only 3.25gb recognised even though upgrade to 64bit: Inspiron 6400

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Q

qwertyjjj

Distinguished
Jul 30, 2010
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I just upgraded my CPU to a T7200 and 4GB ram and Win 7 64bit.
However, both the BIOS and the OS only recognise 3.25GB RAM.
Do I need to do a BIOS upgrade If so, I`m worried the upgrade will render the CPU incompatible.
Any ideas how to get max ramÉ I have also already changed the msconfig max RAM setting but it doesn`t help.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3410567/inspiring-6400-upgrade-4gb.html


Summary
Operating System
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1
CPU
Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo T7200 @ 2.00GHz 51 °C
Merom 65nm Technology
RAM
4.00GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 332MHz (5-5-5-15)
Motherboard
Dell Inc. 0KD882 (Microprocessor)
Graphics
Generic PnP Monitor (1280x800@60Hz)
Intel Mobile Intel 945 Express Chipset Family (Dell)
Intel Mobile Intel 945 Express Chipset Family (Dell)
Storage
74GB TOSHIBA MK8037GSX ATA Device (SATA) 41 °C
Optical Drives
HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GSA-T21N ATA Device
Audio
High Definition Audio Device
Operating System
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1
Computer type: Portable
Installation Date: 01/07/2017 6:44:25 AM
Serial Number: PT8V8-96P7P-PDXVB-X967M-34XQJ
Windows Security Center
User Account Control (UAC) Enabled
Notify level 2 - Default
Firewall Enabled
Antivirus Disabled
Windows Update
AutoUpdate Download Automatically and Install at Set Scheduled time
Schedule Frequency Every Day
Schedule Time 3:00 AM
Windows Defender
Windows Defender Enabled
.NET Frameworks installed
v3.5 SP1
v3.0 SP2
v2.0 SP2
Internet Explorer
Version 8.0.7601.17514
PowerShell
Version 2.0
Environment Variables
USERPROFILE C:\Users\J
SystemRoot C:\Windows
User Variables
TEMP C:\Users\J\AppData\Local\Temp
TMP C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Temp
Machine Variables
ComSpec C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe
FP_NO_HOST_CHECK NO
NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS 2
OS Windows_NT
Path C:\Windows\system32
C:\Windows
C:\Windows\System32\Wbem
C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\
PATHEXT .COM;.EXE;.BAT;.CMD;.VBS;.VBE;.JS;.JSE;.WSF;.WSH;.MSC
PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE AMD64
PROCESSOR_IDENTIFIER Intel64 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 6, GenuineIntel
PROCESSOR_LEVEL 6
PROCESSOR_REVISION 0f06
PSModulePath C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\
TEMP C:\Windows\TEMP
TMP C:\Windows\TEMP
USERNAME SYSTEM
windir C:\Windows
windows_tracing_flags 3
windows_tracing_logfile C:\BVTBin\Tests\installpackage\csilogfile.log
in
Suspend after: (On AC Power) 30 min
Suspend after: (On Battery Power) 15 min
Screen saver Disabled
Uptime
 
Solution
hang-the-9


If you want to go past 3.25 gb install a video card and disable onboard video in the BIOS. You may get closer to 3.5 gb usable. Not really worth the money though considering you can get a full system with an early Intel i3 or i5 CPU that is several times faster than yours for about $100 or less.
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ThatVietGuy

ThatVietGuy

Titan
Nov 6, 2007
11,718
314
70,240
You can't get exactly 4GB to show up in Windows. Some of the RAM is always reserved by Windows or other hardware so you'll always end up with a little less available.

3.25GB out of 4GB is about right.

