Vista - Vista Ultimate 64 doesnt show correct RAM

Hello, I have Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit edition, CPU E6550 (4gbRAM 4*1gb
Kensington ddr677), p35-ICH9 motherboard (checked, most recent bios) ATI
2600pro catalyist 7.10 (working, but small secondary output problem) 320Gb
SATA2 harddisk.

It is a brand new computer, XP pro was on before, then I realised i could go
64bit, ( all hell broke loose) installed Vista 64 Ultimate.

The point is that in the Bios 4Gb RAM is displayed, yet Vista believes that
there is 3325mb avaliable, as stated above, ive checked the bios, its the
most recent.
I have also looked around for this 'memory mapper/remapper' solution,
however i can't see anything in the Bios that looks like that function.
Also I have checked and tried to install the microsoft update thats meant to
fix the RAM problem, but my Vista said, "this version of windows doesn't need
the update".

So can anyone help?
Does the 'memory mapper/remapper' has a different name in the bios?
Or is there some other magical solution to this Vista problem.
Calling all wizards!

This is not a Vista problem, but rather with your motherboard, but it isn't really a problem. I'm using the ASUS-A8N32-Sli-Deluxe. When I'm in the BIOS, it reports that 4096KB memory is installed, but only 3325KB is usable.

This is because of 32-Bit device memory mapping. One or more devices in our motherboards has reserved that memory space for their own use, and that memory is thus not available to the system. If possible, remove some devices to see if the available memory increases. If the device is on-board, disabling it in the BIOS won't help, as the memory mapping happens on the hardware level.

Until x64 computing becomes mainstream, and add-on devices are 64-Bit aware, this will always be the case.

On 12-Nov-2007, =?Utf-8?B?RGF2aWQ=?= <David@xxxxxx>
wrote:
I have the same problem with 4GB (expensive) Crucial RAM.
As far as I can determine the 'memory mapper/remapper'
is a BIOS function, and that my Asus P5VD2-X doesn't
have this implemented in its BIOS.
Won't be buying Asus again.
My Vista Ultimate 64bit has all the available updates..
If anyone can suggest a solution please post it here.

There are 3 possible BIOS settings which need to be correctly set, if they
are available.

Memory hole needs to be enabled, and may have separate software and hardware
settings. There is also MTRR.

You will usually need the latest BIOS for your motherboard for these to be
available and they are often only available as advanced or hidden settings -
you need to know the keystroke combination to reveal them. Look in the
motherboard manufacturer's forums as there will be discussion there on how
to find these settings, if they are available to the user.




"David" <David@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:5BCFAF92-81A7-480A-8FEF-5AD9D170E273@xxxxxx

Hi, I read what you have written and I think to myself, that makes senses, i
agree, 32bit devices need 32bit memory mapping.

Then all i can think is B@#lls!

Why can't the manufacturers sort it out, motherboard for 64bit processor,
make the things totally 64bit, spanking new SATA2 devices, why not 64bit, its
not like this only came out yesterday, the 64bit elements been kicking around
for about 3 years.

B@#lls.
"dzomlija" wrote:

I agree wholeheartedly. But I believe the hardware [add-ons] manufacturers stick to 32-Bit addressing for compatibility purposes. 64-Bit CPUs may have been around for 3 years or so now, but the manufacturers have yet to play catchup.

To bring the matter into perspective:

When did 32-Bit computing become mainstream? That would be with the release of Windows 95, and yet 32-Bit processors where around for several years before that in the form of the 386 CPUs.

When 64 Bit becomes mainstream, and 32-Bit is considered retro, then perhaps we'll see a change. This change could happen sooner than we think, because 64-Bit is gaining momentum. They are available, but finding a motherboard that supports more than the 32-Bit limit of 4GB Ram is still an excercise in patience. And even then, many of the on-board devices still use 32-Bit addressing.

"David" <David@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:5BCFAF92-81A7-480A-8FEF-5AD9D170E273@xxxxxx
You think YOU have problems? I have Ultimate 64 and 8 GB RAM and it
shows up as 7365 MB (yes Megabytes!).

Tom Lake

Divide that number by 1024 to get the GB value. 7365MB / 1024 = 7.19GB

Again, the difference is from the memory addresses reserved by the devices attached to the motherboard.

"Dominic Payer" <dcp@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:31B0A59B-68FB-49EC-8E46-F5DACC8580EA@xxxxxxFWIW: The motherboards I've used the past couple of years have these options
from the start.

But yeah, defintively upgrade the BIOS. If the memory hole options are still
not available, contact the MB manufacturer and tell them to fix their BIOS.
(or simply return your board if at all possible)

To the original poster: The memory hole lets your system remap the memory
sticks above the 2^32 address line. 32-bit Windows will see only 3GB, but
64-bit Windows will finally see everything. The exception is 32-bit Windows
Server which (w/PAE enabled) will also see all memory, but then you will
have difficulties with badly written device drivers (nVidia after version
79.11 silently dropped PAE support and will not let you fire up any games).

Both my laptop and desktop systems see 4GB (to be precise: my desktop system
now runs 32-bit Windows again, but I will change back to 64-bit soon).

--
Rune

To Toml_12953@xxxxxx yes you do indeed have problems.

To everyone else thanks very much for the input, the memory hole option is
in my bios and the other day i tried that, just to see what would hapen, and
it didnt work.

I tend to agree with dzomlija's answer although i haven't tested it yet.

"dzomlija" wrote: