Memory issues with Vista64

O

opal

New Member
When I first built my PC and installed Vista Home Premium 64bit, 4gb of memory was showing. I have 2x2048 Corsair Dominator so it's not an issue with a faulty stick.

Up untill recently (last week or so) I have had issues with this. SP1 was installed and there was no problem on updating. The BIOS, system info and CPUZ show 4gb of memory so it's definately there, however task manager is only showing a number closer to 3gb.

I have no idea what brought on this issue as no changes have been made, one day on boot, task manager dropped to 3gb of memory. I have read up a little on this but I cannot seem to pinpoint any resolve for this issue. Memory mapping is enabled in my BIOS.

Specs are (if it helps at all):
Intel E8400
4gb Corsair Dominator 8500
HIS Radeon 3870X2 1GB DDR3
Maximus Formula x38

Does anyone have any further information on this issue and if there is any known fixes out there?

Edit - not sure if the memory is being allocated to the graphics card, or if it's related at all
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

Do you have on-board Video that is enabled? What is the exact memory level. Control Panel under System. It should give you the amount seen by Vista.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    pair of Intel E5430 quad core 2.66 GHz Xeons
    Motherboard
    Supermicro X7DWA-N server board
    Memory
    16GB DDR667
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB video card
    Hard Drives
    SAS RAID
There is no onboard memory

The control panel indicates 3070mb / 3072mb of memory

I am at work right now so can't check the exact figure. I would presume it would be 3072 as that would be the missing 1024mb to bring it up to the proper total of 4096mb.
 

My Computer

System One

Download memtest86 and burn it to a ISO CD. You can boot from it and test your RAM.

Memtest86.com - Memory Diagnostic

Try putting a different video card into your computer. If the RAM returns to normal, you might have a incompatibility issue. Do you have the latest motherboard BIOS? Can you upgrade the video card BIOS? Some video cards can be upgraded. What other devices and controllers are installed?
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    pair of Intel E5430 quad core 2.66 GHz Xeons
    Motherboard
    Supermicro X7DWA-N server board
    Memory
    16GB DDR667
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB video card
    Hard Drives
    SAS RAID
The RAM was fine up untill a certain point. The bios still detects all 4gb of it, so does system info and CPUZ, it seems to be windows isn't utilising all of it.

The BIOS is up to date, and like I said this happened one boot up out of the blue. Before that it was detecting all of it across task manager etc.

I don't see this as faulty memory as I am unaware of a 2gb stick suddenly loosing half its capacity. To me it just looks as Vista is causing the problem, as the ram is there and functioning, just Vista has decided to cut it down to 3gb.

Correct me if I am completely wrong though
 

My Computer

System One

It worked at one point. What changed in your computer? New CPU? New video card?

It does not hurt to rule out bad RAM or flaky RAM. Can you reset the CMOS and put the settings back in. My Tyan boards can get a corrupted BIOS causing issues. One board's CMOS would corrupt and the floppy would not work. Does your motherboard fully support Vista x64? Did you install all the current chipset drivers for your board in Vista x64? It could be your video card and motherboard are not completely compatible and the memory hole is not working properly. My Tyan Thunder K8W did not fully support my AMD 265 dual core Opterons. The memory hole would not work properly with them installed. Does your motherboard fully support your CPU?
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    pair of Intel E5430 quad core 2.66 GHz Xeons
    Motherboard
    Supermicro X7DWA-N server board
    Memory
    16GB DDR667
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB video card
    Hard Drives
    SAS RAID
It is all fully compatible.

The CMOS has been reset very recently and that has not helped.

Nothing has been changed since, it is a new build and I have not added nor removed anything. There are no other components installed in the system except RAM/MB/CPU/Graphics/HDD/DVD/PSU
 

My Computer

System One

On a x64 OS with memory hole enabled, you should see all the RAM unless your video card or another component is not capable due to incompatibility issues of addressing properly. Do you have a different video card you could try? See if that is the problem.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    pair of Intel E5430 quad core 2.66 GHz Xeons
    Motherboard
    Supermicro X7DWA-N server board
    Memory
    16GB DDR667
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB video card
    Hard Drives
    SAS RAID
Try running vista's Memory Diagnostics Tool and see if that finds anything.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Workstation
    Manufacturer/Model
    doofenshmirtz evil incorporated
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5950X
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Formula
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO Black 64GB (4x16GB) 3600MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT 16GB ROG Strix LC OC
    Sound Card
    Creative
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 x27" Dell U2724D & 1 x 34" Dell U3415W
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2 2280 PCI-e 4.0 x4 NVMe Solid State
    Drive
    PSU
    1500W ThermalTake Toughpower
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT
    Cooling
    Enermax Liqtech 240
    Keyboard
    Surface Ergonomic.
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
    Other Info
    WinTV NovaTD
    HP CP1515n Color Laser
    Sony BD-5300S-0B Blu-ray Writer
    Microsoft LifeCam Cinema
    APC 750i Smart UPS
  • Operating System
    windows 10
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Pro 3
    CPU
    1.9GHz Intel Core i5-4300U (dual-core, 3MB cache, up to 2.9GHz with Turbo Boost)
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4400
    Monitor(s) Displays
    12" Multi Touch
    Screen Resolution
    2160 x 144
    Hard Drives
    128GB
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Keyboard
    yes
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
Reset the CMOS and redo all the memory settings: Memory hole enabled, memory remapping, ACPI enabled, etc. Maybe something in the CMOS was disabled.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    pair of Intel E5430 quad core 2.66 GHz Xeons
    Motherboard
    Supermicro X7DWA-N server board
    Memory
    16GB DDR667
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB video card
    Hard Drives
    SAS RAID
Get the Memtest CD ISO and burn it to a CD and run it one stick at a time.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    pair of Intel E5430 quad core 2.66 GHz Xeons
    Motherboard
    Supermicro X7DWA-N server board
    Memory
    16GB DDR667
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB video card
    Hard Drives
    SAS RAID
Hi opal,

