Not All Memory Shows Up

[Bryan Krossley]

Hello,
I have 4GB of memory but only 3GB is showing. Any Ideas?

Bryan

 

[Tom Porterfield]

Hello,
I have 4GB of memory but only 3GB is showing. Any Ideas?

You are using the 32 bit version of Vista. This is well documented and
hasn't really changed much since XP 32 bit. While Vista 32 bit (and XP 32
bit) support up to 4 GB or RAM, the amount actually reported will vary
depending on your hardware configuration. Some of the address space is
needed for the system.

 

[Dustin Harper]

On the 32Bit version of windows, you will only have ~3GB showing. In
order to use the full 4GB, you would need to upgrade to the 64-Bit version.

Dustin Harper
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.vistarip.com

 

[Bryan Krossley]

So there is no way to use the full 4GB?

Bryan

On the 32Bit version of windows, you will only have ~3GB showing. In order
to use the full 4GB, you would need to upgrade to the 64-Bit version.

Dustin Harper
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.vistarip.com

 

[Troy McClure]

its not a matter of having a "way" its a mathematical limitation.... google
it

 

[Dustin Harper]

This post at HardForums gives a LOT more detail:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1035670&highlight=4+limit

It has a workaround that might work (/PAE switch)

Dustin Harper
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.vistarip.com

 

[Tom Porterfield]

So there is no way to use the full 4GB?

It is all being used by either the system or the OS, but it won't all show
up as being available to the OS.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

The system is using all of it. The user is only shown 3GB (varies slightly)
in order to prevent user programs from trying to write to kernel-mode
addresses. This would crash the sytem if not prevented.

 

[Bryan Krossley]

That is good to know. I can quit worrying about it.

Thanks To All

Bryan