XP SP2/ASRock 939Dual-VSTA MoBo question

[VB Newbie]

Hello-

I've upgraded to 4GB memory to the above mobo, but am having trouble having
it recognize the entire capacity. When BIOS starts, it says that I have a
total of 2816MB. Now, I run BIOS Setup and it sees all 4 chips and sees
4096MB. When XP SP2 starts up, under my computer properties it says I have
2.75GB. For kicks, I tested out each pair, as if I were only running 2GB,
and each chip passed for 1GB.

I thought that this might be a BIOS issue with my mobo, however I got the
following reply from ASRock: Due to the operating system limitation, the
actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for system usage
under Windows® XP and Windows® Vista™. For Windows® XP 64-bit and Windows®
Vista™ 64-bit with 64-bit CPU, there is no such limitation.

My question is this: When the BIOS runs and says it recognizes 2816MB (but
setup sees 4GB), isn't that a BIOS issue and not an operating system problem?
Maybe I'm missing a piece of logic, but I would think that if your BIOS is
only recognizing a certain capacity that an OS upgrade would not be the
solution here.

I thank each one of you for your response, and bid you all a happy weekend.

Sincerely,
Joe Shaver

[Bob I]

If the BIOS is not correctly recognizing the installed memory, there is
a problem with either the memory, or the socket the memory is in. The
operating system will and can use only that hardware that is functioning
in the first place. It isn't an operating system issue, it is hardware
problem. You may run memory test on it and verify this.

http://www.memtest86.com/

VB Newbie wrote:

> Hello-
>
> I've upgraded to 4GB memory to the above mobo, but am having trouble having
> it recognize the entire capacity. When BIOS starts, it says that I have a
> total of 2816MB. Now, I run BIOS Setup and it sees all 4 chips and sees
> 4096MB. When XP SP2 starts up, under my computer properties it says I have
> 2.75GB. For kicks, I tested out each pair, as if I were only running 2GB,
> and each chip passed for 1GB.
>
> I thought that this might be a BIOS issue with my mobo, however I got the
> following reply from ASRock: Due to the operating system limitation, the
> actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for system usage
> under Windows® XP and Windows® Vista™. For Windows® XP 64-bit and Windows®
> Vista™ 64-bit with 64-bit CPU, there is no such limitation.
>
> My question is this: When the BIOS runs and says it recognizes 2816MB (but
> setup sees 4GB), isn't that a BIOS issue and not an operating system problem?
> Maybe I'm missing a piece of logic, but I would think that if your BIOS is
> only recognizing a certain capacity that an OS upgrade would not be the
> solution here.
>
> I thank each one of you for your response, and bid you all a happy weekend.
>
> Sincerely,
> Joe Shaver
>
>

[Kerry Brown]

You have two problems. The motherboard and the RAM may not be compatible
and/or your motherboard may be trying to remap some of the memory to appear
above 4 GB. Normally the POST should show all the RAM. The second problem is
you are using a 32 bit OS which is limited to 4 GB. The motherboard needs
some of the address space for it's own use. The max RAM a 32 bit version of
Windows will normally see is around 3.25 GB depending on your motherboard.
It may be with that motherboard that all Windows will see is 2.75 GB.

--
Kerry Brown
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
http://www.vistahelp.ca


"VB Newbie" > wrote in message
...
> Hello-
>
> I've upgraded to 4GB memory to the above mobo, but am having trouble
> having
> it recognize the entire capacity. When BIOS starts, it says that I have a
> total of 2816MB. Now, I run BIOS Setup and it sees all 4 chips and sees
> 4096MB. When XP SP2 starts up, under my computer properties it says I
> have
> 2.75GB. For kicks, I tested out each pair, as if I were only running 2GB,
> and each chip passed for 1GB.
>
> I thought that this might be a BIOS issue with my mobo, however I got the
> following reply from ASRock: Due to the operating system limitation, the
> actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for system
> usage
> under Windows® XP and Windows® Vista™. For Windows® XP 64-bit and Windows®
> Vista™ 64-bit with 64-bit CPU, there is no such limitation.
>
> My question is this: When the BIOS runs and says it recognizes 2816MB (but
> setup sees 4GB), isn't that a BIOS issue and not an operating system
> problem?
> Maybe I'm missing a piece of logic, but I would think that if your BIOS is
> only recognizing a certain capacity that an OS upgrade would not be the
> solution here.
>
> I thank each one of you for your response, and bid you all a happy
> weekend.
>
> Sincerely,
> Joe Shaver
>
>

[VB Newbie]

Thanks to both of you who responded. I could have been a bit more clearer
with the kind of memory I was using, which is 4 1GB chips of Kingston
KVR400X72C3A/1G, which I think is pretty standard. So now I'm not sure if I
should look to upgrade to XP 64-bit, or if I should hold off, because it
sounds like it doesn't matter if I go that route if BIOS doesn't recognizing
the whole 4GB.

"Kerry Brown" wrote:

> You have two problems. The motherboard and the RAM may not be compatible
> and/or your motherboard may be trying to remap some of the memory to appear
> above 4 GB. Normally the POST should show all the RAM. The second problem is
> you are using a 32 bit OS which is limited to 4 GB. The motherboard needs
> some of the address space for it's own use. The max RAM a 32 bit version of
> Windows will normally see is around 3.25 GB depending on your motherboard.
> It may be with that motherboard that all Windows will see is 2.75 GB.
>
> --
> Kerry Brown
> Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
> http://www.vistahelp.ca
>
>
> "VB Newbie" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Hello-
> >
> > I've upgraded to 4GB memory to the above mobo, but am having trouble
> > having
> > it recognize the entire capacity. When BIOS starts, it says that I have a
> > total of 2816MB. Now, I run BIOS Setup and it sees all 4 chips and sees
> > 4096MB. When XP SP2 starts up, under my computer properties it says I
> > have
> > 2.75GB. For kicks, I tested out each pair, as if I were only running 2GB,
> > and each chip passed for 1GB.
> >
> > I thought that this might be a BIOS issue with my mobo, however I got the
> > following reply from ASRock: Due to the operating system limitation, the
> > actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for system
> > usage
> > under Windows® XP and Windows® Vista™. For Windows® XP 64-bit and Windows®
> > Vista™ 64-bit with 64-bit CPU, there is no such limitation.
> >
> > My question is this: When the BIOS runs and says it recognizes 2816MB (but
> > setup sees 4GB), isn't that a BIOS issue and not an operating system
> > problem?
> > Maybe I'm missing a piece of logic, but I would think that if your BIOS is
> > only recognizing a certain capacity that an OS upgrade would not be the
> > solution here.
> >
> > I thank each one of you for your response, and bid you all a happy
> > weekend.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> > Joe Shaver
> >
> >
>
>