Check your system configuration settings. Click on the start orb and type 'msconfig' into the search box and press 'Enter/Return'. Note that you will need to provide administrative credentials. The 'System Configuration' dialogue will appear. Select the 'Boot' tab and then click 'Advanced options...'. On the 'BOOT Advanced Options' dialogue, ensure that the checkbox next to 'Maximum memory:' is clear as illustrated below.
Capture.JPG
Click 'OK' twice to exit the configuration utility. The following dialogue will appear.
Capture1.JPG
In order for any changes you made to the system configuration to become active, you will need to restart your machine. Close all open programs and click 'Restart' to continue.
Dwarf
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
I think you're on to something there Dwarf!

I do remember checking that box to address an issue with atikmdag stopping responding and crashing the system.

I will uncheck the box later on and see if it resolves the issue, in that case it's another stupid end user messing things up!

I'll let you know how I get on.

Once again, appreciate the input

Edit: All sorted, thanks for the help - that checkbox was the issue all along
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

Hi opal,

Glad to hear that you have resolved your issue. In many cases, the cause (and solution) of a problem is simply staring you in the face, but it sometimes takes an outsider to look and see what you are missing.
Dwarf
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
And, worse, you do something because someone tells you to / to fix another issue, but you never correlate that action with your resent condition.

We all fall into this trap - thank goodness Dwarf was able to come in thinking outside the box....
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64 Insider Preview (Skip Ahead) latest build
    Manufacturer/Model
    The Beast Model V (homebrew)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 965 EE @ 3.6 GHz
    Motherboard
    eVGA X58 Classified 3 (141-GT-E770-A1)
    Memory
    3 * Mushkin 998981 Redline Enhanced triple channel DDR3 4 GB CL7 DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800)
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-3979-KB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 * Lenovo LT2323pwA Widescreeen
    Screen Resolution
    2 * 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SanDisk Ultra SDSSDHII-960G-G25 960 GB SATA III SSD (System)
    Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SATA III SSD (User Tree)
    2 * Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA II Mech. HD
    Seagate ST1500DL001-9VT15L Barracuda 7200.12 1.5 TB S
    PSU
    Thermaltake Black Widow TX TR2 850W 80+ Bronze Semi-Mod ATX
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (Black)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 (CPU, dual 140 mm fans on radiator) + Air (2 *
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 (gen 2)
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared)
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Lightspeed Gigabit duplex
  • Operating System
    Sabayon Linux (current, weekly updates, 5.1.x kernel)
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad E545
    CPU
    AMD A6-5350M APU
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon HD (Embedded)
    Sound Card
    Conextant 20671 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Lenovo 15" Matte
    Screen Resolution
    1680 * 1050
    Hard Drives
    INTEL Cherryvill 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SSD
    PSU
    Lenovo
    Case
    Lenovo
    Cooling
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared) | Synaptics TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex
opal,


try this:), go to your mobo bios
- Advance - Advance Chip Settings - NorthBridge Chipset Config - ENABLE MEMORY REMAP FEATURE.

i also have the same problem as yours and i altready solved it a month ago.
i hope this will help you a lot.:):):cool:
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    AKO.
    CPU
    Core i7 940
    Motherboard
    Asus Rampage II extreme
    Memory
    6gb Patriot 1600 Mhz 9-9-9 24
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX 9800 Gx2
    Sound Card
    SupremeFx x-fi
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer AL2424W
    Screen Resolution
    1900X1200
    Hard Drives
    western digital
    2x 320 gb
    PSU
    Super Flower 1000 watts
    Case
    Cooler Master Cosmos S
    Cooling
    Intel stock
    Keyboard
    Enermaz
    Mouse
    Logicool
    Other Info
    Yamaha Tss-15
    5.1 speaker
Angelo: you missed this:

Edit: All sorted, thanks for the help - that checkbox was the issue all along
Click to expand...

And your fix was already suggested.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64 Insider Preview (Skip Ahead) latest build
    Manufacturer/Model
    The Beast Model V (homebrew)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 965 EE @ 3.6 GHz
    Motherboard
    eVGA X58 Classified 3 (141-GT-E770-A1)
    Memory
    3 * Mushkin 998981 Redline Enhanced triple channel DDR3 4 GB CL7 DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800)
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-3979-KB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 * Lenovo LT2323pwA Widescreeen
    Screen Resolution
    2 * 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SanDisk Ultra SDSSDHII-960G-G25 960 GB SATA III SSD (System)
    Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SATA III SSD (User Tree)
    2 * Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA II Mech. HD
    Seagate ST1500DL001-9VT15L Barracuda 7200.12 1.5 TB S
    PSU
    Thermaltake Black Widow TX TR2 850W 80+ Bronze Semi-Mod ATX
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (Black)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 (CPU, dual 140 mm fans on radiator) + Air (2 *
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 (gen 2)
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared)
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Lightspeed Gigabit duplex
  • Operating System
    Sabayon Linux (current, weekly updates, 5.1.x kernel)
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad E545
    CPU
    AMD A6-5350M APU
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon HD (Embedded)
    Sound Card
    Conextant 20671 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Lenovo 15" Matte
    Screen Resolution
    1680 * 1050
    Hard Drives
    INTEL Cherryvill 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SSD
    PSU
    Lenovo
    Case
    Lenovo
    Cooling
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared) | Synaptics TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex
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