4GB RAM only 3.12 usable?

Ascended Brute · Oct 30, 2011

Hi,

I recently installed some new RAM into my PC (Corsair XMS2). It should be 4GB but when I view system properties it says that I have 4.00 GB (3.12 GB usable).

Does this mean the memory I have is faulty or is it possibly a setting somewhere I have to change? I'm sure my motherboard (Foxconn 946GZ7MA) can use 4GB RAM.

Any advice: would be appreciated. :toast:

Black Panther · Oct 30, 2011

Check your memory remapping feature in the bios.

Also, look here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978610

this:

-Click Start
-type msconfig in the Search programs and files box, and then click msconfig in the Programs list.
-In the System Configuration window, click Advanced options on the Boot tab.
-Click to clear the Maximum memory check box, and then click OK.
-Restart the computer.

and this:

Check BIOS settings
The problem may occur because some BIOS settings are incorrect.

Enable the memory remapping feature

Check the BIOS settings to see whether the memory remapping feature is enabled. Memory remapping gives Windows access to more memory. You can enable the memory remapping feature in the BIOS by booting to the system setup. See the User's Guide for your computer for instructions on how to boot to system setup on your computer. The name for the memory remapping feature may be different for different hardware vendors. This can be listed as memory remapping, memory extension, or something similar. Be aware that your computer may not support the memory remapping feature.

unsmart · Oct 30, 2011

I have the same issue with laptop

. It's the 9xx chipset and it can't be fixed as far as I could see, the chipset doesn't have the addressing space for it. the mem is not really lost just cashed for hardware use and should be usable for a mem disk.

mad1394 · Oct 30, 2011

You might want to give this a read:

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91260&highlight=x64+x86

c12038 · Oct 30, 2011

Ascended Brute said:
Hi,

I recently installed some new RAM into my PC (Corsair XMS2). It should be 4GB but when I view system properties it says that I have 4.00 GB (3.12 GB usable).

Does this mean the memory I have is faulty or is it possibly a setting somewhere I have to change? I'm sure my motherboard (Foxconn 946GZ7MA) can use 4GB RAM.

Any advice: would be appreciated.

Use a 64bit O/S not 32bit this will solve your problem

FordGT90Concept · Oct 30, 2011

c12038 said:
Use a 64bit O/S not 32bit this will solve your problem

This. Only 64-bit (or 32-bit with physical address extension) can detect the full 4 GiB.

Black Panther · Oct 30, 2011

c12038 said:
Use a 64bit O/S not 32bit this will solve your problem

lol

dorsetknob · Oct 30, 2011

Acording to Ascended Brute's sys spec's he is useing win7 64

c12038 · Oct 30, 2011

Ok my bad maybe its a motherboard issue try looking for bios update that covers memory issues

FordGT90Concept · Oct 30, 2011

He best double-check:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/32-bit-and-64-bit-Windows-frequently-asked-questions

Read under: How can I tell if my computer is running a 32-bit or a 64-bit version of Windows?

unsmart · Oct 30, 2011

Lakeport chipsets lacks support for remapping memory; the size of addressable memory space may be less than 4GB, regardless whether the processor operates in 64-bit mode.
your system can use this hidden ram for hardware/system cache it's just hidden from apps to prevent "fighting over it".

Ascended Brute · Nov 1, 2011

Thanks for the quick replies, yeah I have a 64 bit OS and according to the thread mad1394 posted it should all be available.

I checked the advanced boot options like Black Panther suggested the option for maximum memory was not selected.

Also checked Bios and have not seen any option for memory remapping or memory extension, but I did find something called memory hole at 15m-16m which was in advanced chipset features which was disabled. Could that be the same thing?

Red_Machine · Nov 1, 2011

It's just the way Windows 7 reports stuff. I have a friend who has 12GB in her rig, and it reports something like 9.7GB usable. It's telling you how much is left over after device drivers, shadow caching, etc.

white phantom · Nov 1, 2011

Yeah i just recently installed the 4 gig of corsair xms2 and was having a similar problem with only 3.50gig useable on windows 7 64 bit, turns out i had forgot to enable the memory remap feature in the bios which seems to reserve some past. After it was turned on had the full 4 gig

Black Panther · Nov 1, 2011

Ascended Brute said:
I did find something called memory hole at 15m-16m which was in advanced chipset features which was disabled. Could that be the same thing?

