4 Gig Ram Only Showing As 2.93

Status
Not open for further replies.

RUDEBWOY

Posts: 157   +0
i had 3 gigs of ram befor added another gig today why is it still showing 2.93 gigs of ram?im on windows media center xp pro sp2.

Btw I Have A Asus P5b Mobo Running Core 2 Duo 2.6
 
From what I've read, Windows XP can only show like 2.93GB with ASUS motherboards. I also read somewhere that A BIOS update could solve the problem.
 
XP can only address 4 gig, but due to the architecture of the 32 bit OS about one meg is reserved for BIOS and memory mapped io, there you lose about 1 meg. Use XP-64 if you want it available to you.
 
Interesting

I have a Asus P5B Deluxe (intel p965 chipset) and I have the same problem with it not showing 4gb. As with yours it shows up as 2.93gb. It will not no matter what show up as 4gb. Now if I take out one of my 4 1gb dimms it will show up as 3gb. At post and in the bios. Weird.

In Xp it does the same thing, shows up as 2.93gb. However be aware that with your 32-bit verson of XP you are not going be able to use the full 4gb even if you can get it to post right and show up in the bios as 4gb. I am not sure on the specifics however I do know it has somthing to do with the 32-bit kernel to only allocate 2gb of memory at a time. To take advantage of 4gb or more of memory you need a 64-bit OS.

Dont waiste your time calling Asus, I did on this same subject and they told me that my board should support 4x 1gb dimms and that it was probably a compatability issue and to check my manual. However my memory runs absolutly perfect on my system so I doubt that is the case. I run OCZ platinum PC-6400 but who knows I am sure that it is more a design flaw from Asus and they just wont admit it. I have a Asus 680i board that I am going to install in my rig soon as I have some time and see if it has the same problem.

But atleast you know you are not alone.

I am sure that over time they will release a bios fix for this. Just sit tight, however I will post if my Asus 680i chipset board does the same thing with 4gb of my memory.
 
You might want to also check whether your motherboard is using dual channel or not, sometimes the ram doesnt match and if its set dual channel then it will show up as less then you actually have in.
cheers
hynesy
 
Um.....

ceegee said:
XP can only address 4 gig, but due to the architecture of the 32 bit OS about one meg is reserved for BIOS and memory mapped io, there you lose about 1 meg. Use XP-64 if you want it available to you.

You did mean 1 Gig didn't you?

I did a few pages on this in another post. I'm not typing this all again. Follow this post: https://www.techspot.com/vb/topic74621.html You'll find the logic and a memory map of an Intel board, it should clear everything up. Pretty much
 
Yeah

Yeah you should probably just remove the 4th gig, you will be able to use the 3 gig and have it post as 3 gig and show up in the bios and in XP, it did for me anyways.

People will argue that if you do this you will loose some speed due to it not being dual channal, however I feel 3 gig in single channal more than makes up for the the slight performance gain of dual channal over lets say 2gb in dual channal in theory. But to tell you the truth I notice no performance gain with 3 gig than with 2. I do however get like 1 FPS higher in some games with 3 gb :D

Just save that 4th gig until you get a 64-bit OS.

Also keep your eyes peeled for a bios update from asus, as I said I beleive this is more a design flaw on their end than a compatability issue.
 
Opps, yes 1 gig, The intel chip set can use memory address extension to allow 32 bit xp the use memory, deja-vue to old does LIM memory verses extended memory. But the chippset in tha board is Nvidia, not intel
 
Probably not.....

RUDEBWOY said:
so u think i should just remove the 4th gig of ram?

Is this a dual channel board? Was this board running in a dual channel mode before? If nothing else, now that 4 GB are on board, since the channels are balanced it should run as dual channel even if the OS doesn't pick it up.
Assuming of course that this is a dual channel board. < That I don't know.
 
The new Intel boards..

Will address 8 GB Ram with what they're calling EMT ( Extended Memory Technology) I think it's actually 36! bit. I have a G965WH w/ MCE2005. 3 GB are installed, it recognizes 2.98 but the BIOS does commandeer some. There's almost no hardware connected at the moment, which may be responsible for the higher count.

Thats obviously okay about the double post, since I just "reinforced" what you said although it does seen to bear out what we're both saying!

Actually Windows recognizes the 3 GB as 3,072.00 MB. (2.98 in my computer> properties)

My 915GAG Intel doesn't have the EMT. (see map on other post) So,same as the Nvidia, 3 out of 4 (GB) is all you'd get with a 32 bit OS with that one.
 
Just an additional thought....

Windows only allocates 2 GB of RAM to any one application without implementing what's called the 3 GB switch. And I think (very loosely) that many apps. observe this limitation as well. Even with only 2.8 GB showing you're machine is still able to devote the full 2 GB amount to your open program, with plenty to spare for the OS and a few random processes.
 
Not in Windows

This is not a Windows 32-bit seeing less than 4gb of memory in "my computer" problem.

It actually has nothing to do with windows at all.

