Solved 4 GB of Physical Memory but 1.74 GB Usable

Alright so I called and basically they state that there is no way that mapping can be performed on a laptop. The representative could not say if the settings on this are shipped out in this state or not.
Talking with a supervisor who said that he felt that this could be a program eating up the memory.
I asked if they have this issue a lot with my particular computer, he stated no.
I asked about if I were to put more memory in would it eat up half of that memory. He stated that he felt that it would not.
I mentioned the fact that I had placed one stick in and it had only partitioned 262 MB for HR and then when I place 4 GB in it takes over half. He still stated that he felt that it wouldn't take half if I were to put 8 GB in.


They stated that both memory slots have to be populated or the bottom slot has to be populated if working with one stick then they have a sort of default slot that you have to place it in.

So.... look through the programs in msconfig to try and find the culprit?

they state that there is no way that mapping can be performed on a laptop.

Click to expand...

*cough*BS*cough* All AMD 64 bit CPU's from the first socket 754 and up have all supported memory remapping, it is up to the individual motherboard or computer manufacturers to either enable it by default (for those that like to hide settings) or have the option present in the bios.

The part about with only one stick I can see, but the rest of it sounds like they don't want to admit that there could be either a bios or actual motherboard problem (look up Nvidia bumpgate to see how much companies like Dell and HP denied the problem (as much or more than Nvidia did) before they would admit to it).

I agree...I also googled around to see if other people with the same laptop model had this problem, and came up empty.

It's got to be a hardware/BIOS issue. I almost think you qualify for having the whole thing exchanged if they can't or won't fix it.

stormy13 said:

they state that there is no way that mapping can be performed on a laptop.

Click to expand...

*cough*BS*cough* All AMD 64 bit CPU's from the first socket 754 and up have all supported memory remapping, it is up to the individual motherboard or computer manufacturers to either enable it by default (for those that like to hide settings) or have the option present in the bios.

Click to expand...

Agree

And this is definitely BS!

deepeyes said:

Talking with a supervisor who said that he felt that this could be a program eating up the memory.

Click to expand...

At any rate at this point in time it seems that there's nothing you can do about the way the memory is being mapped. Yeah you could try upping your memory to 8gig, but I'm not sure what you'll really gain. If memory is dirt cheap you could give it a try but.....

Anyway it wouldn't surprise me that HP knows this is a problem and is just trying to sweep it under the rug.

Good luck.

BTW did you show those guys this thread?

He's a thought - go over to the HP Forums - Notebook Computers - HP Support Forum and post your issue there. You can even link to this thread for clarification. Maybe someone there has experienced the same issue as you and can provide an answer, or at least point you in the right direction.

You might also consider a BIOS update but that can get tricky as well. If you do decide on a update make sure you read the instructions before proceeding. And backup your data!!!

Thought about a bios update, but from one of his screen shots back in the OP, he already has the latest bios; F27.

Yeah I just thought I'd mention it just in case.

Thanks.

"BTW did you show those guys this thread?"

Yeah I told him the whole address to the thread... he mumbled something about how it is not a website that is affiliated with HP blah blah... you know how that goes.

I wouldn't even know how to begin to explain to them the problem to get an exchanged computer. There would be problems associated with that to begin with. This is a refurb computer for one. My computer is under warranty still, but I would assume that is just parts and labor that they would cover. I don't know how far I will get with it being refurb. But the store that sold it to me told me that nothing had been changed, just that the person returned it and then they did a clean wipe install on it.

Yes I have the latest BIOS f 27

I will post over at HP's website, see if this won't ruffle some feathers over there.

BTW thanks everyone for your collaboration!

deepeyes said:

I wouldn't even know how to begin to explain to them the problem to get an exchanged computer. There would be problems associated with that to begin with. This is a refurb computer for one. My computer is under warranty still, but I would assume that is just parts and labor that they would cover. I don't know how far I will get with it being refurb. But the store that sold it to me told me that nothing had been changed, just that the person returned it and then they did a clean wipe install on it.

Click to expand...

