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nctnl

6 Posts

60423

December 18th, 2011 06:00

3.25GB Memory cap in Win7 x64 (even with new bios) - Dell Vostro400

First post here, so hello everyone! Haven't had to post any problems in 4 years about my dell!

 Ok so here is the problem.

I'm running 64 bit Windows 7 (fully up to date), I have the most recent bios update (can confirm it shows the correct version on bootup), and Win7 is still showing 3.25GB usable. I can confirm that Task manager also reports this number.

I have 6GB installed in my PC, 2 x 2GB on one channel, 2 x 1GB on another. 

2 D124014
2 VOSTRO 400 : INTEL CORE 2 QUAD CORE Q660
2 RESOURCE DVD : VOSTRO 400 DIAGNOSTICS AN
2 SHIP ACCESSORY : ENGLISH DOCS WITH UK PO
2 MEMORY : 2048MB (2X1024) 667MHZ DDR2 DUA
2 FLOPPY DRIVE : 19-IN-1 MEDIA CARD READER
2 HARD DRIVE : 500GB (2X250GB) SERIAL ATA2
2 OPTICAL DRIVE : POWER DVD 8.0 (VISTA AND
2 OPTICAL DRIVE : ROXIO CREATOR / MY DVD 9
2 OPTICAL DRIVE : 16X DVD+/-RW DRIVE
2 DISPLAY : 22IN E228WFP UK/IRISH BLACK WI
2 GRAPHICS : 256 MB NVIDIA GEFORCE 8600GTS
2 AUDIO : INTEGRATED HDA 7.1 DOLBY DIGITAL
2 SPEAKERS : EXTERNAL DELL A225 STEREO BLA
2 MODEM : NOT INCLUDED
2 WIRELESS : INTERNAL WIRELESS PCI CARD
2 MICE : DELL PREMIUM OPTICAL (NOT WIRELES
2 KEYBOARD : UK/IRISH (QWERTY) DELL ENHANC
2 OPERATING SYSTEM : ENGLISH WINDOWS VISTA
2 ENGLISH MICROSOFT WORKS 9.0
2 SOFTWARE : DELL SUPPORT CENTER 2.0
2 SOFTWARE : UK TISCALI INTERNET SERVICE P
2 SOFTWARE : ENGLISH ADOBE READER 8.1 WITH
2 ANTIVIRUS : ENGLISH MCAFEE 9.0 SECURITY
2 BASE WARRANTY - 1 YEAR BUSINESS HARDWARE
2 NO WARRANTY UPGRADE
2 NO ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE SUPPORT
2 TO ACCESS ONLINE TRAINING OR FREE TRIAL,
2 VOSTRO DESKTOP ORDER - UK
2 DELL INTERNET ORDER.
2 ROAD FREIGHT CHARGE PER UNIT 1-10 UNIT

 Updates to this spec are:

Vista replaced with Windows 7
8600GTS replaced with RADEON HD 5570 CuCore
RAM upgraded to 6GB
Secondary hard disk upgraded to 1TB
Power supply upgraded to 600W
WiFi card removed, now using D-Link Wireless N USB dongle
Delta66 soundcard installed with Omni I/O break out box

Many thanks for your time and help, best regards,

Ash. 

kirkd

4 Operator

 • 

5.2K Posts

December 18th, 2011 07:00

The system board should support more than 4GB. See

en.community.dell.com/.../19249074.aspx

I don't know if some of the earlier versions used anything other than the G33 mother board, but if so, it probably will not support >4GB.

Make sure than the added RAM is identical to what was in there initially: same brand and timings.

nctnl

6 Posts

December 18th, 2011 09:00

Hi guys,

Problem solved, the memory I bought to add in didn't match the RAM dell provided, I was under the impression that it was 667MHZ however it is 800MHZ.

I took out the 2 x 1 GB of RAM for troubleshooting sake and now windows is showing all 4GB. Being on the old bios with just 4GB actually showed the same problem of 3.25GB which is what threw me.

I did think that you could have different RAM on different channels however.

Thank you for all your help, hopefully this will help someone else out in future!

Setting KirkD as answer as he called it in the first post.

Best Regards,

Ash.

P.S. I also wonder if this is what was causing me the occasional BSOD!?

We will see! Many Thanks! 

Mary G

4 Operator

 • 

20.1K Posts

December 18th, 2011 08:00

Is all memory recognized in the bios? Make sure the matching chips are in the right paired slots.  See this diagram-- <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>

If you look at the diagram it is confusing--the caption does not match the picture. Picture has the slots numbered 1, 3, 2, 4. but the matching lines show pairs 1 &2 and 3 &4. You should research this further. 

nctnl

6 Posts

December 18th, 2011 08:00

@RobinBredin

"Also check the "Maximum Memory" option is unchecked in msconfig."

Hi Robin, I found out this was in Advanced on the boot tab. I can confirm this was unchecked, when I checked it, it populated the field with 6144 which is the correct amount, I restarted the PC to see if this made a difference but it still says 3.25GB cap. Thanks.

Best regards,

Ash,

nctnl

6 Posts

December 18th, 2011 08:00

Hi all, thanks for replying!

@KirkD

This is a G33 board. Even if I just keep the one set of 4GB matched in, I still get the 3.25GB cap. Thanks.

@RobinBredin

I have checked in CPU-Z and the memory is all there. I have also run a memtest and checked in different machine, I can confirm these DIMMS are working.

"Also check the "Maximum Memory" option is unchecked in msconfig." <- where is this located? I could not see it in MSCONFIG. Thanks.

@MaryG

Hi Mary, I have checked in the BIOS and it is all recognised, I can confirm that the DIMMS are in the correct slots.

Thanks all, best regards,

Ash.

RobinBredin

4 Operator

 • 

3.7K Posts

December 18th, 2011 08:00

Have you tried running CPU-Z to see what memory is installed on your mobo, if it says 6GB, then it's your cards are at fauly. Also check the "Maximum Memory" option is unchecked in msconfig.

JFMXPS

1 Message

December 18th, 2011 09:00

I have the same problem with an XPS 8100 that has 16GB of RAM (2.96 usable). I went back to the 32bit operating system to allow a "C" complier work. Did you resolve your issue?

nctnl

6 Posts

December 18th, 2011 11:00

Hi JFMXPS. Yes I did resolve my issue, however my issue was mismatched RAM. Did you get the 16gb ram with your XPS or did you add some in yourself. Also did you check your board is compatible with 16gb ram? Just saw that you went back to 32 bit, 32 bit can't address that much RAM unfortunately, you will need 64 bit. Best regards, Ash.

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