3.25G usable out of 4G RAM win7 64-bit

[F0ICE]

i am running windows 7 Home premium 64-bit and recently upgraded my RAM from 3GB to 4GB. win7 reports only 3.25 being usable.

• i have a dedicated video card an my onboard one is definitely disabled.
• my BIOS reports 4096MB RAM detected.
• max memory and CPU are unchecked in msconfig.

from looking at the resource monitor i see that 770MB of RAM is labeled as hardware reserved memory.

also i don't know if my BIOS supports a memory remap feature or not but even if it does its a locked HP BIOS so most setting are inaccessible.

is there any way to get my full memory? or does anyone know why this is happening on a 64-bit os?

Thanks in Advance.

 

[stormy13]

F0ICE, welcome to the Seven Forums.

i don't know if my BIOS supports a memory remap feature or not but even if it does its a locked HP BIOS so most setting are inaccessible.

While the re-map is definitely needed (on newer boards it is enabled by default and the option may not be available), no idea if that is one that HP would hide or not if available. Another thing to consider is if the motherboard/chipset itself supports more than 4 GB. This should help explain what I mean by that,

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

Note When the physical RAM that is installed on a computer equals the address space that is supported by the chipset, the total system memory that is available to the operating system is always less than the physical RAM that is installed. For example, consider a computer that has an Intel 975X chipset that supports 8 GB of address space. If you install 8 GB of RAM, the system memory that is available to the operating system will be reduced by the PCI configuration requirements. In this scenario, PCI configuration requirements reduce the memory that is available to the operating system by an amount that is between approximately 200 MB and approximately 1 GB. The reduction depends on the configuration.

Just change the mentioned 8 GB to 4 GB if your motherboard is one that only supports up to 4 GB, and the same applies.

 

[cyclic]

Any 32 bit os can only map 4Gb of memory im total, so that includes motherboard and even hard drive requirements, but more importantly the memory on your graphics card, so if you have a 512Mb card Windows 32 bit will map that out of the total 'seen' memory of 4gb immediately leaving you with only 3.5 Gb avialable. Add up all the other mapped requirements and 3.25Gig is just about average. Which is more than enough for any application thusfore built (even 64 bit actually, but that's a whole other question).

 

[F0ICE]

Note When the physical RAM that is installed on a computer equals the address space that is supported by the chipset, the total system memory that is available to the operating system is always less than the physical RAM that is installed. For example, consider a computer that has an Intel 975X chipset that supports 8 GB of address space. If you install 8 GB of RAM, the system memory that is available to the operating system will be reduced by the PCI configuration requirements. In this scenario, PCI configuration requirements reduce the memory that is available to the operating system by an amount that is between approximately 200 MB and approximately 1 GB. The reduction depends on the configuration.

so since i hit my motherboard's memory threshold it reserved the missing 0.75GB of ram for PCI devices. and the memory remapping feature that i either don't have or can't get to would bypass that allowing me full memory access. this would also explain why SIW reports so many memory address ranges assigned to the system board. am i right? either way i need to find a new motherboard if i want the rest of my memory.
thank you very much for explaining that. it helps to know why this is happening even though i can't fix it.
again thank you for your time.

 

[dsperber]

What shows in your Task Manager>

Run TASKMGR -> Performance tab, push Resource Monitor button -> select Memory tab.

For example, on my 4GB 64-bit Win7 Pro system (ASUS P5Q3 board, P45 chipset, Intel Duo E8400 CPU, 2x2GB DDR3 memory, ATI HD4670 512MB GDDR3 video card:

Note that my ATI HD4670 512MB video card apparently does not take any memory from my 4GB physical memory, which is all available to Win7. RMB on Computer -> Properties shows my full 4GB installed, there is no second qualifying line showing "available... " (something less). And Resource Monitor also confirms that all 4GB is available for use by Win7 and programs.

I have a similar story on my other machine, with a 1GB ATI HD4850 card. Again, all 4GB is available. Nothing's been carved out for hardware use.

 

[F0ICE]

as you can see 770MB is marked as hardware reserved here is SIW's listing of memory ranges.


is it normal for that many system board instances?

 

[dsperber]

as you can see 770MB is marked as hardware reserved

I do indeed.

You haven't provided specifics on your hardware setup. Easiest way is to give us three screenshots from CPU-Z, of the CPU, MAINBOARD and GRAPHICS tabs. I'm guessing this is an HP Pavillion laptop, but I don't think you've provided model details.

Knowing the details of your motherboard, chipset, CPU and video hardware as presented by CPU-Z is very useful. But if 770MB is reserved for hardware use (specifically, the video hardware), seems to me that there is nothing that can be done other than change the fundamental hardware (i.e. upgrade to a new video card if possible, which seems unlikely on a laptop).

