Hello I have a Compaq Presario SR5310F with a ati redeon hd 4500 and have just done a clean install from Windows Vista Ultimate x64. Vista could use a 4gb of ram but windows 7 can only use 3.25 of it? I have looked under msconfig but maximum memory is turned off what is wrong?
Hi Spyro, welcome to the Forum.
Your question is a very frequently asked one & with 4gb of RAM installed Windows 7 will only show around 3.25gb as usable or available, as a portion of the RAM in used for hardware & resources, which is not shown as available because it is already in use.
So what you are reporting is normal for 4gb of RAM. If you wish to increase available RAM you need to install more RAM. If you decide to to that make sure you use matched RAM of the one type, for best results.
Thank you so was windows vista using 3.25gb of ram too? Or is windows 7 using less than vista
As Windows 7 is based on Vista but is much better, then it's probably the same, but Win 7 actually shows how much RAM is actually available for use. I suspect Vista showed the total installed & not what was actually available for use. Most likely just how the information is displayed.
Thank you for explaining this to me!:)
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