RAM recognised by XP

[Guest]

Hi , My PC documentation tells me that my home PC came with 256MB RAM , if I
look under the "Help & Support" functions I am told that the PC has 256MB and
yet if I right click on "my Computer" and select properties I can only see
192MB of RAM. If I look in Task Manager it only recognises 196 MB too. I have
checked on my work PCs and the information they display is all consistent for
the amount of RAM ( and virtual memory). Is there some other part of the
system that is using the "missing" 64 MB or has a 192 memory been inserted in
error or has part of the memory failed ?

 

[Guest]

Hi , My PC documentation tells me that my home PC came with 256MB RAM , if I
look under the "Help & Support" functions I am told that the PC has 256MB and
yet if I right click on "my Computer" and select properties I can only see
192MB of RAM. If I look in Task Manager it only recognises 192 MB too. I have
checked on my work PCs and the information they display is all consistent for
the amount of RAM ( and virtual memory). Is there some other part of the
system that is using the "missing" 64 MB or has a 192 memory been inserted in
error or has part of the memory failed ?

 

[--Alias--]

Hi , My PC documentation tells me that my home PC came with 256MB RAM , if I
look under the "Help & Support" functions I am told that the PC has 256MB and
yet if I right click on "my Computer" and select properties I can only see
192MB of RAM. If I look in Task Manager it only recognises 196 MB too. I have
checked on my work PCs and the information they display is all consistent for
the amount of RAM ( and virtual memory). Is there some other part of the
system that is using the "missing" 64 MB or has a 192 memory been inserted in
error or has part of the memory failed ?

Do you have an on board video card? If so, it shares memory with your
RAM and would explain the discrepancy.

If you have XP, I would highly recommend adding more RAM to bring it up
to at least 512MB.

Alias

 

[Guest]

I am not aware that there are any additional viodeo cards / graphics - we
just use the PC for admin stuff rather than playing games. I am looking to to
upgrade the memory , which is where the question orginated as I was looking
for a compatible 512MB memory upgrade. Are there any commands I can use to
see if a device is using the memory ?

 

[--Alias--]

I am not aware that there are any additional viodeo cards / graphics - we
just use the PC for admin stuff rather than playing games. I am looking to to
upgrade the memory , which is where the question orginated as I was looking
for a compatible 512MB memory upgrade. Are there any commands I can use to
see if a device is using the memory ?

You probably have an on board video card. You can tell by looking at
where your monitor is plugged in and if it's plugged into a card or the
motherboard. I am assuming you don't have a lap top.

For upgrading your RAM, check out http://www.crucial.com and take their
RAM test to know what RAM you need and order it from them.

Alias

 

[Rock]

Hi , My PC documentation tells me that my home PC came with 256MB RAM , if I
look under the "Help & Support" functions I am told that the PC has 256MB and
yet if I right click on "my Computer" and select properties I can only see
192MB of RAM. If I look in Task Manager it only recognises 196 MB too. I have
checked on my work PCs and the information they display is all consistent for
the amount of RAM ( and virtual memory). Is there some other part of the
system that is using the "missing" 64 MB or has a 192 memory been inserted in
error or has part of the memory failed ?

The 64MB is shared memory being used by the on board video system.

 

[DatabaseBen]

you can open task manager and add up the ram the processes are using.
but it is my firm guess, there is nothing wrong with your system.
you might want to download cpu z and or fast defrag to optimize
your ram....

 

[Rock]

I am not aware that there are any additional viodeo cards / graphics - we
just use the PC for admin stuff rather than playing games. I am looking to to
upgrade the memory , which is where the question orginated as I was looking
for a compatible 512MB memory upgrade. Are there any commands I can use to
see if a device is using the memory ?

A computer has to have a video system of some sort otherwise you
wouldn't see anything on the display. Some come with separate cards and
other use a video chip integrated on the motherboard. This is what your
computer has. This type of integrated video system typical will use
some of the system memory. 64 MB is standard, so there is nothing out
of place in your system.

