System not reading memory correctly, I think?

R

roc567

n00b
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
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I was running 2gb (1 stick per gig) and just added 2 more 1GB sticks of the same memory.
After installing the 2 new sticks and ran a DxDiag its only showing 3326 mb of memory and not 4096 mb which is the sum of 1024 x 4. 3326 isnt that much lower than 4096 and its a lot better than the 2048mb, but I was just curious why my system isnt showing the missing other 770mb. Please, any help or suggestions are appreciated.
 
Are you using a 64bit OS? A 32bit OS will not be able to address all the memory, and will therefore read less. (I don't remember the exact limit, but your number sounds about right for a 32 bit OS)
 
ilikecake said:
Are you using a 64bit OS? A 32bit OS will not be able to address all the memory, and will therefore read less. (I don't remember the exact limit, but your number sounds about right for a 32 bit OS)
Click to expand...

+1. It's probably your 32-bit Operating System.
 
ilikecake said:
Are you using a 64bit OS? A 32bit OS will not be able to address all the memory, and will therefore read less. (I don't remember the exact limit, but your number sounds about right for a 32 bit OS)
Click to expand...


The limit is 3.3 gig, which is what his BIOS is reporting. It's not probably... it's definitely the reason.
 
Yea, srry for not giving all my system specs. Yes I am using 32-bit Vista.
Whats was that about 3.3 being my system limit, I thought it was 8. I have an Asus M2V mobo and i could of sworn it said it can handle a max of 8gigs, maybe not. THanks for the help and responses so far.
 
The board can handle that amount, but because of the limitations of 32-bit Windows, it isn't possible to have the entire 4GB usable.
 
roc567 said:
Whats was that about 3.3 being my system limit, I thought it was 8.
Click to expand...

To be specific, any 32-bit Operating System can only access 3.3GB RAM. Your motherboard can hold up to 8GB RAM, but you will need a 64-bit O/S to access all of it.
 
As my title says I am a "noobie", so all help is appreciated so I hate to ask stupid questions. But is there any way to upgrade to Vista 64 from 32 or do I have to buy a whole new version of Vista 64 and do a clean install of it after erasing the Vista 32 bit OS. It's not that I'm gonna need 64bit Vista anytime soon and the 4gb I'm running right now is sufficient for my gaming needs, but I'm just curious to know for future reference.
Another question, would it have been smarter to just use 3gb instead of 4 since Vista 32 doesn't read all 4gb?
 
i dont think you can upgrade without buying a whole new copy so you could either buy a new copy but u might just be better to leave it with 3 gigs. it depends what you are using the system for.
 
64-bit Vista uses the same serial numbers as 32-bit, so all you would have to do to upgrade should you want to is get your hands on a copy of the 64-bit DVD. I believe MS will send you a copy for a small price, or you could borrow it from someone or "acquire" a copy from one of those places that we don't talk about here ;).
 
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