4GB not recognized on Vista

[Xclusiveitalian]

I have a Pavilion dv6604nr entertainment notebook PC, i bought in 2007, i had recently posted about what ram to get n i got it and recently updated it. It said i had 4 gb of ram, not 3, or 3.5 etc but after i did a system recovery it says i have 3. I took out 1 piece and started it up and it said i had 1.3, then put the other one in and started it and it said 3 gb again...i would really like to know why it wont recognize 4 gb anymore and is there anything i can do?

Running: Windows Vista Premium (default operating sys.)

 

[LookinAround]

go to HP web site, click on Support and look up your specific model number. Check for updates on their website that are available as i believe you may find some that specifically fix this problem (and might be fix it for you as well)

 

[raybay]

Your Pavilion laptop dv6604nr should show 4GB with VISTa. Are the modules identical? Sometimes the full set will not be recognized if they are different brands, or stepping, or whatever.
HP has had a lot of trouble with that board, so you might call them. But since it is well over a year out of warranty, they probably will not be interested... I do have one client who got a board replaced four months after the 1 year warranty expired.

 

[LookinAround]

I thought i remembered a reference to a Windows Update on the HP support site but it must have been the reference to this Microsoft KB

The system memory that is reported in the System Information dialog box in Windows Vista is less than you expect if 4 GB of RAM is installed

 

[raybay]

With that laptop, you should expect 3.5 GB with WXP and 4.0 with VISTA... just as you knew.

 

[Tedster]

Please do not piggback on threads unless it addresses the original poster's problem.

32 bit operating systems cannot address memory above 3.5 megabytes and the hardware cannot address above 4gb. Additional deductions are plausable if you have ram reduced by integrated graphics etc....

 

[kimsland]

Well I'm confused, who's "piggbacking" again
I find it more irritating when a support member says the exact same thing someone else has posted in the same thread.
I only write this because I do see it happening often around here

 

[Xclusiveitalian]

Thx for all the replys, i have (2) 2gb sticks bought in a bundle to total 4 gb, they are of the same brand. I tried taking out both of them and starting up my computer with jus my old 1 gb(previous ram sticks) yet to no avail. the thing that confuses me the most is if it said 4 gb, then reguardless of hardware i support it. I did do a destructive restore on my laptop but since then have complelty updated everything to make sure. its just strange it says 3gb, i feel like i lost a gb sumwhere but where...????

 

[Xclusiveitalian]

it's fixed! The problem and many others were fixed after HP update said there was an update for my computer, the problem was i didn't have service pack 1 installed. Now my computer shows 4 GB and runs great again! thanks again everyone for posting. On a side note, Hp update stated on many different occasions that my computer was fully updated, idk but thats why i missed it.

 

[LookinAround]

Hey, hey! Sometimes i have "a memory like a steel sieve"! LOL

But at least i was right this time thinking i'd seen HP update fix this same problem sometime in the past (and now present!)

 

[SNGX1275]

With that laptop, you should expect 3.5 GB with WXP and 4.0 with VISTA... just as you knew.

That is true unless it is Vista 32bit prior to SP1. SP1 is what 'fixed' the reporting, I've tried to point this out in every 4GB RAM 32Bit Vista thread I bother to click on, it is also confirmed by post #9 in this thread.

It is going to be so nice in about 2014 when the percentage of people running a 32bit OS is down about 1%. Microsoft really should have done what Apple did with OS X, and now OS X 10.6, and that is just force people to get modern. They should have made Windows 7 (Vista really) ONLY be 64bit. But now it looks like whatever comes after Windows 7 is the only chance of a only 64bit OS release from Microsoft.

 

[raybay]

Mysteriously, we find that problem depends on the motherboard more than the service pack. Many laptop motherboards, with BIOS updates, work fine with VISTA 0 and 4 GB, provided the memory is Crucial, Kingston, Buffalo, or OCZ in matched sets.

 

[SNGX1275]

Then it may be a custom patch provided by the manufacturer in their OEM version of Vista. Because Vista 32 prior to SP1 by itself will not display the system as having 4GB of installed memory.