Windows thinks I have 32Gb of RAM installed

[keyboardface]

Bizarre. I've got 4GB of DDR. Here's a screenshot:

Any ideas?

 

[Lemur]

First, reboot your computer, look at bios screen, and see if the bios thinks you have this memory.

 

[keyboardface]

First, reboot your computer, look at bios screen, and see if the bios thinks you have this memory.

It says 3145728K.

 

[Lemur]

The max memory support on this mobo is 4GB. Do you have 2-2GB modules, or 1-4GB? Also what type of memory - be specific on ddr, ddr2, ddr3, voltage, as much info as you can provide.

 

[keyboardface]

The max memory support on this mobo is 4GB. Do you have 2-2GB modules, or 1-4GB? Also what type of memory - be specific on ddr, ddr2, ddr3, voltage, as much info as you can provide.

I have 4 x 1GB sticks. Came in two packs of 2 x 1GB.

Corsair
DDR 400MHz (PC3200)
DIMM 184-Pin
Non-ECC
Unbuffered

 

[Lemur]

That's correct. Oops, and I meant a max of 1GB per slot. What if you pull two banks, test, then pull two other banks and test. I would like to see if it's the memory or something in the OS.

 

[keyboardface]

That's correct. Oops, and I meant a max of 1GB per slot. What if you pull two banks, test, then pull two other banks and test. I would like to see if it's the memory or something in the OS.

Hmm, I'll try that in a second. CPU-Z shows that I have 4GB if you see here:

I'm a bit intrigued by the max bandwidth section on the right. It says 200MHz. Shouldn't that be 400MHz?

 

[stormy13]

Perfectly normal with CPUZ, don't forget x2 for DDR. In addition to Windows reporting it wrong, your ram is only running at the equivalent of 316 MHz, which is slower than PC2700/333. That could be due to a chipset limitation that downclocks PC3200/400 to PC2700 speeds when all four banks are full. It can be run at the full PC3200 by essentially overclocking the ram speed, but can also introduce instability. If it is that speed due to the four bank limitation I would leave it alone.

One thing to do while you're in the bios (can also check with CPUZ) is that the CPU is running at a FSB of 200.

 

[keyboardface]

Perfectly normal with CPUZ, don't forget x2 for DDR. In addition to Windows reporting it wrong, your ram is only running at the equivalent of 316 MHz, which is slower than PC2700/333. That could be due to a chipset limitation that downclocks PC3200/400 to PC2700 speeds when all four banks are full. It can be run at the full PC3200 by essentially overclocking the ram speed, but can also introduce instability. If it is that speed due to the four bank limitation I would leave it alone.

One thing to do while you're in the bios (can also check with CPUZ) is that the CPU is running at a FSB of 200.

Yeah, Bus Speed: 201 MHz according to CPU-Z.

I've just took two of the RAM sticks out. The BIOS memory test said 2097152k, but Windows now thinks I've got 16GB installed! It's as if it thinks each stick is 8GB.

As for your four bank limitation suggestion, it's not mentioned at all in my motherboard manual. There's merely this small note:

"Due to standard PC architecture, a certain amount of memory is reserved for system usage and therefore the actual memory size is less than the stated amount. For example, 4GB of memory size will instead be shown as 3.xxGB memory during system startup."

Says it supports up to 4GB, and dual channel 400/333/266/200.

 

[stormy13]

Try resetting the WEI,

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/79177-windows-experience-index-reset.html

just to see if there is something in it that has gone wonky.

 

[keyboardface]

Try resetting the WEI,

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/79177-windows-experience-index-reset.html

just to see if there is something in it that has gone wonky.

That didn't work, thanks though. I did notice that when I had just two of the sticks in,
the DRAM frequency was at 200MHz as it should be. So maybe your limitation theory is correct. Pretty annoying, tempted to overclock it.

 

[logicearth]

Its possible the chipset drivers, or the method Windows is using to query the amount of physinal memory is returning bogus results.

 

[Lemur]

Its possible the chipset drivers, or the method Windows is using to query the amount of physinal memory is returning bogus results.

Still, you are accessing the correct amount of memory. It would be ideal to have the correct info displayed, but I don't think you are taking an actual hit in memory or performance.

 

[James Colbert]

Just a thought (since the bios reports the same erroneous amount)...have you made any changes to the bios? Even if you haven't, if you're familiar with the bios, perhaps resetting the bios to default settings would sort it out. You may want to write down the existing settings (or, easier, use a digital camera w/o flash to take photos of each page).

That said, as Lemur has mentioned, as long as the system is recognizing your true amount of RAM, the misinformation shouldn't be an issue.

James

 

[Lemur]

And it's possible flashing the bios could resolve the problem as well.

 

[Ryan2320]

What does task manger say? in the RAM?

Is this a custom built PC or did you buy from the manufacturer?

 

[keyboardface]

What does task manger say? in the RAM?

Is this a custom built PC or did you buy from the manufacturer?

It's custom built. The 4GB of RAM is a recent addition, decided to upgrade to Windows 7 at the same time as buying more RAM. Previously had just 1GB. Task Manager seems to recognise the correct amount:

 

[keyboardface]

Though the Resource Monitor gets it wrong and thinks I have 32GB too...

 

[logicearth]

You should take this up with the motherboard manufacture. It is reporting incorrect values for memory.
Windows only knows what the hardware tells it, and it is telling it there is ~32 GB of Hardware Reserved memory.

However, any support seems unlikely as the board is from 2005 with no drivers for Windows 7 let alone Vista.
There is a BIOS update released in 2008, however, F120: http://ee.giga-byte.com/products/mb/bios/ga-k8nxp-sli.html

 

[stormy13]

Actually there is Vista drivers for the NF4 chipset,

NVIDIA DRIVERS 15.23 WHQL

which does work in Windows 7.