This is expected behavior on computers that are running Windows 7. The reduction in available system memory depends on the configuration of the following:

The devices that are installed in the computer and the memory that is reserved by those devices
The ability of the motherboard to handle memory
The System BIOS version and settings
The version of Windows 7 that is installed (For example, Windows 7 Starter Edition only supports 2 GB of installed memory.)
Other system settings
Click to expand...
-https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/978610/the-usable-memory-may-be-less-than-the-installed-memory-on-windows-7-b
 
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BFG-9000

BFG-9000

Splendid
Sep 17, 2016
3,424
439
27,090
i945GM cannot remap memory above 4GB according to the datasheet, which says
The (G)MCH provides a maximum DRAM address decode space of 4 GB. The (G)MCH does not remap APIC or PCI Express memory space. This means that as the amount of physical memory populated in the system reaches 4 GB, there will be physical memory that exists yet is non-addressable and therefore unusable by the system.
Click to expand...
This means any hardware addresses or VRAM must necessarily be mapped to places where DRAM exists. Could be worse, i945GMS chipset only supports 2GB.
 
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BFG-9000

BFG-9000

Splendid
Sep 17, 2016
3,424
439
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Hmm, who are you going to believe--the chipset manufacturer who says for sure it's a hardware limitation or that link from Microsoft which agrees and says it may be a hardware limitation:
The reduction in available system memory depends on the configuration of the following:
The devices that are installed in the computer and the memory that is reserved by those devices
The ability of the motherboard to handle memory

For example, if you have a video card that has 256 MB of on-board memory, that memory must be mapped within the first 4 GB of address space. If 4 GB of system memory is already installed, part of that address space must be reserved by the graphics memory mapping. Graphics memory mapping overwrites a part of the system memory. These conditions reduce the total amount of system memory that is available to the operating system.
Click to expand...
One of the suggestions by Microsoft is even to try
Enable the memory remapping feature
Click to expand...
which won't be an option in your BIOS or work because that chipset specifically does not support memory remapping. If it could remap to over 4GB then those addresses would be mapped to up there and you'd be able to use the full 4GB.

I mean it's even listed in Wikipedia . Every Core 2 chipset by Intel except 94x, GL960, P31 and G31 can remap so will see the full 4GB if 4GB is installed.

Or you can believe some random guy who tells you 4GB never is completely usable.
 
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Q

qwertyjjj

Distinguished
Jul 30, 2010
226
0
18,680
So how do I get the full 4gb?
Bios update? But then the new bios may not work with the 64bit architecture.
It's the A17 version but I've seen specific references where people tried this upgrade to A19 and or wouldn't work with the 64bit CPU.

Another post reports this upgrade prevents dual channel mode running on the ram limiting it to 3.25
 
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BFG-9000

BFG-9000

Splendid
Sep 17, 2016
3,424
439
27,090
You can't. It's a hardware limitation.

Expecting software (including firmware like a BIOS) to give you new hardware capabilities is like expecting a BIOS update to give an old 32-bit processor 64-bit registers, or new versions of SSE or AVX, or CMPXCHG16b.

The exception is i945GMS was artificially limited to 2GB for market segmentation reasons. You could use special software like a ramdrive (for a swapfile) or cacheing software (like eBoostr) to access memory >2GB but even then it would have had the same 3.25GB limit because of the hardware.
 
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gamerk316

gamerk316

Glorious
Jul 8, 2008
13,234
131
44,840
Yeah, this is normal. All addressable hardware devices reserve some space ahead of time, most of them before the OS even boots. Also note the amount of space Windows reserves for GPU addressing is NOT 1:1 with the amount of VRAM you have.

A mobo with the Memory Remapping feature would allow the full 4GB to be used. Failing that, the obvious solution is more RAM, though DDR2 is probably both hard to find and expensive these days.
 
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hang-the-9

hang-the-9

Titan
Mar 25, 2010
60,387
1,081
152,940


If you want to go past 3.25 gb install a video card and disable onboard video in the BIOS. You may get closer to 3.5 gb usable. Not really worth the money though considering you can get a full system with an early Intel i3 or i5 CPU that is several times faster than yours for about $100 or less.
 
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