I've for 4 x 1GB sticks of DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-6400) in my PC. But the system only recognizes 3.3GB of it as of 2 weeks ago. My initial thought was that one of my sticks was bad, but then wouldnt a whole GB disappear?
Has it ever recognized more than that? I've heard of some computers (or maybe operating systems, I don't really know) only being able to recognize a certain amount of RAM. I'm assuming you're not running Windows XP, but here is a link explaining this problem with that operating system. "Address space" seems to be what eats up the remaining memory.
Yeah, Windows XP never shows you as having the full 4GB, and it never seems to be consistent from system to system with how much it does say you have. Annoying to be sure.
Originally posted by TheBucsFanhere is a link explaining this problem with that operating system.
Thanks for the info. The writer of that article says he tested his RAM theory against his work Dell, which happens to be the exact Dell model I have.
He mentioned something about other components in your system mooching off your system RAM, and listed graphics cards as one of the possible culprits. My system used to show all 4GB until a few weeks ago, then it occured to me that I installed a new graphics card a few weeks ago. So there you have it! (Probably)
My understanding was that a 32 bit operating system couldn't use the full 4 GBs of RAM. When I bought a new laptop with 4 GB, it came with Windows Vista 64-bit.
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