But let's reserve judgment until we see your hardware details.

 

[GeneO]

If you cannot remap the memory, it looks like you are stuck. Your memory map is typical for this situation. Knowing the model of your computer will help us look up the chipset and motherboard fill in your system spec. But I expect there is nothing you can do.

 

[F0ICE]

nope not a laptop. hp pavilion a1250n

motherboard: ms-7184/Amethystm using radeon xpress 200 chipset
CPU: amd athlon x2 3800+ @ 2.0GHz Toledo Socket 939
GPU radeon hd 4350 from gigabyte 512M VRAM PCIE x16
memoryDR PC3200 4x1GB Dual Channel

thats all i can provide right now.
the motherboard and CPU are original to the PC. the motherboard does have an onboard video adapter which is disabled via BIOS.
i have to get back to you on CPUZ but i can say this right now, when i was using 3GB of RAM that hardware reserved memory reading was around 2MB.

i will post CPUZ details tomorrow. thanks for the help.

 

[zigzag3143]

Any 32 bit os can only map 4Gb of memory im total, so that includes motherboard and even hard drive requirements, but more importantly the memory on your graphics card, so if you have a 512Mb card Windows 32 bit will map that out of the total 'seen' memory of 4gb immediately leaving you with only 3.5 Gb avialable. Add up all the other mapped requirements and 3.25Gig is just about average. Which is more than enough for any application thusfore built (even 64 bit actually, but that's a whole other question).

Um he is running 64 bit

 

[dsperber]

nope not a laptop. hp pavilion a1250n

Bad guess!!

motherboard: ms-7184/Amethystm using radeon xpress 200 chipset
CPU: amd athlon x2 3800+ @ 2.0GHz Toledo Socket 939
GPU radeon hd 4350 from gigabyte 512M VRAM PCIE x16
memoryDR PC3200 4x1GB Dual Channel

thats all i can provide right now.

Nevertheless, informative.

I must admit I'm not personally familiar firsthand with any of the key components. Perhaps others who do will comment on your available options or BIOS settings possibilities.

the motherboard and CPU are original to the PC. the motherboard does have an onboard video adapter which is disabled via BIOS.

You're sure?

Did this machine come with XP or Vista installed, and you upgraded to Win7 yourself? Or was it purchased relatively recently with Win7 already on it?

Other than the memory upgrade, have you made any other changes to the original configuration?

i have to get back to you on CPUZ but i can say this right now, when i was using 3GB of RAM that hardware reserved memory reading was around 2MB.

Again, very interesting.

While you're about it, can you also please post screenshots from CPU-Z for all four of the memory slots in the SPD tab.

i will post CPUZ details tomorrow. thanks for the help.

This last comment of yours is interesting... as if something you did when you added that final 1GB of memory is VERY relevant to the story.

 

[stormy13]

Specs on that HP,

HP Pavilion a1250n Desktop PC Product Specifications HP Pavilion a1250n Desktop PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

and yes the motherboard does only support up to 4 GB or ram, probably due to it being the older DDR which pretty much topped out at 1 GB max per stick. The CPU on the other hand, old socket 939 Athlon 64 x2 3800+ does as the memory controller is in the CPU and not on the motherboard.

As for the memory re-map option, there is no reason for it to not be enabled by default whether the option is present or not. Unfortunately in your case I don't think that the option was present to begin with. The motherboard in it, MS-7184 which was made by MSI for HP also has a full retail version, the MSI MS-7093,

MSI USA – Computer, Laptop, Notebook, Desktop, Mainboard, Graphics and more

and from looking through the manual for it, it doesn't have the option either. Now as to whether MSI had the option enabled by default and just not present in the bios I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was off by default with no way of enabling it. Wouldn't be the first socket 939 motherboard I have come across that doesn't have the option in the bios or or any way to enable it.

Basically comes down to what you see for total memory is what you're going to get, at least until such a time as you get a new computer.

 

[F0ICE]

here is my cpuz info.
Edit: didn't see the last 2 posts

@desperber

this PC was bought 5-6 years ago since then i

• upgraded the RAM from 1GB to 3GB and then to 4GB
• added a radeon hd 4350
• added a diamond xs71 sound card
• added a Linksys WMP54G wireless nic
• moved it to a bigger case for better cooling
• and added a 1TB HDD

that is all the upgrades i have made to date

[URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/851/spdp.jpg/]
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cpuz SPD pages

also as for my BIOS it doesn't offer much.
all i can really do is

• enable/disable onboard devices sound ide parallel etc
• set boot order
• view basic info some temp monitoring total ram installed drives

that is pretty much it for the BIOS

@Stormy13 i have been looking for a new Motherboard for some time now but socket 939 parts are hard to come by. if i find a new motherboard should i make sure it supports memory remapping?