Hi all!

I was having some trouble with my AOpen EU965 barebone (
http://xc.aopen.com.tw/Cube-m-specif...aspx?Auno=2209 ) and getting access to the
full 4GB I plugged into it.

And now their helpdesk is telling me the following:

'Based on the specification of the chipset, it can support 8GB when using 4 DIMM slot. Our
MB had 2 slot only, so the max memory is 4GB. But if the main memory is 4GB, OS will
allocate 3~4GB memory address for onboard device. This is why you can only get 3.xGB when
you install 4GB memory. Other 965 chipset with 2 DIMM slot had the same result. The only
way is use a 4 slot MB and add the memory more then 4GB. So that the memory size in OS
will the same as you installed.'


Is that true?? Is there no way to access the full 4GB I plugged in, just because this
system has only 2 DIMM-slots??


Regards,
Evert

If I understand the last two sentences correctly, I believe that they're
incorrect.

If you're running a 32 bit Windows operating system, the machine won't have
4 GB available to Windows. 32 bit windows can address up to 4 GB of RAM, but
due to some reserved addresses, you'd see a lesser amount (such as 3.25 GB,
although it varies). It can't normally function with more than 4GB of memory
installed.

I believe that some chipsets have a hardware limit in addressing 4GB, but I
don't think that the 965 is one of those.

You could see all 4GB by going to a 64 bit operating system like XP64 or
Vista 64. (That assumes that you have a CPU that supports the 64 bit
extensions, like a Core 2 Duo.) That would complicate life, though. I don't
know about XP, but the 64 bit versions of Vista cannot be installed as
upgrades over 32 bit versions. (You can still use an upgrade version, but
you can only perform a clean installation with it.) You'd need 64 bit
drivers for every peripheral.

(That said, I'm cheerfully running Vista 64 Home Premium. It probably wasn't
worth the trouble, but it runs OK for me.)


Return address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

"Evert" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:299eu4-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi all!
>
> I was having some trouble with my AOpen EU965 barebone (
> http://xc.aopen.com.tw/Cube-m-specif...aspx?Auno=2209 ) and
> getting access to the
> full 4GB I plugged into it.
>
> And now their helpdesk is telling me the following:
>
> 'Based on the specification of the chipset, it can support 8GB when using
> 4 DIMM slot. Our
> MB had 2 slot only, so the max memory is 4GB. But if the main memory is
> 4GB, OS will
> allocate 3~4GB memory address for onboard device. This is why you can only
> get 3.xGB when
> you install 4GB memory. Other 965 chipset with 2 DIMM slot had the same
> result. The only
> way is use a 4 slot MB and add the memory more then 4GB. So that the
> memory size in OS
> will the same as you installed.'
>
>
> Is that true?? Is there no way to access the full 4GB I plugged in, just
> because this
> system has only 2 DIMM-slots??
>
>
> Regards,
> Evert

Hi!

Thanks for the swift and thorough reply. Yes, I forgot to mention my CPU & OS. The system
has a Q6600 (quad core CPU) and I am running 64-bit Linux on this machine. The BIOS
reports on startup Total Memory: 4119552KB.

In my opinion the info the AOpen helpdesk gave me doesn't make sense...
In other places I've been told to check in the bios for memory mapping / memory hole
settings, but the bios of the EU965 has no options whatsoever here...

