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SMBIOS memory

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by vppaul

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System Management BIOS is reporting that there is 4096 MB of RAM, but Windows reports that only 2048 MB is available. Asus PC-DL Mobo with 4 x 1GBs PC2700 ram running XP Pro. Memory tests fine, Asus blames ram, ram blends Asus any thoughts? I don't want to buy 4 more sticks just to see if they work!

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by thechas

Are you setup in Dual Channel mode?

I may be wrong, but it looks like Windows may only see 1/2 of system RAM if the RAM is configured in Dual Channel mode.

This is because the second DIMM in each pair is used to double the width of the data bus.

Try changing the RAM to single channel mode, and I believe that Windows will report the full 4GB.

Chas

by thechas

Browsing through some technical documents at Intel, I came across a few more "interesting" facts.

On a system board with 4GB of RAM, you may not be able to address all of the RAM as RAM and system device addresses fields overlap.

Your AGP aperture and the address field for the PCI bus subtract from the available RAM.

Chas

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