Print out these two articles and show it to the tech at the store

- 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
- Windows 7 memory usage: What's the best way to measure? | ZDNet

Point them to this thread and tell them that the PC is only allowing you to use 1.7 gig of memory out of 4gig installed.

It’s up to you how you deal with it but if the system isn’t functioning correctly they should replace it. You just need to decide if the issue is worth fighting for. You might lose, you might win; but you’ll never know unless you try.

In the end it may turn out be a design issue or flaw, but you'll never know unless you really persist. It could turn out to be something they were never really aware of.

Good luck, and thanks.

Just came across this one again (had forgot about it as it was over a month ago when I saw it),

http://www.sevenforums.com/hardware-devices/190085-4gb-ram-1-74gb-usable-win7x64.html

different model, but still a HP laptop with an identical problem. If there is any warranty left on yours, get HP to fix it, whether it is one of the sticks of ram as claimed there or a defect in the motherboard/memory slot.

Sooooo thanks to your article there I was able to get a bit more out of HP. After 2 hours of going through the motions with the rep there we finally came to the conclusion that the computer is going to need to be sent off for repair (good thing to because I've got 29 days left on my warranty).
He had me downloading the old bios, reinstalling the latest BIOS, taking out sticks of memory, testing memory... ughh...
Now its just going out and getting an new external to put all my info on, since I've managed to fill up two others!
Hopefully I'll get this guy sent off by mid next week.

See.... I told you persistency would pay off

BTW which article - the one provided by stormy, or the one provided by me?

Either way I'm glad to hear you got the ball rolling.

Good luck.

The one from Stormy. The first thing that this rep said when I told him about what the first rep said this morning was "those guys were idiots!" Well played....

Well we said the samething so....

And thanks for the answer. It just let's us know where to look should this issue pop up again.

Anyway keep us informed.

Just a quick update.

So I had called HP customer care again to see about finalizing getting my computer sent in. The previous rep had instructed me to back up data and do a factory install of the software. Did that, but immediately got blue screens after the windows logo loading screen and before the login screen. The setup would not continue in safe mode either. So basically stuck in limbo. Can't finish the install because in safe mode, but also can't get to the login screen through a normal boot up.
The new rep that I talked to next told me that before I could have the computer sent in I would have to do a hard drive test through bios. I had already done a mem test in bios so I would not have to do that. She stated that she would call at 7 PM because the tests take over 2 hours to complete. She never called back.
So the next day I called to inform them that the hard drive tests have completed and they passed and could I please send it in?
NOPE - I now have to wait for a new installation CD in the mail to install the Windows 7 software because the recovery partition may have been corrupted. Apparently after this I will be able to send in my computer when they find that I'm in fact spending up to 2.3 GB on locked up RAM.
So... guys. I've got about 25 days left on my warranty, is anyone sensing stalling in order to get me to have to buy an extension warranty to have it sent in because they know that they have a screwed up notebook line?
Keep in mind that I also did a factory install twice and got the same blue screen error 3B in the stop code.
Le Sigh

Hello All!
Some good news. After sending off the computer to HP, I finally got the computer back today!

On the repair form they stated that they had replaced the Fan/Thermal Module and replaced the System Motherboard. On the phone they had stated that they only replaced the CPU, so I'm going to assume that they replaced that along with what they stated on the repair form.

On top of that, my computer is now reporting 262 MB of memory being reserved for the hardware! This is with 4 GB installed!

So mark this one solved and for those out there that are looking at too much memory being eaten up - think about getting it sent in for replacement or repair! It was a lot of S&%& to go through, but so far its looking fixed!
Thanks everyone that brainstormed with me, and I will direct anyone else that has problems out there to this forum since its such a good resource!

@deepeyes:

Thanks for the follow up. Not enough folks do this. It's always interesting to hear about the final disposition of a situation like yours. \

Glad everything came back 100% working.

That's great news deepeyes Thanks for letting us know. Enjoy your newfound memory

Thank you stormy13. Your suggestion the memnory may have moved was right on. Reseated both sticks and am getting the memory reading I expect.