Where's my ram?

[pipsqueaker]

Hi
I bought a 2gb sodimm to boost my lappy up from 2gb.

The computer sees the new ram

Says 4gb installed ( 2.75gb usable)

What's that all about?

 

[BIG-HOL]

are you using a 32bit windows, you need 64bit to see above 3gb ram, the .25 your missing is going for video and graphics i think!

 

[Exos]

As Big-H said, Windows x86 doesn't address above 3Gb (I think to be pedantic its something like 3.25) and it's likely your using onboard shared graphics which takes it's graphics memory from the system which as a guess is 256Mb. Have a look in the BIOS also as if your not really that bothered about intensive graphics you can probably drop this back to 128Mb or 64Mb (if it lets you)

 

[pipsqueaker]

Thanks folks
Waste of money then unless I put 64bit windows on.
Will 64bit install on most computers or is there restrictions on specs?

 

[Pete_London]

Shouldn't have any problems running 64bit windows, my motherboard nicks a bit of memory for the gpu too, afaik only a few apps use 64bit technology like photoshop.

 

[little_pob]

You need a 64bit processor to be able to run a 64bit OS. If you are not sure what CPU is fitted, you can check in the BIOS or download Speccy, Everest or CPUID to find out from within Windows.

32bit Windows has only 4GB of address space, but the buses such as USB and PCI have priority over RAM (i.e. they're addressed first). You can try /PAE switch to enable Windows' 36bit mode, but it's largely hardware dependent. Some go as far as to say it's more of a placebo in XP.

 

[pipsqueaker]

Thanks everyone.
I don't understand why microsoft couldn't make 32bit systems use
all the ram fitted

 

[oneman]

Thanks everyone.
I don't understand why microsoft couldn't make 32bit systems use
all the ram fitted

the clue is on the name. 2 to the power 32 = 4GB. Windows reserves some memory for system use giving around 3.25GB usable. You can subtract more if you are using on board video leaving you with the final usable amount.

And don't forget that having more then 4GB in a home system has only been common in the last couple of years, a few years ago nobody could have imagined having that much in a home system. Windows 7 was the first home O/S that where 64-bit was commonly used. XP and Vista both had 64-bit versions but due to driver and application compatibility unless you had a specific need then a majority of installs were 32-bit.