Win 7 64Bit install. 4GB RAM showing as (3.50GB usable)

Hi All

I have successfully installed my MSDN 64Bit version of Windows 7 Ultimate on
a DELL Dimension 9100 PC.

The problem I am having is with the RAM. The PC has 4GB of ram that shows up
fine within the BIOS. When I go into the Windows 7 System Control Panel it
shows as 4.00GB (3.50 usable). I can understand this will happen with a
32bit operating system, but this is a new install of the 64bit version of
Windows 7 Ultimate. I have the latest BIOS version installed. My system spec
is as follows:

DELL Dimension 9100
Intell(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 2.80GHz 2.79GHz / Dual Processor
64Bit (Intel EM64T)
4 x 1GB DDR2 SDRAM

When I use the full 4GB the 7 System Control Panel shows as 4.00GB (3.50
usable).
When I remove 2GB the 7 System Control Panel shows as 2.00GB.

Is this a bug, and if so is there a workaround? Maybe this is normal and
should happen.

Please help
Alan

I don't think it's a bug, I think it's the limitations of the hardware.
According to the Dell documentation your hardware limit is 4GB. The
1/2GB lost may be taken up by the motherboard or assigned to the video,
or any number of reasons. I think you're just going to have to live
with what you've got.


Alan Kent wrote:
> Hi All
>
> I have successfully installed my MSDN 64Bit version of Windows 7
> Ultimate on a DELL Dimension 9100 PC.
>
> The problem I am having is with the RAM. The PC has 4GB of ram that
> shows up fine within the BIOS. When I go into the Windows 7 System
> Control Panel it shows as 4.00GB (3.50 usable). I can understand this
> will happen with a 32bit operating system, but this is a new install of
> the 64bit version of Windows 7 Ultimate. I have the latest BIOS version
> installed. My system spec is as follows:
>
> DELL Dimension 9100
> Intell(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 2.80GHz 2.79GHz / Dual Processor
> 64Bit (Intel EM64T)
> 4 x 1GB DDR2 SDRAM
>
> When I use the full 4GB the 7 System Control Panel shows as 4.00GB (3.50
> usable).
> When I remove 2GB the 7 System Control Panel shows as 2.00GB.
>
> Is this a bug, and if so is there a workaround? Maybe this is normal and
> should happen.
>
> Please help
> Alan

To have all 4GB available to use you would have to find and enable a
Memory Remap setting in the BIOS. But I think the Dimension 9100 was
only sold with XP, a 32-bit OS, so the setting probably does not exist
even though the hardware is capable of using all 4GB.


On 01/09/2009 16:26, Alan Kent wrote:
> Hi All
>
> I have successfully installed my MSDN 64Bit version of Windows 7
> Ultimate on a DELL Dimension 9100 PC.
>
> The problem I am having is with the RAM. The PC has 4GB of ram that
> shows up fine within the BIOS. When I go into the Windows 7 System
> Control Panel it shows as 4.00GB (3.50 usable). I can understand this
> will happen with a 32bit operating system, but this is a new install of
> the 64bit version of Windows 7 Ultimate. I have the latest BIOS version
> installed. My system spec is as follows:
>
> DELL Dimension 9100
> Intell(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 2.80GHz 2.79GHz / Dual Processor
> 64Bit (Intel EM64T)
> 4 x 1GB DDR2 SDRAM
>
> When I use the full 4GB the 7 System Control Panel shows as 4.00GB (3.50
> usable).
> When I remove 2GB the 7 System Control Panel shows as 2.00GB.
>
> Is this a bug, and if so is there a workaround? Maybe this is normal and
> should happen.
>
> Please help
> Alan

Confirm that your machine has the latest BIOS firmware installed.

http://support.dell.com/support/down...g=en&TabIndex=

As Dominic suggested, check for a setting to remap addresses. If all that is
OK, you probably have as good as it gets with that MoBo and BIOS.

