Vista wont recognise memory ??

[Neil 261161]

Hello all, - I've recently bought a new computer with 4 Gb of RAM. I notice
that windows only seems to recognise 3 Gb, and have been led to believe that
this is becase i am using Vis a Home Premium 32-bit Edition. My queries are:

1) Is this just a "recognition" problem, or is the o/s not utilising all the
RAM available ?

2) I have heard that this will be fixed in the (upcoming) Service Pack. Can
anyone confirm this, or should i "bite the bullet" and upgrade to a 64-bit
version?

I primarily use the hi -end spec for gaming, and wont mind adding more RAM
(Vista seems to be a bit of a "memory hog"), but dont particularly want to
upgrade Vista if i dont have to.

Thanking you all in advance for any adice that you can offer.

Regards.

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

Recognizing only 3 of your 4 gigs is expected behavior. The rest is
allocated to other things. If you are wondering about your ram, you should
run the Memory Utility included in Vista (in admin tools)

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[On the Bridge!]

this is normal with 32 bit OS's since it can address only chuncks of 4 gb
ram or virtual memory theoretically..

however the 1 gb is wasted with 32 bit because various hardware you have
needs to use some memory space addresses for their own function..

since 4 gb is the limit and the hardware needs some for its own memory
addresses you are left with less...

This is especially true with modern graphic cards that need to address lots
of memory space.

The only solution to this is to go to 64 bit.. .. but you will run into
other problems then, probably with drivers
and programs that dont like 64 bit..

for example there is no flash player stil for 64 bit browsers... sad but
true.

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50 Ways to leave your Vista....

CHORUS:

You just format the drive , Clive
Get a New Mac , Jack
Y'don't need that crap toy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Boot from a *nix, Jix
You don't need to discuss much
Install XP, Lee
And get yourself free

 

[LesleyO]

I'm not a real techie person but it may be worth your while getting a 4 Gb
USB2 thumb drive and using that as a ReadyBoost drive. Read about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReadyBoost

LesleyO

 

[Tim Slattery]

Hello all, - I've recently bought a new computer with 4 Gb of RAM. I notice
that windows only seems to recognise 3 Gb,

This happens with all 32-bit systems. See
http://members.cox.net/slatteryt/RAM.html for an explanation.

 

[Nick Middel]

Hello,

An 32bit Windows XP or Windows Vista has a maximum of 3gb ram.
If you want to use more then 3gb, then you should get an 64bit Windows (and
motherboard + processor, etc)

I dont know anything about the next SP can get 32bit to use more then 3gb
ram (try to look into a changelog?)

Hope this awnser helps you out!

Regarts,
Nick

 

[Tim Slattery]

An 32bit Windows XP or Windows Vista has a maximum of 3gb ram.

No. The amount that a system can see and use depends on the BIOS,
video card and other things attached to the system. My computer gets
about 3.5GB, some get only 3.0GB.

 

[Bob]

See:
The system memory that is reported in the System Information dialog box in
Windows Vista is less than you expect if 4 GB of RAM is installed.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929605

 

[Mad Mike]

I have the same problem with my PC. 4 GB of RAM but only 3 GB recognized.

If the 1 GB is wasted could I remove it and put it in another PC and not see
any difference in performance?

 

[Tim Slattery]

I have the same problem with my PC. 4 GB of RAM but only 3 GB recognized.

If the 1 GB is wasted could I remove it and put it in another PC and not see
any difference in performance?

Yes, assuming you can figure out how to get it out without messing up
your current PC. Many machines have four RAM slots arranged into two
"banks". They insist that the two slots making up each bank have the
same amount of RAM plugged into them. So if you had a 1GB stick in
each slot, you could remove both sticks from one bank, but you could
not remove only one stick.

You'll have to read your system or motherboard manual to find out just
what your motherboard wants, then open the box and see what's actually
plugged in.