Total Amount of RAM Not Being Shown

[Foodbank]

Hi,

I am running XP Home and have one 128mb stick of RAM in my PC. In the
BIOS, the 128mb is reported, however, if I right-click "My Computer"
and then click "Properties," the computer information displayed is
showing 120mb. Normally, I would not have a problem with this,
however, I am trying to install Verizon's DSL software and it requires
128mb for the installation to complete. Although I do have 128mb, the
system is only reporting 120mb and thus, in Verizon's eyes, I do not
have enough memory to install the program and it exits.

Therefore, my question is, does anyone know of a workaround for this or
why it is only showing 120mb instead of 128mb?

Thanks.

 

[Bill James]

Probably RAM that is being allocated to the video card. You would need to look up the technical specs for your computer/video card to tell. Quite sincerely, Windows XP will barely run on 128 MB, more like crawl, and with the price of RAM you really should consider more.

 

[Alias]

Hi,

I am running XP Home and have one 128mb stick of RAM in my PC. In the
BIOS, the 128mb is reported, however, if I right-click "My Computer"
and then click "Properties," the computer information displayed is
showing 120mb. Normally, I would not have a problem with this,
however, I am trying to install Verizon's DSL software and it requires
128mb for the installation to complete. Although I do have 128mb, the
system is only reporting 120mb and thus, in Verizon's eyes, I do not
have enough memory to install the program and it exits.

Therefore, my question is, does anyone know of a workaround for this or
why it is only showing 120mb instead of 128mb?

Thanks.

128 MB of RAM isn't nearly enough for XP. Do you like to watch paint
dry? Up the RAM to 512 or more and you will see a distinctively
different XP than you're seeing now.

Alias

 

[DH]

Hi,

I am running XP Home and have one 128mb stick of RAM in my PC. In the
BIOS, the 128mb is reported, however, if I right-click "My Computer"
and then click "Properties," the computer information displayed is
showing 120mb. Normally, I would not have a problem with this,
however, I am trying to install Verizon's DSL software and it requires
128mb for the installation to complete. Although I do have 128mb, the
system is only reporting 120mb and thus, in Verizon's eyes, I do not
have enough memory to install the program and it exits.

Therefore, my question is, does anyone know of a workaround for this or
why it is only showing 120mb instead of 128mb?

Thanks.

Bill James' answer is probably the reason.

Workaround: I have to admit that I have not installed Verizon's DSL but if
it's like every other provider, the software is nothing but advertising
bloatware and a modified IE browser. I suspect that everything that you
need is built into XP and you do not need to load thier software.

Doing a quick Google search, it seems that Verizon uses a PPPOE protocal.
This means that you need a username and password to log onto thier server.
Take a look here:
http://lee.org/blog/archives/2005/01/11/verizon-dsl-cd-is-bad/

If this does not answer your question, I would suggest using the words: dsl
verizon installation "without disk".

That said, I agree with the others. You need to increase your RAM.

Dave H.

 

[Foodbank]

Hi, All,

Thanks for the comments and I do agree with the increasing of the RAM.
However, is there a way to temporarily disable the video card so that
the 8mb can take me back to 128mb? At least so that I can get Verizon
installed.

Thanks again.

 

[DH]

Hi, All,

Thanks for the comments and I do agree with the increasing of the RAM.
However, is there a way to temporarily disable the video card so that
the 8mb can take me back to 128mb? At least so that I can get Verizon
installed.

Thanks again.

I guess the definitive answer is yes but your video card wouldn't work, thus
your monitor would be black. The practical answer is no.

If you are so opposed to increasing your ram, call up Verizon and acquire a
username and password.

Assuming that you have the modem/router connected and you have a username
and password, go to the "Control Panel" and then "Netwok Connections".
Click on "Create New Connection" or "New Connection Wizard" (depending on
how you are configured). The first panel, choose "Connect to the Internet"
Click "Next" the second panel choose "Set up my connection manually" click
"Next" next panel choose "Connect using a broadband connection that requires
a user name and password" next panel, enter any name you like, it doesn't
matter, next panel, enter your User name and password and then in the next
panel click finish. Vwalla, you are connected.

Dave H.

 

[Rock]

Hi, All,

Thanks for the comments and I do agree with the increasing of the RAM.
However, is there a way to temporarily disable the video card so that
the 8mb can take me back to 128mb? At least so that I can get Verizon
installed.

Check in the BIOS to see if there is a setting to decrease the amount of RAM
but I don't think it would allow you to turn off all video ram use since the
graphics system might not run then, and without that you can't install
anything anyway. This is a computer specific hardware question, not an XP
OS issue. Best bet, if you want to pursue this hardware aspect, is contact
the tech support for the computer. I agree, though, with DH's assessment.
You might not need Verizon's software to use their service. Have you
contacted their tech support?