If your system will accept a video card, you can install one, and
disable the on board video through the BIOS system. This should fee up
that 64 MB of shared memory. Check the documentation that came with the
system for information on if that's possible.

 

[Guest]

The 64MB is shared memory being used by the on board video system.

Thnx for the feedback everyone... now to track down a 512MB memory upgrade.

 

[Rock]

:



Thnx for the feedback everyone... now to track down a 512MB memory upgrade.

Check with the computer maker for their recommendations on compatible
memory. Another option is www.crucial.com. They have a tool there to
advise on what memory to use.

 

[Neil Harrington]

Thnx for the feedback everyone... now to track down a 512MB memory
upgrade.

Right you are. Some motherboards with integrated graphics only take 16 MB
for the video, others like yours take 64 which really leaves the system a
bit short, especially with Windows XP.

What you need to do is find out how the memory is arranged on your computer,
and what kind it is, exactly. The motherboard almost certainly has at least
two slots for memory modules, and with 256 MB already in it it's *probably*
all in one module, leaving you at least one slot to add more. For Windows XP
you really should have at least 512 MB total (add another 256MB module), and
many users prefer more than that.

Newegg.com is a good place to buy memory, when you find out what kind you
need. That information should be in your computer's manual and/or from the
manufacturer's website.

BTW, if you add a video card and use that instead of the integrated
graphics, that will free up all the system memory and you'll get that 64 MB
back. But if you're satisfied with the graphics you have, there's no need to
buy a graphics card.

Neil

 

[HeyBub]

If your system will accept a video card, you can install one, and
disable the on board video through the BIOS system. This should fee
up that 64 MB of shared memory. Check the documentation that came with
the system for information on if that's possible.

And a video card will cost more than another 256M stick of RAM.

 

[Guest]

If you go to this site it should give you a good idea as to what your machine
will hold for ram and which type to buy.
Look for the Crucial memory advisor tool on the right.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hi , My PC documentation tells me that my home PC came with 256MB
RAM , if I look under the "Help & Support" functions I am told that
the PC has 256MB and yet if I right click on "my Computer" and select
properties I can only see 192MB of RAM. If I look in Task Manager it
only recognises 196 MB too. I have checked on my work PCs and the
information they display is all consistent for the amount of RAM (
and virtual memory). Is there some other part of the system that is
using the "missing" 64 MB or has a 192 memory been inserted in error
or has part of the memory failed ?

Instead of having a separate video card, your computer has a motherboard
that includes on-board video support. Since there's no separate video card
with its own RAM, it takes part of the system RAM (in this case 64MB) for
that purpose.

This is a very common situation, particularly on less expensive starter
computers. Nothing is wrong, and nothing has failed.

However the downside is that you are left with an amount of RAM that, for
most people, is marginal for running Windows XP. How much RAM you need is
*not* a one-size-fits-all situation. You get good performance if the amount
of RAM you have keeps you from using the page file, and that depends on what
apps you run. Most people running a typical range of business applications
find that somewhere around 256-384MB works well, others need 512MB. Almost
anyone will see poor performance with less than 256MB. Some people,
particularly those doing things like editing large photographic images, can
see a performance boost by adding even more than 512MB--sometimes much more.

So, if I were in your shoes, I might want to consider buying some more RAM,
especially if you are experiencing poor performance. If you are currently
using the page file significantly, more memory will decrease or eliminate
that usage, and improve your performance. If you are not using the page file
significantly, more memory will do nothing for you. Go to
http://billsway.com/notes_public/winxp_tweaks/ and download
WinXP-2K_Pagefile.zip and monitor your pagefile usage. That should give you
a good idea of whether more memory can help, and if so, how much more.

 

[Rock]

And a video card will cost more than another 256M stick of RAM.

But you get better video performance.