Ram and Windows

[Plagued]

Ive read several information posts, sites, magazines etc... so i know the generic answer to my question. Sorry if this is wrong section for post.

Question: I have installed 4g of ram in my machine, why doesn't it show all the ram.

But wait i know the answer, windows Xp 32bit operating system does not show all the ram etc etc, i know but if I installed 4g of ram, isn't 2.5g of ram a little low? I know it wont show or use all of it but that number just seems like i wasted my money upgrading from 2g to 2.5g for the same price that other ppl upgrade to 4g...

And one more question... I have an alienware m9750 laptop. Ive been informed that even if i upgrade to a 64bit OS i will still NOT be able to upgrade past 4g simply cause its a laptop. With 2 ram slots is it impossible for me to buy and use 4g/6g chip x2?

 

[Route44]

To answer your second inquiry the amount of RAM being able to be installed and utilized is limited to your motherboard specs and BIOS, not just your OS.

For example, my Tecra S1 laptop is designed for no more than 2 gigs of RAM so a 2x2 configuration wouldn't even work. It is also limited to certain speed as well.

 

[Plagued]

So is it possible that my motherboard has a bios update that would allow more ram to be utilized, or is that specified by the hardware the day the board is produced?

I was told that no laptop anywhere can ever handle more than 4g of ram, yet. (this information was given to me about 2 months ago, was wondering validity of the statement)

 

[Route44]

Well to truly utilize 4 gigs of RAM the OS has to be 64-bit. A BIOS might be able to set your motherboard to accept a full four gigs but, again, the OS has to be 64-bit.

 

[P4PC]

It depends on varies things really. DDR type, OS BIT, MOBO ram support, CPU support. if you support DDR2 then make sure all sticks are DDR2, make sure your mobo supports 4GB or more and it can support 64 BIT OS. as i said varies. About laptop max ram is 4GB RAMS is not true but anything higher then 4 I don't see no use really. But better help would be crucial.com awsome site tells you exactly everything you need to do also make sure you mhz speed is all same for example say you have for the sake of arguement 677 and new ram is 800 then it will perform at lowest speed which is 677. this site tells you your speed and max memory ram

http://www.crucial.com/index.aspx