4GB RAM with x64 OS..

[Kuga]

.. only picking up 3.25GB with Win 7 Ultimate x64..

Any ideas?

 

[nakedpeanut]

lol then you got 32 bit

Right click on Computer and select properties. does it say 64bit by System type?

 

[Kuga]

Nein!

 

[ponder]

Das ist nicht gut!

Is it not a bios restriction maybe?

 

[Brawler]

Not using onboard GFX?

(I see you have a 4870 though)

 

[Pada]

I'm in the same boat as you Kuga: Dell Inspiron 9400 with 4GB RAM (3.25GB usable)

The reason for this is the stupid memory controller of the motherboard that is still 32-bit.
It seems like the motherboards with G31 chipsets are limited to a max of 4GB RAM (3.25GB usable).
You can try to do a BIOS update to see if it doesn't fix that issue, but don't get your hopes up

 

[Kuga]

Das ist nicht gut!

Is it not a bios restriction maybe?

Nope..

Not using onboard GFX?

(I see you have a 4870 though)

Nope, the board I have doesn't have onboard GFX.

I'm in the same boat as you Kuga: Dell Inspiron 9400 with 4GB RAM (3.25GB usable)

The reason for this is the stupid memory controller of the motherboard that is still 32-bit. It seems like all the motherboards with G31 chipsets are limited to a max of 4GB RAM (3.25GB usable).

Hmmmm, what a ****ing fail **** up. I always wondered why my board was limited to a max of 4 GB of RAM according to Asus spec sheet. I guess we gotta wait until a bios update is available to address this issue which more than likely won't happen

*Update*

Checked on the interwebz for something called memory remapping. I saw in the BIOS mine was disabled, enabled it and now it's reading the full 4GB. Can maybe check for something in your BIOS Pada.

 

[Pada]

Kuga: you can try the following:
Source: Yellowbeard @ http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx...O&id=20100811015409765&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

For some odd reason that I have not discovered, Windows7 caps the mememory amount for some users. This may be your issue. From a command prompt, type MSCONFIG and look at your startup options. Go to the BOOT tab, Advance Options. Make sure your maximum memory is not capped there. Untick the option or, set the amount to the full amount of memory that you have installed.

 

[Pada]

*Update*

Checked on the interwebz for something called memory remapping. I saw in the BIOS mine was disabled, enabled it and now it's reading the full 4GB. Can maybe check for something in your BIOS Pada.

Awesome. I'm glad you managed to fix it.

Unfortunately my BIOS doesn't have any changable memory options
I've tried changing the stuff in msconfig and it didn't make any difference.

Here's what my memory info page displays in the BIOS:

Memory Installed = 4096 MB
Memory Available = 3327 MB
Memory Speed = 667 MB <<< I have DDR2 800MHz installed though

Note: Due to the amount of memory being assigned for system use, Memory Available is less than Memory Installed.

None of these fields are changable.

Oh well, at least I can use 3.25GB, where as some sites/specifications said that the laptop cannot use more than 2GB of RAM

 

[ponder]

It seems like the motherboards with G31 chipsets are limited to a max of 4GB RAM (3.25GB usable).
You can try to do a BIOS update to see if it doesn't fix that issue, but don't get your hopes up

My G31 motherboard does not exhibit that behaviour, any 64bit OS I load sees the full 4GB of ram. Maybe it's brand specific?

 

[DJNgoma]

My G31 motherboard does not exhibit that behaviour, any 64bit OS I load sees the full 4GB of ram. Maybe it's brand specific?

As said, it is the memory remap option. Some brands load a custom BIOS which hide the end user from accessing.

 

[HavocXphere]

Unfortunately my BIOS doesn't have any changable memory options

Some bios's have a secret key combo to get more options.

That 32bit controller thing is weird. My p5k board supports 8gb & I think its older than the g31 ones.

 

[Pada]

Some bios's have a secret key combo to get more options.

That 32bit controller thing is weird. My p5k board supports 8gb & I think its older than the g31 ones.

Yeah, like CTRL+F1 is the shortcut key for getting the Advanced BIOS menu for Gigabyte motherboards.

I'm definitely stuck with 3.25GB of memory, after reading http://www.eggheadcafe.com/software/aspnet/29104931/4gb-mem--x64.aspx:

Unfortunately, on my Dell Inspiron 9400 (same as Dell 1705 and M90) laptop,
with the latest bios, A07, there is no "Memory remap feature". I've got an
open case w/ Dell in escalation, but I'm getting no call backs, responses.
Asking x64 questions of Dell support is a challenge right now. If anyone has
suggestions, please let me know. There's threads on the Dell forum w/ same
issue.

I'm not worried about this issue that much any more, since I got a new Core i7 with 6GB of memory for running lots of VM's

 

[PilgrimToHyperion]

I had the same problem a week ago. Tried memory remapping, nada. Tried bios update, nada. What worked for me was swopping the RAM chips around. Refer to http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/273594-P7P55LE-and-4GB-memory-limit .