MEMORY UPGRADE

[AIANDAS]

I have I am running XP SP2 on a dell poweredge 400sc. I used to have 3 gigs
of memory and have upgrade it so now it's 4 gigs. The PC Wizard shows I have
4 gigs of memory so does the BIOS. However when I right-click the MY
COMPUTER icon it is telling I have 3.62 gigs. Anyone can explain this and do
I need to apply a "patch" or something? Thanks.
Aiandas

 

[Jerry]

Normal.

Windows uses the 'missing' memory for itself. I don't remember exactly what
but you could do aGoogle search.

 

[AIANDAS]

A) How do I articulate this search?
B) Previous to this the MY COMPUTER/SYSTEM icons displayed accurate
information. Is it an issue that since it's now 4 gigs it is large capacity
therefore the config changes its tune?

 

[AIANDAS]

Usually the SONY boxes do this but I have a dell

Just a thought. If you have a onboard graphic chip some of the memory
would be diverted there.

 

[Rock]

I have I am running XP SP2 on a dell poweredge 400sc. I used to have 3
gigs of memory and have upgrade it so now it's 4 gigs. The PC Wizard shows
I have 4 gigs of memory so does the BIOS. However when I right-click the MY
COMPUTER icon it is telling I have 3.62 gigs. Anyone can explain this and
do I need to apply a "patch" or something? Thanks.

It is normal to see less than 4GB in XP. How much less depends on the
specific hardware. What is most surprising is that yours shows so much.
Some memory is used by the system and hardware. No patch is available or
needed because it's acting as expected.

 

[AIANDAS]

WOW is this a "limitation" by XP then and does Vista show "accurate"
information? I wonder if the reason it is "showing" so much memory it is has
to do with the memory sticks, in this case all 4 are OCZ

 

[Jim]

Usually the SONY boxes do this but I have a dell

Well, Dell use cards which use shared memory also.
Everybody does. The careful buyers don't buy computers which have such
graphics cards.

Jim

 

[Cooler Dude]

I have I am running XP SP2 on a dell poweredge 400sc. I used
to have 3 gigs of memory and have upgrade it so now it's 4
gigs. The PC Wizard shows I have 4 gigs of memory so does the
BIOS. However when I right-click the MY COMPUTER icon it is
telling I have 3.62 gigs. Anyone can explain this and do I need
to apply a "patch" or something? Thanks. Aiandas

Have a look at this:-
http://members.cox.net:80/slatteryt/RAM.html

 

[Rock]

WOW is this a "limitation" by XP then and does Vista show "accurate"
information? I wonder if the reason it is "showing" so much memory it is
has to do with the memory sticks, in this case all 4 are OCZ

Didn't you understand my post? This is not a limitation, it's how the OS
operates. Some of the memory is used by the system and hardware and not
seen in XP by the user, but it's still being used. The same is true in the
x86 versions of Vista.

 

[AIANDAS]

OK

Didn't you understand my post? This is not a limitation, it's how the OS
operates. Some of the memory is used by the system and hardware and not
seen in XP by the user, but it's still being used. The same is true in
the x86 versions of Vista.

 

[AIANDAS]

Thanks. This article definitely sheds light on this as is always the case
with technology, complication. Nothing is as it seems since you're always
dealing with the tip of the iceberg.

 

[AIANDAS]

Sorry I should have written the fact that my graphics card has its own
memory. But I think the "Cooler Dude" sent an article which has been an eye
opener. Another poster said this may even apply with Vista, i.e., you have 4
gigs yet Windows will show less due to the allocation config etc

 

[Rock]

It's not that it may even apply in Vista, it does apply in the x86 versions
of Vista.

 

[Rich Barry]

Just a thought. If you have a onboard graphic chip some of the memory would
be diverted there.

 

[AIANDAS]

The other thing I noticed about this article is that 64 bit computing would
properly utilize the 4 gigs of memory.
I'll look into that out of curiosity, educate myself anyway if it's
worthwhile or not.

 

[Tim Slattery]

I have I am running XP SP2 on a dell poweredge 400sc. I used to have 3 gigs
of memory and have upgrade it so now it's 4 gigs. The PC Wizard shows I have
4 gigs of memory so does the BIOS. However when I right-click the MY
COMPUTER icon it is telling I have 3.62 gigs. Anyone can explain this and do
I need to apply a "patch" or something? Thanks.

The 4GB address space must be used for other things besides RAM. See
here: http://members.cox.net/slatteryt/RAM.html

 

[Tim Slattery]

Well, Dell use cards which use shared memory also.
Everybody does. The careful buyers don't buy computers which have such
graphics cards.

But if you have 4GB of non-shared RAM and a separate video card, the
OS still won't see all 4GB of RAM. Some of the address space will be
used to access the memory on the video card. Some will be used for
other memory and registers on other PCI cards. For better or worse,
that's the way it works. If you want to see all 4GB, you'll have to
use a 64-bit system (which has a far larger address space).

 

[Tim Slattery]

Sorry I should have written the fact that my graphics card has its own
memory. But I think the "Cooler Dude" sent an article which has been an eye
opener. Another poster said this may even apply with Vista, i.e., you have 4
gigs yet Windows will show less due to the allocation config etc

I have no personal experience with Vista, but I'd be amazed if 32-bit
Vista didn't handle address space in the exact same way.

 

[Tim Slattery]

It's not that it may even apply in Vista, it does apply in the x86 versions
of Vista.

Ermmm.....I don't think there's any version of Vista that will run on
anything other than x86 (Intel or AMD) hardware. There are separate
32- and 64-bit editions.

 

[Curt Christianson]

Great article Tim. I've been looking for something like that.

--
Curt

http://dundats.mvps.org/
http://www.aumha.org/


|
| >I have I am running XP SP2 on a dell poweredge 400sc. I used to have 3
gigs
| >of memory and have upgrade it so now it's 4 gigs. The PC Wizard shows I
have
| >4 gigs of memory so does the BIOS. However when I right-click the MY
| >COMPUTER icon it is telling I have 3.62 gigs. Anyone can explain this and
do
| >I need to apply a "patch" or something? Thanks.
|
| The 4GB address space must be used for other things besides RAM. See
| here: http://members.cox.net/slatteryt/RAM.html
|
| --
| Tim Slattery
| MS MVP(DTS)
| (e-mail address removed)
| http://members.cox.net/slatteryt