4gb of RAM installed, but w7 says 256 usable

S

shavedaccord

New member
Earlier tonight I rebooted and noticed that it took an extremely long time to boot. Almost 10 minutes to get the desktop completely loaded. So I checked task manager > performance tab and it says I have only 256mb of RAM. So then I checked My Computer > Properties and noticed it said "Installed Memory (RAM): 4.00 GB (256 MB Usable)" I've had w7 installed for a good 2 weeks now and never had a problem, until I rebooted tonight. I checked my BIOS and all my sticks show up. I DO NOT have a shared memory video card. Memory test checked out fine. I haven't installed any new hardware, nor touched the sticks at all. Any idea as to why w7 started doing this?
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell XPS 720
OS
Windows7 Build 7100
Memory
4gb
Graphics Card(s)
GeForce GTX
Have you fiddled with the boot settings at all? And welcome to the forums.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
W7 RTM Ultimate x64
CPU
Intel Q8400 @ 2.66GHZ
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-EG45M-UD2H
Memory
4GB DDR2-800
Graphics Card(s)
Gainward GTS 450 GLH 1GB Edition
Sound Card
Integrated 8 Channel
Monitor(s) Displays
AOC 23.6 Inch Widescreen LCD
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Seagate 500GB Internal
Western Digital 1TB Internal

Hitachi 1TB External
PSU
Apevia Java Power 500W
Case
Cooler Master HAF 922 Black
Cooling
Stock Intel CPU Fan
Keyboard
HP SK-2960 Multimedia Keyboard
Mouse
Logitech M350 Wireless Gaming Mouse
Internet Speed
1.5MB
Uber Philf said:
Have you fiddled with the boot settings at all? And welcome to the forums.
Click to expand...
Nope not at all. Everything was running perfectly fine until I rebooted. Now this things running like winME on 64mb.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell XPS 720
OS
Windows7 Build 7100
Memory
4gb
Graphics Card(s)
GeForce GTX
installed any new programs? something may needs drivers?
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
W7 RTM Ultimate x64
CPU
Intel Q8400 @ 2.66GHZ
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-EG45M-UD2H
Memory
4GB DDR2-800
Graphics Card(s)
Gainward GTS 450 GLH 1GB Edition
Sound Card
Integrated 8 Channel
Monitor(s) Displays
AOC 23.6 Inch Widescreen LCD
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Seagate 500GB Internal
Western Digital 1TB Internal

Hitachi 1TB External
PSU
Apevia Java Power 500W
Case
Cooler Master HAF 922 Black
Cooling
Stock Intel CPU Fan
Keyboard
HP SK-2960 Multimedia Keyboard
Mouse
Logitech M350 Wireless Gaming Mouse
Internet Speed
1.5MB
Uber Philf said:
installed any new programs? something may needs drivers?
Click to expand...
Nope. I managed to find and fix the problem tho. Somehow the MAX ram settings in the advanced tab of boot config got set to 256mb. I unchecked the box, rebooted and everything is fine now.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell XPS 720
OS
Windows7 Build 7100
Memory
4gb
Graphics Card(s)
GeForce GTX
shavedaccord said:
Nope. I managed to find and fix the problem tho. Somehow the MAX ram settings in the advanced tab of boot config got set to 256mb. I unchecked the box, rebooted and everything is fine now.
Click to expand...
Anything installed/updated/messed with sence the last reboot?...I dont believe that can accidently be check, unless a program has altered the setting in some way
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 PRO x64
CPU
Phenom II 1090T @ 4.00GHz
Motherboard
Crosshair IV Formula
Memory
8gb DDR3
Graphics Card(s)
1x ATI Diamond 5850
Monitor(s) Displays
50in HDTV (HDMI)
Screen Resolution
1080P
Hard Drives
2x 1TB barracuda
1x 1TB WD Black
1x 2TB WD
1x OCZ Vertex 2 40GB
PSU
1000w Xion
Case
Armor+ VH6000BWS
Cooling
W/C
Internet Speed
60Mbps down, 7 up
ussj4brolli said:
Anything installed/updated/messed with sence the last reboot?...I dont believe that can accidently be check, unless a program has altered the setting in some way
Click to expand...
Nothing was installed, messed with etc..
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell XPS 720
OS
Windows7 Build 7100
Memory
4gb
Graphics Card(s)
GeForce GTX
I recently had this same exact problem and this solution worked. My Computer started up REALLY slow after it got turned off by a storm and the maximum memory in MSCONFIG>BOOT>ADVANCED OPTIONS was at 256. I brought it back up to 8000 and my comp is back to normal. You can tell how much memory is usable by right-clicking computer and selecting properties. This post solved my problem, hope it solves someone elses too
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 Home premium 32-bit
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