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RAM Count Different In Windows An BIOS

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Why Is Windows Saying I Have 384 DDR RAM
When The BIOS Says I Have 512

And I Just Ran A Pitstop Test And It Says The Opposite

RAM installed 384 MB
Windows RAM 512 MB
Total RAM slots 4
Available RAM slots 1
Max RAM module size 32 MB
Memory Type 128+128+128+00;|Unknown|;T5
Level 1 Cache 128 KB
Level 2 Cache 256 KB
Speed Rating 3024 MB/s (133% of 19509 similar)

What The Hell

I Took Both Rams Out And Placed One By One In
And Booted
And Both On The Self Count As 256 In BIOS And Windows

When I Put Both 256 Blocks In It Says 512 And 384
I Am Confused I Dont Know Whether Windows Or The BIOS Is Right

and pitstop says i have 4 ram slots which is correct 2sd and 2ddr
but says my ram count is 128+128+128+0
But Its Actually 256+256

Now I Have 256+256=512 In To DDR Slots

I Am Asuming Maybe Windows Cant Interupt DDR
as well as sd so theres a conflict however
im not fully sure

Plz HeLP Me'

Thanx DSI INc
www.geocities.com/dark_shadow_innovatives

16 replies

by jlouis45

please check whether all the RAM are of the same type for eg. some ram are 128 PC 100 and some are 128 PC 133. This makes the ram count different. check one by one. u will find the faulty ram.

by dualinlinememorymodule

nah mate i now what ya saying i have checked and because there ddr
when i purchased there was only 266 ddr no 333/400
so i can ensure that they are 266fsb ram blocks of 256+256=512ddr 266 pc2100 184pin dimm Thanks any way bro

by dave.osborne

which version of windows are you running? Does 98 and some others have problems with 512 MB or more? How long ago did you upgrade the RAM? Is there another PC available for testing the sticks? Do you run a virus scan on a regular basis? Is yourBIOS up to date? Any of these or more could be a problem, and as always, make sure the RAM will work in your MB, not all RAM will work in all MB.

Hope this helps.

-Dave

by dualinlinememorymodule

Windows XP/ I Had Problems With DDR In 98 So I Use XP/ I Have Tested The Ram In Others They Say The Same/I Do Have A Virus Scanner And Run It Once Each Day And Is Always On Guard/ And I Run A Lavasoft Ad Aware Spyware Remover Every Day Also/Bios hasbeen flashed to newest date/Try all these bro Thanks Anyway Need More Help Ey!

by cg it

Which version of Windows? W9X [including ME] has this problem with memory at or above 512MB. I've had the same problem with these versions of Windows. W2K,NT,XP can handle the larger mem size but W9X just has this problem with it.

by yonah

the bios at startup also counts your level 1 and level 2 cach's together with your ram but not that much restore your system files at the dos level with your windows startup disk you have a corrupted himem system driver this will solve your problem .follow instructions in the help file

by thechas

I have a few ideas for you.

Does the motherboard have on-board video?
If the BIOS hard configures some RAM for video, it will not show up in Windows.

Check the motherboard manual / mfg for memory limitations.
Often, if you have a large memory module, you are limited on the size of the additional RAM modules.

Are the DDR DIMMs the same?
You may have an addressing issue between the 2 modules that is blocking 1/2 of the 2nd DIMM.

Next, depending on your version of Windows, there arestatements that can limit the amount of RAM that Windows uses.

In NT, W2K, XP the statement is in the boot.ini file.
You are looking for the line maxmem=

In Windows 9X, the line is in the system.ini file.

Look for the following line in the[386enh] section of the System.ini file:

MaxPhysPage=XXXXX

This limits the amount of physical RAM that Windows can access.

Chas

by dualinlinememorymodule

No Onboard Video/No DIMMs Onboard Support 1GB Each Slot/
Same DDR Dimms Both PC2100 DDR266 184Pin Same 2*256 Blue Slots
Acer Ram/
Windows XP/
Windows Detects 384 /Bios Detects 512 / ORCs And Direct ROM Detects 512/
Nah Thats Not The Problem ItsA Cause Between L1, L2Cache Causing HDD Slow Himem Also/ Cached Speed L1L2 Slow Assuming To ORC's/
Tryed That/
Tryed That To/
/?
/?
Try Most Of That But Its A HDD To L1 L2 Caching Problem Count The RAM Direct Via ROM To Windows Counting L1 And L2 Caching, Counting Only Ram To CDS (Caching Dos system) BIOS, CMOS POST Check And I Believe That The Ram Is Only Counting Via The BIOS Nor WIndows Windows Is Counting the L1 And L2 Caching Via HDD Nor RAM
Cause My BIOS Setting Disable Shadowing And Fast Caching Although I Have Tryed Editing Compats And BIOS Memory
??
Try The Above Mate Need More Help But Thanks For Providing Me With HELP
DSI INC
www.geocities.com/dark_shadow_innovatives
dst3@arach.net.au

by dualinlinememorymodule

no ati, nvidia with ms#board/

oi yeah but i not talking ramdac here im talking rom via mb to dimm thanx anyway but im not talking about vram

by rcom

Obviuosly one of the modules is only being read as half the actual size. This used to happen with dimms when they first came out. If PC100 were used on a board that only support PC66 the ram would come up as half. Never found out exactly what causedthat. I'm a little confused you're saying you have 2 modules but the diagnostic software is looking at them as 4 or 3 with one missing. I think your saying you have 2 DDR modules and the other 2 slots are open? Your best bet is to see what memory iscomaptible with you motherboard. I would say the issue is there. Some will mention problems with double-sided and so on.

by dualinlinememorymodule

Yeah Mate but the ram is for open slots because 2ddr and 2sd
however i have 2 dimm used and two sd open black=sd
blue=ddr\
the board support my ram as apacer which is what it is
apacer 256*256=512DDR count in bios rom =524 overclocking RAM
and the motherboard has the lastest flash
its a windows caching issue to do with the l1 and l2 caching solutions

Thanx Anyway

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