Regards,
Evert





Bob Knowlden wrote:
> If I understand the last two sentences correctly, I believe that they're
> incorrect.
>
> If you're running a 32 bit Windows operating system, the machine won't
> have 4 GB available to Windows. 32 bit windows can address up to 4 GB of
> RAM, but due to some reserved addresses, you'd see a lesser amount (such
> as 3.25 GB, although it varies). It can't normally function with more
> than 4GB of memory installed.
>
> I believe that some chipsets have a hardware limit in addressing 4GB,
> but I don't think that the 965 is one of those.
>
> You could see all 4GB by going to a 64 bit operating system like XP64 or
> Vista 64. (That assumes that you have a CPU that supports the 64 bit
> extensions, like a Core 2 Duo.) That would complicate life, though. I
> don't know about XP, but the 64 bit versions of Vista cannot be
> installed as upgrades over 32 bit versions. (You can still use an
> upgrade version, but you can only perform a clean installation with it.)
> You'd need 64 bit drivers for every peripheral.
>
> (That said, I'm cheerfully running Vista 64 Home Premium. It probably
> wasn't worth the trouble, but it runs OK for me.)
>
>
> "Evert" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:299eu4-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Hi all!
>>
>> I was having some trouble with my AOpen EU965 barebone (
>> http://xc.aopen.com.tw/Cube-m-specif...aspx?Auno=2209 ) and
>> getting access to the
>> full 4GB I plugged into it.
>>
>> And now their helpdesk is telling me the following:
>>
>> 'Based on the specification of the chipset, it can support 8GB when
>> using 4 DIMM slot. Our
>> MB had 2 slot only, so the max memory is 4GB. But if the main memory
>> is 4GB, OS will
>> allocate 3~4GB memory address for onboard device. This is why you can
>> only get 3.xGB when
>> you install 4GB memory. Other 965 chipset with 2 DIMM slot had the
>> same result. The only
>> way is use a 4 slot MB and add the memory more then 4GB. So that the
>> memory size in OS
>> will the same as you installed.'
>>
>>
>> Is that true?? Is there no way to access the full 4GB I plugged in,
>> just because this
>> system has only 2 DIMM-slots??

> I believe that some chipsets have a hardware limit in addressing 4GB, but
> I don't think that the 965 is one of those.

Correct. The two slots are the limiting factor here. The Intel DG965WH
motherboard has four slots. 2GB can be installed in each. I have that setup
and
both BIOS and Vista-64 can see all 8 GB.

Tom Lake

The bottom line is that ANY 32 bit OS that you use, such as XP or Vista 32
bit, will ONLY recognize up to 3.2 GB of RAM. Regardless of the
motherboard. It is a design limitation of the OS. IF you install a 64 bit
CPU and OS on a 64 bit capable moteherboard THEN you can access the full 4
GB, and more.

--
---------------------
DaveW

---------------------
"Evert" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:299eu4-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi all!
>
> I was having some trouble with my AOpen EU965 barebone (
> http://xc.aopen.com.tw/Cube-m-specif...aspx?Auno=2209 ) and
> getting access to the
> full 4GB I plugged into it.
>
> And now their helpdesk is telling me the following:
>
> 'Based on the specification of the chipset, it can support 8GB when using
> 4 DIMM slot. Our
> MB had 2 slot only, so the max memory is 4GB. But if the main memory is
> 4GB, OS will
> allocate 3~4GB memory address for onboard device. This is why you can only
> get 3.xGB when
> you install 4GB memory. Other 965 chipset with 2 DIMM slot had the same
> result. The only
> way is use a 4 slot MB and add the memory more then 4GB. So that the
> memory size in OS
> will the same as you installed.'
>
>
> Is that true?? Is there no way to access the full 4GB I plugged in, just
> because this
> system has only 2 DIMM-slots??
>
>
> Regards,
> Evert

64 bit Linux? As one of Gilda Radner's characters said on the original
Saturday Night Live, "Never mind."

It appears that the BIOS settings on that compact PC may leave something to
be desired. I dunno about the memory hole feature. Vista 64 doesn't need it,
at least on my Intel P35 chipset system.

I agree that the AOpen help desk response was probably nonsense. You asked
them a question that their scripts don't cover, so they made something up.
(I'd be pleased to be proven wrong on that.)

"Evert" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:1vqgu4-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi!
>
> Thanks for the swift and thorough reply. Yes, I forgot to mention my CPU &
> OS. The system
> has a Q6600 (quad core CPU) and I am running 64-bit Linux on this machine.
> The BIOS
> reports on startup Total Memory: 4119552KB.
>
> In my opinion the info the AOpen helpdesk gave me doesn't make sense...
> In other places I've been told to check in the bios for memory mapping /
> memory hole
> settings, but the bios of the EU965 has no options whatsoever here...
>
> Regards,
> Evert
>
>
>
>
>
(snip)

Bullshit. XP users report 3.1X GB, which is documented in MS KB article.
Other OSs report more - 4GB minus whatever the BIOS/chipset reserves for PCI-*.