I don't know but I'd try it out. If nothing happens (or something bad happens

jk) you can always disable it back the way it was.

Ascended Brute · Nov 1, 2011

Yeah enabled and still no luck. Maybe I need to update my BIOS since there is no option for memory remapping currently?

soren121 · Nov 4, 2011

No, motherboard manufacturers rarely add features with BIOS updates; they're used almost exclusively to add support for new CPUs or to fix bugs.

According to the BIOS changelog for your motherboard, no new features have been added in any revision of the BIOS. (Source)

unsmart · Nov 4, 2011

Your chipset is 6yrs old, hardly anyone was running 4gb. You can not get around it besides buying a new MOBO. check this link:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...b-usable/da2de76c-0c9c-40a5-af9e-e1b0e804e4eb
not sure on prices where you are or your funds but on newegg you can get a athlon x3 and ddr2 mobo for a little over $100

samual · Nov 8, 2011

When i installed 4 gb ram it gaves me only 3 gb of usage in task manager.Yeah i just recently installed the 4 gig of corsair xms2 and was having a similar problem with only 3.50gig useable on windows 7 64 bit, turns out i had forgot to enable the memory remap feature in the bios which seems to reserve some past.

Ascended Brute · Nov 9, 2011

Cheers guys, will probably buy a new motherboard gives me an excuse to spend money on a better CPU too

Thanks for all the advice

brandonwh64 · Nov 9, 2011

2600k+z68 = win!

ChristTheGreat · Nov 9, 2011

unsmart said:
Your chipset is 6yrs old, hardly anyone was running 4gb. You can not get around it besides buying a new MOBO. check this link:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...b-usable/da2de76c-0c9c-40a5-af9e-e1b0e804e4eb
not sure on prices where you are or your funds but on newegg you can get a athlon x3 and ddr2 mobo for a little over $100

This is correct on the link, I use to have a Dell M1710, WIn 7 x64, 4gb, and can't get all 4 gb.

Goodman · Nov 9, 2011

Are you sure you got 64bit version installed?

I don't know about the Pro but my Ultimate version i can either install the 32bit or 64bit a moment of distraction & you may have installed to wrong one , maybe?

Double check to make sure?

If 64bit is really installed then it must be the Mobo

Processor	Intel Pentium Dual Core
Motherboard	Micro ATX Foxconn
Cooling	1 rear 80mm fan & 1 side 80mm fan
Memory	Corsair (2x2GB) DDR2 800Mhz
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte GTX 460 OC2 1GB
Storage	Maxtor 250GB, Samsung 1TB
Display(s)	19" LCD F&H
Case	Xion Solaris Black (Blue LED)
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Arctic power 600W
Software	Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

System Name	Black Panther
Processor	i9 9900k
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO Wifi 1.0
Cooling	NZXT Kraken X72 360mm
Memory	2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 3600Mhz
Video Card(s)	Palit RTX2080 Ti Dual 11GB DDR6
Storage	Samsung EVO 970 500GB SSD M.2 & 2TB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm
Display(s)	32'' Gigabyte G32QC 2560x1440 165Hz
Case	NZXT H710i Black
Audio Device(s)	Razer Electra V2 & Z5500 Speakers
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus GX-850 Gold 80+
Mouse	Some Corsair lost the box forgot the model
Keyboard	Motospeed
Software	Windows 10

System Name	MSI GT72S 6QE
Processor	Core i7 6820HK
Motherboard	Intel Sunrise Point CM236
Cooling	2 fans
Memory	2x 8 GB SO-DIMM DDR4-RAM (2133 MHz)
Video Card(s)	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M - 8192 MB
Storage	1 ssd 3 hard drives
Display(s)	17.3 inch 16:9, 1920x1080 pixel, LG Philips LP173WF4-SPF1 (LGD0469), IPS, Full HD
Case	??!!!
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC899
Power Supply	most beautiful brick you have ever seen

System Name	BlackDragon
Processor	Ryzen 5 2600
Motherboard	MSI Gaming Pro Carbon
Cooling	Silverstone RGB 240 AIO
Memory	32 gb 3200 Corsair vengence pro DDR4
Video Card(s)	Asus Vega 56 OC edition 8gb
Storage	2x 512gb NVME m.2 plus 4x SSD's
Display(s)	29WK600 Ultrawide screen DP to DP
Case	NZXT 630 phantom case
Audio Device(s)	Onboard 1220 Realtek with Nahimic support
Power Supply	700Watt Cooler master
Mouse	Generic gaming mouse
Keyboard	Logitech G19s gaming keyboard
Software	Win 10 (20H2)

