x64 Win7 is reporting only 3GB out of 4GB RAM

A

asuh

New member
I'm a bit confused why it's saying this. All the RAM is PC6400 and it's compatible with my machine.

I see this when I go to System properties (right-click Computer and properties). Beside the Installed Memory (RAM) label, it says 4.00 GB (3.00 GB usable).

Very strange. Hopefully it's just a tiny mistake?
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 RTM
What does it say in your Resource Monitor > Memory tab (the color picture). How large is the leftmost (gray) area.
 

My Computer

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HP, Dell, Gateway, Toshiba - 4 laptops and 2 desktops
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Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
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This is normal. My soon to be upgraded HD 4200 has 512MB "dedicated" that I assigned to it in the BIOS. Now, with 4GB of RAM, I have 3.5GB usuable. Whs mentions the hardware reserved area, correctly.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Sony Vaio Z46GDU
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x86-64
CPU
[email protected] 1066MHz FSB
Motherboard
Sony branded
Memory
6GB DDR3 1066MHz
Graphics Card(s)
9300M GS 256MB Dedicated (Speed) + Intel4500MHD (Stamina)
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
13.1' WXGA
Screen Resolution
1600x900
Hard Drives
320GB 7200RPM w/ 16MB cache
Internet Speed
1MB/s
asuh said:
I have 1025MB in hardware reserved. What exactly does this mean?
Click to expand...

All the hardware you have has to be mapped into the 4GB address space (total RAM).
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Sony Vaio Z46GDU
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x86-64
CPU
[email protected] 1066MHz FSB
Motherboard
Sony branded
Memory
6GB DDR3 1066MHz
Graphics Card(s)
9300M GS 256MB Dedicated (Speed) + Intel4500MHD (Stamina)
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
13.1' WXGA
Screen Resolution
1600x900
Hard Drives
320GB 7200RPM w/ 16MB cache
Internet Speed
1MB/s
Frostmourne said:
asuh said:
I have 1025MB in hardware reserved. What exactly does this mean?
Click to expand...

All the hardware you have has to be mapped into the 4GB address space (total RAM).
Click to expand...

Is this something I have to check in my BIOS? I'm running an ASUS P5B-Deluxe. I wasn't aware that this MB or any of my other hardware needed any specially allocated RAM dedicated to it.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 RTM
asuh said:
Frostmourne said:
asuh said:
I have 1025MB in hardware reserved. What exactly does this mean?
Click to expand...

All the hardware you have has to be mapped into the 4GB address space (total RAM).
Click to expand...

Is this something I have to check in my BIOS? I'm running an ASUS P5B-Deluxe. I wasn't aware that this MB or any of my other hardware needed any specially allocated RAM dedicated to it.
Click to expand...


If the ram is "seen" in both BIOS and in Task manager and you are 64 bit, I suspect it is just caching 1 gig. frankly it should cache more and is perfectly normal.

Ken
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Pavillion dv-7 1005 Tx
OS
Win 8 Release candidate 8400
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[email protected]
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4 gigs
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Nvidia 9600M
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HD built-in
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17" Wxga
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1440x900
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none
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45Mb down 5Mb up
It is not an address space problem since you are running x64. You have someone (most likely an on-board video) that uses real RAM at the tune of 1GB.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP, Dell, Gateway, Toshiba - 4 laptops and 2 desktops
OS
Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
CPU
from 1.6GHz Duo to i7
Monitor(s) Displays
2x HP w2207
Hard Drives
5x HDD, 7x SSD, 12x Externals
Keyboard
with trackball - no mices
Mouse
Trackball mice
Internet Speed
DSL 6000
Its not the motherboard, its the hardware. Do you have an integrated GPU, any add-on cards? And is 7 x86-64 or x86? If its the second one, 7 can only access 3GB or so. If its 64-bit, it will depend on the hardware installed.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Sony Vaio Z46GDU
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x86-64
CPU
[email protected] 1066MHz FSB
Motherboard
Sony branded
Memory
6GB DDR3 1066MHz
Graphics Card(s)
9300M GS 256MB Dedicated (Speed) + Intel4500MHD (Stamina)
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
13.1' WXGA
Screen Resolution
1600x900
Hard Drives
320GB 7200RPM w/ 16MB cache
Internet Speed
1MB/s
If the ram is "seen" in both BIOS and in Task manager and you are 64 bit, I suspect it is just caching 1 gig. frankly it should cache more and is perfectly normal.