"DaveW" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> The bottom line is that ANY 32 bit OS that you use, such as XP or Vista 32
> bit, will ONLY recognize up to 3.2 GB of RAM. Regardless of the
> motherboard. It is a design limitation of the OS. IF you install a 64 bit
> CPU and OS on a 64 bit capable moteherboard THEN you can access the full 4
> GB, and more.
>

Evert wrote:
> Hi!
>
> Thanks for the swift and thorough reply. Yes, I forgot to mention my CPU & OS. The system
> has a Q6600 (quad core CPU) and I am running 64-bit Linux on this machine. The BIOS
> reports on startup Total Memory: 4119552KB.
>
> In my opinion the info the AOpen helpdesk gave me doesn't make sense...
> In other places I've been told to check in the bios for memory mapping / memory hole
> settings, but the bios of the EU965 has no options whatsoever here...
>
> Regards,
> Evert


I'm running a 64-bit Linux here too, Ubuntu 7.04. I've got a 4.0GB
installed too, and Linux sees approx 3.9GB (reduced due mainly to the
shared RAM for the integrated video). The same machine runs 32-bit XP,
and during that time it seems only 3.0GB (i.e. approx. 3,200MB), due to
32-bit limitations. What the Aopen tech support told you is only
relevant in 32-bit operating systems. Did you tell them that you're
running a 64-bit Linux, or did you keep that hidden like you did with us?

Yousuf Khan

Yousuf Khan wrote:
> Evert wrote:
>> Hi!
>>
>> Thanks for the swift and thorough reply. Yes, I forgot to mention my
>> CPU & OS. The system
>> has a Q6600 (quad core CPU) and I am running 64-bit Linux on this
>> machine. The BIOS
>> reports on startup Total Memory: 4119552KB.
>>
>> In my opinion the info the AOpen helpdesk gave me doesn't make sense...
>> In other places I've been told to check in the bios for memory mapping
>> / memory hole
>> settings, but the bios of the EU965 has no options whatsoever here...
>>
>> Regards,
>> Evert
>
>
> I'm running a 64-bit Linux here too, Ubuntu 7.04. I've got a 4.0GB
> installed too, and Linux sees approx 3.9GB (reduced due mainly to the
> shared RAM for the integrated video). The same machine runs 32-bit XP,
> and during that time it seems only 3.0GB (i.e. approx. 3,200MB), due to
> 32-bit limitations. What the Aopen tech support told you is only
> relevant in 32-bit operating systems. Did you tell them that you're
> running a 64-bit Linux, or did you keep that hidden like you did with us?

Well, keep it hidden... I just forgot to mention it... ;-)


No, AOpen knew from the beginning that I'm using a 64-bit OS. Their initial suggestion was
that I should try the system with 64-bit Vista instead, and see how much memory that
reports...

since my system a) does not have a CD-ROM/DVD and b) I dislike M$ products
I have not explored that option. But I will in this weekend try a different Linux distro
from a USB-stick. Who knows...?


Regards,
Evert

Here is what I posted Aug 21:

The Pentium architecture supports 4GB of memory space. Chipsets limit physical RAM.
Intel supports 4GB in the 450 server chipsets, and starting with the 865 desktop chipset.

If you have 4GB RAM, a portion has to be disabled for PCI and system purposes.
If you are interested in how this is done, you must download
"Intel(R) Chipset 4 GB System Memory Support White Paper"
from http://www.polywell.com/us/support/faq/4GB_Rev1.pdf .

You can fire up Device Manager and view resources by type - Memory.
The entry for PCI Bus shows the RAM-PCI boundry (TOUD/TOLD in chipset).
This is mostly set up by the BIOS, and retrieved with INT15 E820h and ACPI.
I gather most systems will reserve 256MB, 512MB with PCIe, or 1GB with large video.