Douglas Mutay asks:
I have Windows 7 installed in my laptop and recently found that the OS is only recognize 2Gb of my RAM while I have 4GB of RAM installed.
Is one of my RAM modules faulty or is there any setting I need to adjust? The same happened when I installed Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
I have checked the BIOS and it shows 4Gb or memory available. Thank you for your support.
Browser: Chrome 21
System: Windows
Tagged: computer memory, hardware issue, ram, windows 7, windows 8, windows issue
System: Windows
Tagged: computer memory, hardware issue, ram, windows 7, windows 8, windows issue
14 Answers -
Bruce Epper
October 18, 2012There probably isn’t anything wrong with your RAM modules since the BIOS is recognizing the entire 4GB. I would assume that you are running a 32-bit OS which will limit you to being able to use 4GB in the system, but the system will also “steal” some of that address space for the hardware in the system (especially video cards). You can get around this limitation by using a 64-bit operating system or using less demanding video and networking hardware in the system.
Thank you Bruce for the answer. Yes, I am actually using a 32-bit OS and will surely try a 64-bit to see if it will resolve the issue. But I remember I had in the past to remove the original OS that was in 64-bits because it was not compatible with most of the software I use that was build for 32-bit.
October 18, 2012thank you Bruce for the explanation
October 18, 2012In general I agree.
But from personal experience it could also be a not properly seated RAM or CPU. Last time I changed the thermal compound on a system the CPU wasn’t properly seated afterwards which resulted in the BIOS stating 4GB RAM and Win7 saying “4GB (2GB usable)”
October 18, 2012the 32-bit OS is not at fault here, if windows 32-bit was the issue here then it would report around 3-3.3gb of ram.
its most likely an issue with the BIOS while the BIOS has been can read the chip size of 2x 2GB for a total of 4 it is only setup to use up to 2GB you see this a lot with the intel 945-965 chipsets
October 18, 2012I have to say that just because the BIOS fully recognizes the RAM…doesn’t mean there’s nothing wrong with it. I had a faulty RAM module…and my system(including Windows) recognized all of my RAM(8GB).
October 18, 2012Rajaa Chowdhury
October 18, 2012Maybe you are using 32 bit Windows. Use 64 bit Windows to resolve the issue.
Kannon Y
October 18, 2012It might be possible that your video card is siphoning off around 1.5 gigs of RAM. Bruce mentioned it as a possibility; in my opinion, your integrated video card is the most likely culprit.
Most laptops use integrated GPUs, which are referred to as Integrated Graphics Processor or IGP for short, which lack dedicated RAM.
These units allocate your laptop’s RAM in place of dedicated memory (which is pretty terrible for frame rate at high resolutions). But on some of the newer laptops, which are heavily dependent on this kind of memory, there can be substantial diversions of system memory to the IGP.
You can test this out by going into your BIOS settings and looking for memory that’s been allocated to the IGP. Unless you game a lot, you can get away with the minimum setting for memory allocation to the IGP. However, if you do go into your BIOS, be extremely careful and make sure to not make any changes unless you’re sure about what it is you’re doing. Good luck!
Thanks Kannon, I will check the BIOS and look for the IGP. But don’t you think 2Gb just for video memory is a lot? And if the video card is my culprit, how much RAM should I allocate for it. I am not really a gamer and I use my laptop for normal use like typing, video, etc.
October 18, 2012I believe max any 32bit version of Windows will see is 3.5GB, regardless on if you have a shared graphics or dedicated graphics.
If you want to see more of your RAM, you will need to lower how much is allocated to the shared graphics, or switch to 64bit Windows.
October 18, 2012What version of Windows are you using? Like the name and edition. If you’re using Starter edition…I believe that would be your culprit.
October 18, 2012I am using Windows 7 Ultimate edition and I even tried the Windows 8 Consumer preview. but both 32-bits.
October 18, 2012On an Intel system 1.5 GB is way too much draw. IGP on an Intel chipset at max usually only takes about 500MB. Maybe there are some BIOS that draw more, but I’ve never heard of them.
Ha14 mentioned that the hardware vendor may have, by default, allocated memory to the OS kernel, using a feature called PAE. PAE allows more than 4GB of RAM to be used in a 32-bit operating system.
This is the first time I’ve heard of this feature, but it sounds quite credible. Because it allows for optimal RAM allocation, it’s actually a good thing then. In a laptop, in general, 64-bit operating systems have more overhead and consequently have a reduced battery operating life span. 32-bit systems generally run for longer with less heat production.
October 19, 2012For references here are the specs of my laptop. It’s a Dell Inspiron 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-3210M processor (3M Cache)
October 18, 2012Display 17″ High Definition (720p) LED Display with Truelife
Memory3 4GB 4 Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz
Hard Drive 750GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive
Optical Drive 8X Tray Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Video Card Intel® HD Graphics 4000
mmaduekwe stanley
October 18, 2012You are using a 32bit version of your OS.
Try installing a 64bit version of your preferred OS to utilise more than 2Gb of RAM because 32bit OS are limited to use just a maximum of 2GB RAM .
mmaduekwe stanley
October 18, 2012You are using a 32bit version of your OS. Try installing a 64bit version of your preferred OS to utilise more than 2Gb of RAM because 32bit OS are limited to use just a maximum of 2GB RAM .
Wouldn’t simply expanding your PC’s memory capacity be more effective than upgrading form a 32-bit to a 64-bit OS? My PC is a Dell Precision Workstation 690 with 4GB of RAM installed, but is expandable to a maximum of 32 GB. I don’t need that much RAM, as it’s my home computer. Would simply doubling its RAM capacity to 8 GB do the trick?
November 16, 2012ha14
October 18, 2012try to do a memtest using hirens boot cd
http://www.hiren.info/pages/bootcd
go to run and type msinfo32 check the ram and see how much is reported.
Open resource monitor and check Memory section
32bit Windows has a limit of 2GB memory for the user application space and the rest being reserved for the kernel
http://blogs.technet.com/b/marcelofartura/archive/2006/09/14/3gb-pae-awe-what-basic.aspx
If Physical Address Extension is an option for your system Windows will activate it on its own.
Also check if your ram are correctly inserted.
-take one of the ram out
-start pc, if it starts well then this ram is good
-do the same with the second one.
try Crucial SYstem Scanner
http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/
see what will report
Boni Oloff
October 18, 2012You just need to use X64 version of windows,..
Paul Pruitt
October 18, 2012I looked up your processor: http://ark.intel.com/products/67355/Intel-Core-i5-3210M-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-3_10-GHz-rPGA
It appears to be a 64 bit processor so 64Bit Windows would work.
Dimal Chandrasiri
October 18, 2012go for a 64 bit windows version.. 32 bit only recognizes maximum of 2GB.
No. It recognizes 3 – 3.5GB of RAM. Depending on the hardware config.
October 18, 2012Alex Figueiredo
October 18, 2012Try windows 7 x64 version. Works fast and recognize the full amount of memory
Sam Mackay
October 20, 2012Maybe this will help – it worked for me!
http://www.unawave.de/windows-7-tipps/32-bit-ram-barrier.html?lang=EN
Jim Chambers
October 20, 2012Check for updated BIOS and chipset driver on Dell site, download and install. Reseat SODIMM’s using contact cleaner.
Douglas Mutay
October 26, 2012Thank you all for support and ideas. I have installed the 64bits and bam! All my full amount of RAM is now available! Thanks
venkatesh
November 6, 2012How can I make Windows recognize my full amount of RAM?……….