Windows 7: Available RAM much less than actually installed

Hi,

I did some research in this site but I did not manage to find a thread that addressed a similar problem like mine. If there is one then please accept my apologies and would appreciate if you could give me the link to the posted thread.

I have an acer laptop (aspire 5940G) which has a Core I7 processor (720QM 1.6GHz, 1333MHz FSB) with 4GB RAM installed. The OS is Windows 7 64-Bit. It also has the following video card: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 which utilises its own memory (1GB).

My problem is that only half of the RAM is being utilised. I noted the following:



In the Resource Monitor Reserved Memory is 2058 Mb and Total Memory is 2038 Mb (In Use + Modified + Standby + Free) which sums up to 4096 this being Installed Memory.

Under System the Installed Memory (RAM) is 4.00 GB (1.99 GB usable).

Under MSCONFIG (System Configuration) the Maximum Memory is not ticked.

Under Task Manager total Physical Memory is 2038 Mb.

In the BIOS Total Memory is 2048 MB and Video Memory is 1024 MB.

I am finding it really strange that Windows is realising that 4 GB is installed but in BIOS it is showing much less. Reserved Memory in Resource Monitor is really high and I do not why!

I would appreciate your help in this regard since RAM is proving to be a big bottleneck. Unfortunately due to the nature of my work I need to solve this RAM issue really fast. Should I upgrade my RAM to 8 GB? Should I refer to ACER since my laptop is still under guarantee? I also noticed that my BIOS Version is 1.03 which is an old version. Acer have more recent versions but they suggest that one should consult them before upgrading the BIOS. Could an upgrade in the BIOS solve the issue?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards,

bravoelt255

Welcome
Right click on bottom task bar
Bring up task manager
Show me a screen shot of
performance

Hi,

I attached the screenshot.

Thanks!

Regards,

Elton Farrugia

Nice job on the screen shot, big and clear. I usually get small pics that I cant see
Before we guess and take a lot of time
Take this test
Download memtest86 and test RAM
www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/105647-ram-test-memtest86.html
Run for 8 passes
If passes try a good stick in each slot for 3 passes
If fails do the same for 8 passes.

Great, I will follow your advice and will let you know. Of course this is a lengthy process but will make my very best so that the tests are ready by tomorrow latest the day after.

Thanks so much for your prompt replies!!!

We will take our time and do this right. If you pass this test , then we know it is not the memory and we will find where the excess is going.

Dont rush, we wil be here

If you are still there give me a screen shot of task manager process
or even better download and show us process explorer

Does your motherboard offer a "Memory Ramapping" feature? Should be an option in the BIOS. If the BIOS does not have that option you are going to have to contact the board manufacture, ask if they have a BIOS update with that remapping feature. If they don't you will not be able to utilize all your RAM. End of story.

You will also be limited to what the chipset supports.

Logic is correct, but lets make sure that the ram is ok.

Hi logicearth/richc46,

That's why I gave you the bios version. I know that my bios is a bit old and I know for sure that ACER have the 1.04 and later updates. It could be the case that the "memory remapping" feature is available in these updates. As richc46 said, there is no harm in doing this test. In the meantime I will send an e-mail to ACER to check if this feature is included in the latest updates.

richc46 I have done the first part of the test with memtest, that is doing at least 8 runs for both chipsets. I am attaching the screenshot for you to see. Later on the day I should start testing the individual chipsets/slots. I hope the screenshot is clear enough for you to see. Will let you know about the outcome of the next tests.

Thanks again!

Regards,

bravoelt255