Ram 3.00 GB But Usable 1.00 GB


  1. Posts : 1
    Windows 7 ultimate 32 bit
       #1

    Ram 3.00 GB But Usable 1.00 GB


    I newly installed 2 GB Ram , already i have 1 GB Ram
    After installed 2 GB Ram i found that in BIOS setting, but system info shows Ram 3 GB but usable 1 GB only

    How to fix this

    I want 3 GB Ram

    (Please help, i want to install Bluestack in my pc, but Bluestack needs 2GB ram to install)
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 1,784
    Linux Mint 18.2 xfce 64-bit (VMWare host) / Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit (VMWare guest)
       #2

    If you want more than 2 GB of RAM, you will need to upgrade to a 64-bit version of Windows.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 2,497
    Windows 7 Pro 64 bit
       #3

    A 32 bit client OS will support up to 4 GB RAM of which about 3.25 will be usable. Individual applications can use no more than 2 GB but multiple applications plus system processes, the file cache, etc can use whatever is available.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 1,784
    Linux Mint 18.2 xfce 64-bit (VMWare host) / Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit (VMWare guest)
       #4

    You are right, @LMiller7. For some reason, my mind was stuck on "2" -- probably thinking of the 2 TB limit on hard drive partitions from the old days.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 2,465
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #5

    Do you have an onboard or in-CPU video card?
    If so, those allocate video memory from the main memory and cause exactly the symptom you're describing. Check in the BIOS configuration if that's the case.

    The memory limits here isn't the issue, clearly. While 32 bits Windows is ridiculously limited to 4GB of RAM for no good reason, 3GB is within than, but hardware can allocate some of it for its use.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 1,784
    Linux Mint 18.2 xfce 64-bit (VMWare host) / Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit (VMWare guest)
       #6

    32-bit Windows is limited to 4 GB of RAM because that is the total addressable memory space for 32-bits:

    2^32 = 4,294,967,296 or about 4 GB.

    2^32 is 2 to the 32nd power:
    --> We use 2 because computers operate in binary at the most basic level.
    --> We use 32 as the exponent, because it is a 32-bit system.

    64-bit provides a much bigger addressable memory space:

    2^64 = 18,446,744,073,709,551,616

    In a 32-bit system, it is good to have 4 GB of RAM installed, because as Alejandro stated, your hardware devices will use some of your memory, leaving the rest for Windows; and you want Windows to have as much as possible.

    It is possible in some cases to increase this limit to 64 GB or higher by using PAE (Physical Address Extension):
    https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...(v=vs.85).aspx
    Last edited by mrjimphelps; 16 Mar 2018 at 10:30.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 2,465
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #7

    mrjimphelps said:
    32-bit Windows is limited to 4 GB of RAM because that is the total addressable memory space for 32-bits:

    2^32 = 4,294,967,296 or about 4 GB.

    2^32 is 2 to the 32nd power:
    --> We use 2 because computers operate in binary at the most basic level.
    --> We use 32 as the exponent, because it is a 32-bit system.
    Not really, most of it is actually wrong. The basic flaw in your reasoning is that 32 bits systems provide 2^32 memory addresses. "32 bits" or "64 bits" computers refers to the data bus, meaning that most computer operations can handle 32 or 64 bits numbers (with some exceptions, but that's another history), but the maximum memory is dictaded by the address bus, and those can have different values, so 2^32 or 2^64 mean nothing actually.

    First, there is PAE, introduced in 1995, it was a "patch" to increase max memory for the then-current processors (all of them 32 bits) which extends the address but to 36 lines, giving a total of 64GB of physical addressable memory. So, the limit is no longer 4GB for 32 bits systems, and it was that way since more than 20 years ago.

    A confirmation of this fact is available from Microsoft itself, when looking for the memory limits for Windows. If you look at the Windows Server 2008 memory limits, you'll see that the 32 bits edition can address up to 64 GB of RAM.

    The final thing is uncovered by a separate research, trying to understand why Windows behaves in this way.
    Licensed Memory in 32-Bit Windows Vista

    In short it concludes that Windows 7 32 bits is perfectly capable of using up to 128GB of RAM and there is no good reason to impose the 4GB limit, much like the artificial limit on Home Premium and Professional editions.
    Microsoft deliverately lied to us.

    That said, 64 bits Windows is a far better option given the chance, for a variety of reasons, but memory limits is not among them.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 1,784
    Linux Mint 18.2 xfce 64-bit (VMWare host) / Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit (VMWare guest)
       #8

    Alejandro85 said:
    Not really, most of it is actually wrong. The basic flaw in your reasoning is that 32 bits systems provide 2^32 memory addresses. "32 bits" or "64 bits" computers refers to the data bus, meaning that most computer operations can handle 32 or 64 bits numbers (with some exceptions, but that's another history), but the maximum memory is dictaded by the address bus, and those can have different values, so 2^32 or 2^64 mean nothing actually.
    Actually, 2^32 means 4 GB wherever it applies, whether on the data bus or the addressing space.

    Alejandro85 said:
    Windows 7 32 bits is perfectly capable of using up to 128GB of RAM and there is no good reason to impose the 4GB limit, much like the artificial limit on Home Premium and Professional editions...Microsoft deliverately lied to us.
    It is not "perfectly capable" -- you have to perform special tricks to make it capable of addressing more than 4 GB of RAM. 4 GB is not an "artificial limit", it is the actual limit of a 32-bit addressing space. PAE and other such special tricks are the things that are artificial -- they are artificial extensions to the physical limits of a 32-bit addressing space. So it is not right to say that Microsoft deliberately lied to us about this.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 2,497
    Windows 7 Pro 64 bit
       #9

    A CPU specified as 32 bit normally means that it supports a 32 bit virtual address space. But this has NOTHING to do with how much physical RAM it can address. Contrary to frequent claims, PAE is not some kind of hack. It uses the same methods that 64 bit operating systems do and is in fact somewhat simpler. PAE uses 3 level address translation while a 64 bit OS always uses 4 levels, even with less than 4 GB RAM.


    Also contrary to frequent claims, applications do not need to be "PAE aware" to use memory above 4 GB. In fact there is no such concept for applications. 32 bit applications access only their own 32 bit private virtual address space and have no knowledge of the RAM addresses they are using, and couldn't find out if they wanted to. Applications that predate PAE can freely use RAM above 4 GB, and depending on system configuration it may be the only RAM they use.


    Prior to SP2 XP systems with appropriate hardware were able to address more than 4 GB RAM. For a variety of reasons this ability was removed in SP2. The limitation is entirely artificial in most modern 32 bit client versions of Windows.
      My Computer


 

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 16:38.
Find Us