Ken
Click to expand...
Ken, could you elaborate on this. I fail to see the caching effect.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP, Dell, Gateway, Toshiba - 4 laptops and 2 desktops
OS
Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
CPU
from 1.6GHz Duo to i7
Monitor(s) Displays
2x HP w2207
Hard Drives
5x HDD, 7x SSD, 12x Externals
Keyboard
with trackball - no mices
Mouse
Trackball mice
Internet Speed
DSL 6000
Frostmourne said:
Its not the motherboard, its the hardware. Do you have an integrated GPU, any add-on cards? And is 7 x86-64 or x86? If its the second one, 7 can only access 3GB or so. If its 64-bit, it will depend on the hardware installed.
Click to expand...

The title of the post stated it was x64. :sarc:

I have a dedicated GPU, XFX 8800GS, that shouldn't require extra RAM AFAIK.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 RTM
asuh said:
I'm a bit confused why it's saying this. All the RAM is PC6400 and it's compatible with my machine.

I see this when I go to System properties (right-click Computer and properties). Beside the Installed Memory (RAM) label, it says 4.00 GB (3.00 GB usable).

Very strange. Hopefully it's just a tiny mistake?
Click to expand...

Just to calrify: you are running x64 right?
What edition?



The maximum RAM limitation for Windows 7 32-bit editions is 4GB.

Windows 7 64-bit editions vary in the amount of memory that can be addressed, depending on the edition of the operating system.

The maximum RAM limits for the different editions of Windows 7:
Starter8GBHome Basic8GBHome Premium16GBProfessional192GBEnterprise192GBUltimate192GB

Starter-8Gb
Home Basic-8Gb
Premium -16Gb
Pro-192Gb
Enterprise-192Gb
Ultimate-192Gb

Starter8GBHome Basic8GBHome Premium16GBProfessional192GBEnterprise


192GB
Ultimate192GB
Have you had any crashes lately?
You may try doing a system repair with your Win7 disk. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom
OS
Windows 7 ultimate X64
CPU
Core i7 870 Lynnfield
Motherboard
MSI P55-GD55
Memory
4GB Corsair XMS 3 1600Mhz
Graphics Card(s)
GeForce 8800 GTS (for the time being)
Sound Card
Onboard 7.1 digital
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell 19"
Screen Resolution
1280x1024
Hard Drives
Barracuda 750Gb
PSU
Corsair TX 650w
Case
Thermaltake Armour Extreme Edition
Cooling
Corsair H50
Keyboard
Dell XPS slim
Mouse
Dell XPS mouse (only good product)
Internet Speed
100 Mbps +/-
asuh said:
Frostmourne said:
Its not the motherboard, its the hardware. Do you have an integrated GPU, any add-on cards? And is 7 x86-64 or x86? If its the second one, 7 can only access 3GB or so. If its 64-bit, it will depend on the hardware installed.
Click to expand...

The title of the post stated it was x64. :sarc:

I have a dedicated GPU, XFX 8800GS, that shouldn't require extra RAM AFAIK.
Click to expand...

What other expansion cards? RAM in dual channel? Seated properly? Nothing on the gold edges of the DIMMs?
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Sony Vaio Z46GDU
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x86-64
CPU
[email protected] 1066MHz FSB
Motherboard
Sony branded
Memory
6GB DDR3 1066MHz
Graphics Card(s)
9300M GS 256MB Dedicated (Speed) + Intel4500MHD (Stamina)
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
13.1' WXGA
Screen Resolution
1600x900
Hard Drives
320GB 7200RPM w/ 16MB cache
Internet Speed
1MB/s
SHEESH Yall are quick on the draw.....:p
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom
OS
Windows 7 ultimate X64
CPU
Core i7 870 Lynnfield
Motherboard
MSI P55-GD55
Memory
4GB Corsair XMS 3 1600Mhz
Graphics Card(s)
GeForce 8800 GTS (for the time being)
Sound Card
Onboard 7.1 digital
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell 19"
Screen Resolution
1280x1024
Hard Drives
Barracuda 750Gb
PSU
Corsair TX 650w
Case
Thermaltake Armour Extreme Edition
Cooling
Corsair H50
Keyboard
Dell XPS slim
Mouse
Dell XPS mouse (only good product)
Internet Speed
100 Mbps +/-
Frostmourne said:
asuh said:
Frostmourne said:
Its not the motherboard, its the hardware. Do you have an integrated GPU, any add-on cards? And is 7 x86-64 or x86? If its the second one, 7 can only access 3GB or so. If its 64-bit, it will depend on the hardware installed.
Click to expand...