System Name	BY-2021
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile)
Motherboard	MSI B550 Gaming Plus
Cooling	Scythe Mugen (rev 5)
Memory	2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
Storage	Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X20 TB 7200 RPM
Display(s)	Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI)
Case	Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay + USB 3.2 (A+C) 3.5" bay
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+
Power Supply	Enermax Platimax 850w
Mouse	Nixeus REVEL-X
Keyboard	Tesoro Excalibur
Software	Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Benchmark Scores	Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare.

4GB RAM only 3.12 usable?

Ascended Brute

New Member

Black Panther

unsmart

mad1394

c12038

FordGT90Concept

"I go fast!1!11!1!"

Black Panther

dorsetknob

"YOUR RMA REQUEST IS CON-REFUSED"

c12038

FordGT90Concept

"I go fast!1!11!1!"

unsmart

Ascended Brute

New Member

Red_Machine

white phantom

Black Panther

Ascended Brute

New Member

soren121

New Member

unsmart

samual

New Member

Ascended Brute

New Member

brandonwh64

Addicted to Bacon and StarCrunches!!!

ChristTheGreat

Goodman

System Name	Chachamaru-IV \| Retro Battlestation
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Motherboard	ASUS ROG STRIX X570-F Gaming \| MSI MS-6116 (Intel 440BX chipset)
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 SE-AM4
Memory	32GB Corsair DDR4-3000 (16-20-20-38) \| 512MB PC133 SDRAM
Video Card(s)	nVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 FE \| 3dfx Voodoo3 3000
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Mouse	Roccat Kone Air\| Microsoft Serial Mouse v2.0A
Keyboard	Vortex Race3 \| Dell AT102W
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System Name	Soren Machine
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 @ 3.06GHz OC'ed
Motherboard	Gigabyte EP35-DS3L
Cooling	AC Freezer 7 Pro, Scythe Slipstream 120mm
Memory	2GB Mushkin Frostbite DDR2-800 @ 4-5-4-11, 2.1V
Video Card(s)	MSI GeForce 8600GT 256MB Twin Turbo
Storage	1TB 7200RPM Samsung SpinPoint F3, 250GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
Display(s)	19-inch Samsung SyncMaster 913V
Case	Gigabyte Triton 180
Power Supply	400W Rosewill Stallion Series
Software	Windows 7 Professional 32-bit
Benchmark Scores	That'd be embarrassing. I'm saving now to upgrade to Ivy Bridge.

System Name	CTG Computer
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 7600
Motherboard	Asrock B650M PRO RS WIFI
Cooling	Thermalright PA120 SE
Memory	2x 16gb G.SKILL F5-6000J3038F16GX2-FX5
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte RX6800XT Gaming OC
Storage	WD Black SN850X 2TB
Display(s)	MAG274QRF-QD \| Asus vg248qe
Case	SAMA IM01
Audio Device(s)	Creative SoundBlasterx G6
Power Supply	Corsair SF750
Mouse	Logitech G pro Wireless
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe RGB MK2
Software	Windows 11 Pro x64

System Name	Main PC
Processor	PII 925 x4 @3.724GHz (266x14) 1.525v NB 2660 1.425v
Motherboard	Gigabyte AM3 GA-890XA-UD3 (790x+SB850)
Cooling	Scythe Mugen 2 rev.B
Memory	Hyperx 8GB (2x4) 1600@1418 8-7-7-20-27-1t
Video Card(s)	GTX 680
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Case	Cooler Master HAF 912
Audio Device(s)	On-Board HD
Power Supply	CM 750w GX \|3.3v@25a\|5v@25a\|12v@60a
Software	Kubuntu dual boot /Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
Benchmark Scores	later...

System Name	White Phantom
Processor	i5 2500K @ 4.4ghz = 1.360-1.368 vcore
Motherboard	asrock p67 pro (not pro3)
Cooling	prolimatech megahalem with 2x nocuta in push pull (thanks to the 54thvoid) ;) , stock phantom fans
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Video Card(s)	Asus strix 970 ocd 1.5ghz core
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Mouse	Rat 3
Keyboard	Act cheapo "gaming"
Software	windows 10
Benchmark Scores	world record for most amount of times machine has pissed me off ....