Tom


"Alan Kent" <> wrote in message
news:%...
> Hi All
>
> I have successfully installed my MSDN 64Bit version of Windows 7 Ultimate
> on a DELL Dimension 9100 PC.
>
> The problem I am having is with the RAM. The PC has 4GB of ram that shows
> up fine within the BIOS. When I go into the Windows 7 System Control Panel
> it shows as 4.00GB (3.50 usable). I can understand this will happen with a
> 32bit operating system, but this is a new install of the 64bit version of
> Windows 7 Ultimate. I have the latest BIOS version installed. My system
> spec is as follows:
>
> DELL Dimension 9100
> Intell(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 2.80GHz 2.79GHz / Dual Processor
> 64Bit (Intel EM64T)
> 4 x 1GB DDR2 SDRAM
>
> When I use the full 4GB the 7 System Control Panel shows as 4.00GB (3.50
> usable).
> When I remove 2GB the 7 System Control Panel shows as 2.00GB.
>
> Is this a bug, and if so is there a workaround? Maybe this is normal and
> should happen.
>
> Please help
> Alan

If he really has a 32-bit only motherboard and cpu then how did he install
Win7 64-bit?

"Jim" <> wrote in message
news: ...
> 945's memory controller is only 32bit or something like that so your SOL.
>

Jerry wrote:
> If he really has a 32-bit only motherboard and cpu then how did he install
> Win7 64-bit?

Because the CPU supports 64bit, but the motherbord/chipset only has a
32bit address bus. Also, 32bit CPUs have supported 36bit addressing for
years, but that doesn't mean all boards supports it.

I have almost the exact same system specs in a Sony wuth the same chipset
running Vista 64. Where are you seeing the lower memory number ?


"Alan Kent" <> wrote in message
news:%...
> Hi All
>
> I have successfully installed my MSDN 64Bit version of Windows 7 Ultimate
> on a DELL Dimension 9100 PC.
>
> The problem I am having is with the RAM. The PC has 4GB of ram that shows
> up fine within the BIOS. When I go into the Windows 7 System Control Panel
> it shows as 4.00GB (3.50 usable). I can understand this will happen with a
> 32bit operating system, but this is a new install of the 64bit version of
> Windows 7 Ultimate. I have the latest BIOS version installed. My system
> spec is as follows:
>
> DELL Dimension 9100
> Intell(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 2.80GHz 2.79GHz / Dual Processor
> 64Bit (Intel EM64T)
> 4 x 1GB DDR2 SDRAM
>
> When I use the full 4GB the 7 System Control Panel shows as 4.00GB (3.50
> usable).
> When I remove 2GB the 7 System Control Panel shows as 2.00GB.
>
> Is this a bug, and if so is there a workaround? Maybe this is normal and
> should happen.
>
> Please help
> Alan

"Jerry" <> wrote in message
news:%...
> If he really has a 32-bit only motherboard and cpu then how did he install
> Win7 64-bit?
>
> "Jim" <> wrote in message
> news: ...
>> 945's memory controller is only 32bit or something like that so your SOL.
>>
>
>
>

The 945 Lakeport chipset does not support memory remapping.
It will take a 64 bit CPU, and run a 64 bit OS, as the data bus is
64 bits.

He does not have a 32bit motherboard he has a motherboard which will support
64 bit CPUs but which will not support more then 4MB of installed memory.

"Ian D" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> "Jerry" <> wrote in message
> news:%...
>> If he really has a 32-bit only motherboard and cpu then how did he
>> install Win7 64-bit?
>>
>> "Jim" <> wrote in message
>> news: ...
>>> 945's memory controller is only 32bit or something like that so your
>>> SOL.
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
> The 945 Lakeport chipset does not support memory remapping.
> It will take a 64 bit CPU, and run a 64 bit OS, as the data bus is
> 64 bits.
>

In article <>,
Curious <> wrote:
>He does not have a 32bit motherboard he has a motherboard which will support
>64 bit CPUs but which will not support more then 4MB of installed memory.
>
>"Ian D" <> wrote in message
>news:...
>>
>> "Jerry" <> wrote in message
>> news:%...
>>> If he really has a 32-bit only motherboard and cpu then how did he
>>> install Win7 64-bit?
>>>
>>> "Jim" <> wrote in message
>>> news: ...
>>>> 945's memory controller is only 32bit or something like that so your
>>>> SOL.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>> The 945 Lakeport chipset does not support memory remapping.
>> It will take a 64 bit CPU, and run a 64 bit OS, as the data bus is
>> 64 bits.
>>


Can I leap to the conslusion that if HP puts 6GB of RAM in a cheap
desktop and ships it with a 64 bit OS, the system is fully 64-bit
datapaths?

(Even video, which in this case is on-mobo in the G33 coprocessor
chip.)



--
Al Dykes
News is something someone wants to suppress, everything else is advertising.
- Lord Northcliffe, publisher of the Daily Mail