The title of the post stated it was x64. :sarc:

I have a dedicated GPU, XFX 8800GS, that shouldn't require extra RAM AFAIK.
Click to expand...

What other expansion cards? RAM in dual channel? Seated properly? Nothing on the gold edges of the DIMMs?
Click to expand...
No other expansion cards. 2GB(1GBx2) of RAM in dual channel, and 2GB (2GBx1) alone. All seated properly.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 RTM
Its the RAM, I'd replace it with a single 4GB kit (2x2GB) - are they from the same manufacturer? Same timings? Same frequency?
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Sony Vaio Z46GDU
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x86-64
CPU
[email protected] 1066MHz FSB
Motherboard
Sony branded
Memory
6GB DDR3 1066MHz
Graphics Card(s)
9300M GS 256MB Dedicated (Speed) + Intel4500MHD (Stamina)
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
13.1' WXGA
Screen Resolution
1600x900
Hard Drives
320GB 7200RPM w/ 16MB cache
Internet Speed
1MB/s
Frostmourne said:
Its the RAM, I'd replace it with a single 4GB kit (2x2GB) - are they from the same manufacturer? Same timings? Same frequency?
Click to expand...
Why would you do that. The 4GBs are properly reported - only not all useable. So there must be someone that's using the 1GB since Resource Monitor reports 1GB as Hardware reserved.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP, Dell, Gateway, Toshiba - 4 laptops and 2 desktops
OS
Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
CPU
from 1.6GHz Duo to i7
Monitor(s) Displays
2x HP w2207
Hard Drives
5x HDD, 7x SSD, 12x Externals
Keyboard
with trackball - no mices
Mouse
Trackball mice
Internet Speed
DSL 6000
Here is the issue...


"If you are running 64-bit Windows, you may have to live with it. Depending on your motherboard's chipset, your system may support memory remapping. If so, you will be able to use all 4GB of RAM. Detailed:
Due to an architectural decision made long ago, if you have 4GB of physical RAM installed, Windows is only able to report a portion of the physical 4GB of RAM (ranges from ~2.75GB to 3.5GB depending on the devices installed, motherboard's chipset & BIOS). "
Read more....
TabBlogger : The 3GB-not-4GB RAM problem

Hope this helps explain the memory issue for you.:)
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom
OS
Windows 7 ultimate X64
CPU
Core i7 870 Lynnfield
Motherboard
MSI P55-GD55
Memory
4GB Corsair XMS 3 1600Mhz
Graphics Card(s)
GeForce 8800 GTS (for the time being)
Sound Card
Onboard 7.1 digital
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell 19"
Screen Resolution
1280x1024
Hard Drives
Barracuda 750Gb
PSU
Corsair TX 650w
Case
Thermaltake Armour Extreme Edition
Cooling
Corsair H50
Keyboard
Dell XPS slim
Mouse
Dell XPS mouse (only good product)
Internet Speed
100 Mbps +/-
DreemWarrior said:
Here is the issue...


"If you are running 64-bit Windows, you may have to live with it. Depending on your motherboard's chipset, your system may support memory remapping. If so, you will be able to use all 4GB of RAM. Detailed:
Due to an architectural decision made long ago, if you have 4GB of physical RAM installed, Windows is only able to report a portion of the physical 4GB of RAM (ranges from ~2.75GB to 3.5GB depending on the devices installed, motherboard's chipset & BIOS). "
Read more....
TabBlogger : The 3GB-not-4GB RAM problem

Hope this helps explain the memory issue for you.:)
Click to expand...

Memory mapping, eh? I'll check my BIOS and see what's going on there. Thanks for the info.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 RTM
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