due to system resource requirements. The memory above 3 GB is used for PCI I/O and other system resources. Verifying how much memory is used by Windows Do the following to open System Properties: Click Start. Richt-click My Computer, and select Properties. The System Properties window displays. Click the General tab. Look in the Computer section. The memory shown is the memory used by Windows. When 4GB of memory is installed, approximately 3.5 can be used by Windows. Confirming total installed memory The system BIOS displays the total amount of installed memory. Do the following to open the BIOS menu: Turn on the PC. When the first logo screen appears, press the F1 key repeatedly until a BIOS menu displays. Confirm the Total Installed Memory. The memory shown is the memory used by Windows. When 4GB of memory is installed, approximately 4 can be used by the hardware. ----Stupid windows! __________________
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12-20-2006, 07:02 AM	#7
Raubar Registered User Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Timisoara Posts: 221	I'm currently running xp64 (i use it for 3d animation) and it uses the hole 4gb. Another minus for 32bit system is that it can only acces 4gb of memory (that includes the pagefile). There are some versions of windows 2003 server (32bit system) that can use up to 8gb memory. __________________ Tsunami: Asus P5WD2 bios 1006.001; D805 @ 3.6Ghz XP-90; Corsair 4x1024Mb; ASUS 7600GT; Maxtor 250Gb SATA + Seagate 320Gb SATA; Plextor PX-712 DVD+-RW; Plextor PX-116A DVD; Enermax Case + 600W Enermax EG701AX-VH PSU; Logitech MX Desktop Dlx;Logitech MX Revolution. Laptop: IBM T23; PIII 1Ghz; 512Mb Ram; 60Gb HDD; 8xDVD-Rom Fantasy is more important than knowledge! Knowledge without fantasy is dry, fantasy without knowledge is useless. www.3hstudio.ro
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12-20-2006, 07:38 AM	#8
k0NG0 Remembering TQ Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Sweden Posts: 13,627	Windows Server 2003 supports PAE. The size of the page file, however, has nothing to do with limitations of the addressable memory space. So "that includes the page file" is false, as you can have a page file that's >4GB on a 32-bit system as well, since it contains data paged out of physical memory that in all can have a total size larger than the available physical memory. That is the exact reason why there is a page file in a virtual memory system. That is also why one should always let the OS handle the page file size, since if you limit it you may, in some scenarios, run out of physical memory. Which, with an OS-controlled page file, theoretically won't happen until you run out of disk space. (Performance will suck, though, since you'll be thrashing horribly long before that.) __________________ Use Firefox - "the one that blocks all the schmutz" Feeling multicore elation? Remember this correlation: Amdahl's Law.
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12-20-2006, 08:21 AM	#9
shaihulud Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 1,239	Hey Kongo, he is acutally somewhat correct, and you are to some degree: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/237740/en-us Looks like I need to have a little lengthy post on 32bits and memory management. But I need to go to work......maybe I can get this miscomprehension and poor literature used from the web sites quoted rectified.
(Offline)

12-20-2006, 09:57 AM	#10
k0NG0 Remembering TQ Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Sweden Posts: 13,627	Aw man! I sensed I'd be saying a bit too much. Well, in an ideal paged virtual memory system, the situation would be what I said. OS implementations aside, etc. I guess I'm stuck in Theory Land still. __________________ Use Firefox - "the one that blocks all the schmutz" Feeling multicore elation? Remember this correlation: Amdahl's Law.
(Offline)

12-20-2006, 11:50 AM	#12
Briton Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Boston Posts: 2,778	This is just a BIOS option. Everyone who thinks 4GB of RAM will not work on XP is wrong. Go into your BIOS, find the "Memory Hole" setting and turn it off. That should fix your problem. If your BIOS does not have this option, you need to wait for a BIOS update (try contacting the manufacturer to see if they have a fix for it already). I would think if you guys looked up what Windows XP supported, you would know that 4GB of RAM is just dandy. __________________ ASUS P5Q Pro \|\| E8400 Wolfdale \|\| 4GB G.Skill DDR2 1200 \|\| MSI Radeon 4850 \|\| AVerMedia PCIe Tuner \|\| SB Audigy2 ZS Platinum \|\| Zalman 750W PSU \|\| LG GGW-H20L HD/BR Burner \|\| Vista Ultimate 64 \|\| Samsung 22" LCD (Desktop) Lenovo T60p \|\| T7600 Core 2 Duo \|\| 3GB \|\| 160GB \|\| FireGL 5250 \|\| Vista Ultimate / Backtrack (School) Lenovo X61 \|\| T8300 Centrino Pro \|\| 3GB \|\| 160GB \|\| XP Pro (Work)
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