I wanted the highest amount of RAM available in my Dell desktop, so I opted for the 4GB of RAM memory instead of the 2 GB of RAM. It's kind of frustrating seeing only 2.99 GB of RAM in my Computer info (when I click on "Properties" in "My Computer.").
2007-01-13 08:55:37 · 15 answers · asked by livewirecrusader 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
the only way to find out is to open the case to find out for sure...this might void your warranty if it has one of those stickers on the back.
i would contact dell but im sure you only have 3 Gb's
2007-01-13 09:02:56 · answer #1 · answered by jo p 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First, here is a little bit of background. A 32-bit machines use memory addresses that are 32 bits (4 octets) wide. The range of integer values that can be stored in 32 bits is 0 through 4,294,967,295. (Or â2,147,483,648 through 2,147,483,647 using two's complement encoding, but it ends up being the same nonetheless.) Hence, a processor with 32-bit memory addresses can directly access 4 GB of memory. HOWEVER, only 2GB of dedicated memory can be assigned to a particular process. (Note: 64-bit computing can handle up to 16 exabytes of RAM, which is absolutely immense - one thousand gigabytes is one terabyte, one thousand terabytes is one petabyte, and one thousand petabytes is one exabyte.)
The memory that you are not seeing is NOT wasted! It is reserved by the so called "option roms" of your PCI-devices like the SATA controller, network card, graphics card (even if it is AGP), IDE controller, USB, Floppy, etc. This is a good thing! it makes everything else on your computer run faster! You honestly don't need all 4GB for your OS, do you?
If you really want all 4GB for windows, you can try this: (not guaranteeing anything, since I don't know anyone with 4GB of memory so i don't know if it actually works...)
Goto the run box and type msconfig. This will bring up the System Configuration Utility Box . Click on the BOOT.INI tab. Look for ADVANCED OPTIONS Button. Click this button. You should see at the very top the following /MAXMEM=, if there is an check mark in the box next to it uncheck it. Click okay and reboot your PC.
If that doesn't help, you can try doing it in your BIOS. However, it depends on what motherboard you have, as well as the options the BIOS provides.
Windows XP service pack 2 introduced a new method for loading card device drivers in the 2>4gb mem range. So you will never get the full amount shown in winxp even if you do get it all shown correctly in the bios. However, if you still have a copy of xp with sp1 laying around using this you CAN get it to show the full amount in the bios AND windows.
sources: wikipedia, google search term: windows memory 4gb
2007-01-13 17:02:55 · answer #2 · answered by Eric V 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
this could be as a result of your operating system (windows xp home only recognises 3GB Ram).
your computers graphics card could be using up the remainder. or go to your computers system bios, and read the ram status to see if the system has 4GB ram recognised. and make sure the graphics card has enough additional or system ram as it requires.
for example my ATI x1900 with 512MB onboard ram requires an additional 256MB of system RAM to operate at peak or optimal efficiency.
alternatively see http://widgets.yahoo.com download the widget engine FREE. now if your widgets do not have the Memory Gauge.widget listed then look it up on the yahoo widgets page. run it using the widget engine, right click on the icon that is now on your dexk top, you will see (greyed out) your systems current RAM usage in the form xMB of xGB physical memory free and like wise for the virtual memory, where x in the above example is the actual amount of memory digits (0-9) on your system.
if that makes sense, good luck.
2007-01-13 17:10:06 · answer #3 · answered by thebestnamesarealreadytaken0909 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to Start, then right click on My computer, - properties. That will show you all you have.
You probably looked somewhere where only the available RAM shows.
2007-01-13 16:59:08 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Only 2.99gb????????????wow
what do you need so much memory for???
if you do have 4gb and the machine 2.99 0nly. you need to fix the setting bcause windows is using 1.1 gb thats too much!
anyways i thing you are wrong the most you can have is 4 slots at 512 a piece is only 2 gb. if sol check your setting. and see why windows is using so much mem.
2007-01-13 17:08:46 · answer #5 · answered by mauripaladi 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
That is the amount that is being recognised. Many systems can be loaded with way past their capacity but the OS can only "See" a certain amount.
Either you need an OS upgrade, or update your BIOS
2007-01-13 17:00:01 · answer #6 · answered by Mictlan_KISS 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In short, windows cant support 4GB RAM module.
To be sure of this you can install any *nix distribution as they support this kinda RAM value.
2007-01-13 18:19:42 · answer #7 · answered by surjeett 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you have to be running a 64 bit version of XP for it to show you the 4 gig.. i also run 4 gig, but with vista(beta) Vista shows all 4 gig, where my XP only showed 3. hope this helps!
2007-01-13 17:01:49 · answer #8 · answered by firemedic 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the 2.99 is the AVAILABLE amount you have. the other 1.01 is used by the system on a constant basis. there's nothing wrong with your pc.
good luck!!
2007-01-13 17:01:07 · answer #9 · answered by Silver Thunderbird 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Click on system info instead. Or click on run and type in msinfo32.
2007-01-13 17:01:19 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