With 4 1gb dimms installed the board does not post 4gb during the memtest nor does it show up in the bios. It shows up as 2.93gb...

I have this same board and have the same problem. IT JUST DOES NOT POST 4GB IN THE BIOS !!!! Let alone in XP. I even have XP 64-bit.

IT IS EITHER

A. Compatability issue with my RAM and the RAM he is using

B. A flaw in the board itself not allowing it to show the full 4gb.

I am going with option B.

People really need to start reading the entire thread before posting.

I am not a noob and I understand the concept of his problems. I have the same exact board and the same exact problem and have been through the route of contacting Asus technical support. I an trying to save him time by stating these very simple facts.

Dual channel or not, the board still needs to read the installed memory.

The boards manual says it does support the configuration of installed memory that both he and I have done.

There is no possible explanation other than the 2 factors that I have outlined.
 
Its the board. Lemme see if I can get Goalie to post in this thread, I believe he's having a similar issue.
 
all ram is the same its in the system now it boots up no errors no beeps etc cpu-z shows i have 4 ram types in the slots so im guessing this is just a windows 32 bit issue?
 
Actually my issue is more that the motherboard won't stay stable with anything more than 2gb in it. It's like the motherboard doesn't truly support the 4gb it claims it will. It will usually hang within 20s of power on, often less than 5s (just after post). Occasionally up to 15m. Specs: Asus P5n32-SLI Premium, Corsair XMS2-6400 1g sticks (4-4-4-12, 800mhz). BIOS updates haven't solved anything. OS doesn't matter, the machine will hang. 32 or 64 bit alike, Windows and linux. I do have dual GF 7950GTs connected via SLI in it, if that matters in any way. Also has a Core2 6600. Just trying to think of anything relevant that someone may look at me and say "You *******, this is your problem with it... and it has nothing to do with the problem at hand.."

It has been quite utterly infuriating to troubleshoot, as it's a hardlock, and leaves no relevant log info.
 
well jim its the same for me in bios it shows 3 gigs..control panel>system 2.93 and i have 4 sticks of ram intalled.
 
RUDEBWOY said:
i had 3 gigs of ram befor added another gig today why is it still showing 2.93 gigs of ram?im on windows media center xp pro sp2.

Btw I Have A Asus P5b Mobo Running Core 2 Duo 2.6

BTW, with 32-bit XP that is all you are going to get. I have same setup with 4 x 1GB Corsair PC6400XMS2 and I only see 2GB, so I am wondering what BIOs you have and what BIOs settinsg you have to see 3GB, I woudl be happy with 3GB for now, but not to throw away 2GB now, I need that extra 1GB and can't do just 2GB. 64 bit OS XP or Vista I loose to many devices due to lack of drivers. Can you share your BIOS level and settings, thanks!
 
Goalie said:
Actually my issue is more that the motherboard won't stay stable with anything more than 2gb in it. It's like the motherboard doesn't truly support the 4gb it claims it will. It will usually hang within 20s of power on, often less than 5s (just after post).
Does the board report usable memory as 4 GB in BIOS main menu?

Do memory speed settings change anything (if you change the speed to 400 MHz, for example) ?
 
Bass Ackwards........

Everybody (myself included), blames 32 bit Windows for not showing the full 4GB of RAM. It's actually not Windows, it's the 32 bit motherboards. They also can only see 4 GB of RAM total, but it's actually the board subtracting the hardware addresses, not the OS. This is how the newer boards are capable of accommodating 8 GB of RAM, they're 64 bit. Take a look at this memory map of an Intel 915GAG board. It tells you straight up it's using the memory addresses for PCI etc. https://www.techspot.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15858&d=1176081849

I will grant you that only 2GB showing is really low, (most people see at least 2.5 GB out of 4), could indicate another problem.
 
even so, 2GB of RAM on a system with XP is overkill most of the time. I have 1.5 on my house computer and I have never come close to using it all.
 
Tedster said:
even so, 2GB of RAM on a system with XP is overkill most of the time. I have 1.5 on my house computer and I have never come close to using it all.
Depends on what you are doing, I routinely work in Photoshop with 13MP images and once you get a few layers going all the memory in my 2GB is gone and it swaps to disk like crazy.
 
Too Many Irons In The Fire........

Dear Kluken; If you're running out of RAM in Photoshop with 13MB files (even layered) up to 100MB, you're not managing your system the way you need to. (This with the 2GB I understand you to have. You can set preferences in Photoshop to allocate whatever percentage of RAM you choose, with 50% usually considered optimal. You could have too many processes running along with Photoshop. I'm told that the "bridge" in Photoshop is memory sponge. I run PSE-5 and the organizer, especially after using the slide show full frame function is a memory hog. Another massive use of RAM in Photoshop is the number of history states you allow yourself to luxuriate with. You need to pull up the Windows Task Manager <CNTL, ALT, DEL> and find out which processes are sapping your powers. I grant you that Photoshop needs a bunch of RAM, so you can't use it with 3 or 4 other applications open, and 55 processes running!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back