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Half the RAM?

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11 replies

by wancona

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I have an Hp-Compaq 6820s (laptop) running Windows Vista Business (32-Bit). I recently upgraded my RAM from 2 GBs to 4 GBs. However, the system properties still reads only 2 GBs of RAM. How do I increase the RAM on my computer to use the maximum amount of RAM?

11 replies

by larryd4

Check you manual or the HP=Compaq support site, I'll bet the laptop can only handle 2 Gigs of Ram.

by wancona

I'll have to check the bios and see what the reading is. I went to crucial.com and did a memory scan, and ordered the memory from a reseller. I figured if it was the wrong memory, it wouldn't run at all right?

If it is the BIOS, would I have to change anything for the memory to be read correctly?

by oh smeg

You should always Open the BIOS the next time you start the unit and check to see what the System is Recognizing in the Form of RAM. Then Save the Changes as you exit BIOS so that the system has a record of what is actually Fitted tot he unit. It will them allocate resources according to what the BIOS thinks it has available.

In this case if this has not been done I would imagine that the system is only allowing the first 2 GIG to be Mapped and your OS is only working with what BIOS thinks is available.

Col

by technogeek-1995

You need a 64-bit Windows to run with 4gb ram. Only 3gb of ram can be used with 32-bit.

by wancona

I thought a 32 bit OS supported up to 4 GBs of RAM. I have another Vista Business laptop that is running 4 GBs of RAM (bought that way).

by xnavydk

NOTE: This chart does not represent all possible memory configurations. Due to the non-industry
standard nature of some third-party memory modules, we strongly recommend using only HP branded
memory modules to ensure compatibility. If you mix memory speeds, the system will perform at the lower
memory speed. Full availability of 4 GB of memory requires Windows Vista Business 64-bit or Linux.
With Windows 32-bit operating systems, the amount of usable memory is dependent upon your
configuration, so that above 3 GB all memory may not be available due to system resource
requirements.

by wancona

I read that part in the manual as well. However, I have 2 - 2GBs SODIMM DDR2 sticks in there, and it reads as if I have one. Or it reads as if it is only reading half the RAM on each stick. I checked the BIOS, and it reads 2048 MBs of RAM, which is 2 GBs. The sticks I replaced are matching 1 GB sticks. I would be happy if I could get it to read 3.5 GBs, or even 3 GBs.

by oh smeg

You may have High Density when this system can only use Low Density RAM.

When systems are setup like that only 50% of the actual RAM Fitted is available to the system as the system p[b]Can Not[/b] make use of the High Density RAM.

Double check that you actually ordered the right type and that you received what you ordered. Even then there is the possibility that it is Mislabeled.

Col

by thechas

Usually, when the BIOS sees only 1/2 of the installed RAM it means that the RAM is NOT compatible with the hardware. Often, this is because the chip-set and BIOS cannot deal with higher density RAM. If the new RAM has the same number or fewer chips on the modules than the old RAM, it is higher density RAM.

As far as the 32-BIT OS 4 GB limit, that is indeed a hard and fast limit. However, up to 1.5GB of the 4GB address space is NOT available to Windows. The upper RAM address space is reserved for the chip-set to use for assorted house-keeping chores. Among these, are the memory address space for the video RAM. The more video RAM, the less real memory addresses that are available.

When users first started installing more than 3GB of system RAM, they started seeing the BIOS and Windows report less RAM than they had installed. What both reported was the real addressable RAM space. In order to avoid the "problem" of lost RAM, the BIOS and Windows Vista have been updated to show installed rather than usable RAM. You can still only use 2.5 - 3 GB of RAM, but the information reports the installed RAM.

I did verify that the system is specified to be able to recognize 4GB of system RAM. The service manual does specify Dual Channel RAM as a requirement for 4GB of installed RAM.

Chas

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