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Windows 7 doesnt recognize all of my ram

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isildur21367   10-27-2009 at 05:35:26 AM

i just installed win7 64-bit. i have a core i5 with 8GB RAM. the computer doesn't seem to recognize all 8GB. it says there is only 4GB installed. i thought that win7 could go way beyond the 4GB limit of vista. does anyone have any suggestions on how i can get my pc to recognize and utilize all my RAM?

another thing i noticed, is that win7 seems to run my GPU (Nvidia gtx 260) hotter. its running at idle with limited apps at ~38 C compared to vista which ran at 33-35 C. anyone know why win7 runs "hotter" than vista? i thought it was supposed to be more efficient?

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SpidersWeb   10-27-2009 at 06:06:51 AM

The hotter issue will be the driver.
You often see different drivers causing fluctuations in temperature.

Run msconfig, go to Boot -> Advanced Options, just make sure 'Maximum Memory' is not ticked.

Otherwise i have no idea. Win64 definately can see more than 4Gb (thats the point of it).

------------------------------ Intel E8500 - 4.26Ghz - 533 x 8 - on air cooling with DDR2-1066 running native
Sapphire Ati HD4850
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Silver Win 7 badge The_Prophecy   10-27-2009 at 06:08:12 AM

7 does not run "hotter" than Vista. Ignore minor temperature variances like that. If it's not going to make your CPU blow up, it's not worth worrying about.

Second, the 4GB limit is from the 32 bit architecture, not Vista. The next time you reboot your computer, go into the BIOS and check to see if it is reporting all 8GB.

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Bronze Win 7 badge buwish   10-27-2009 at 06:10:08 AM

Strange indeed. Are you positive that the W7 you installed is 64-bit? If it is, what about the RAM? Same brand? Same timings? What is the BIOS saying? Are all 8GB recognized there? If not, you could always try and unplug a couple sticks, fire the computer up, shut it off, and plug them back in and see what that does.

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------------------------------ -Kevin
Desktop: Q9400(stock,lapped,SpinTechQ)/Intel DP43TF/VTEK 4850(512)/8GB DDR2 800Mhz/X-Fi Titanium Pro/Liteon BD-ROM/Velociraptor/Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
Laptop: Toshiba Satellite (M305)/T6400/4GB DDR2 800Mhz/Windows 7 RC 64-bit (for now)
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isildur21367   10-27-2009 at 06:52:24 PM

buwish wrote :

Strange indeed. Are you positive that the W7 you installed is 64-bit? If it is, what about the RAM? Same brand? Same timings? What is the BIOS saying? Are all 8GB recognized there? If not, you could always try and unplug a couple sticks, fire the computer up, shut it off, and plug them back in and see what that does.




yes it is 64-bit W7. as for the RAM its all new. i got the pc 2 weeks ago. how do i check the BIOS to determine if it is recognizing it.

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SpidersWeb   10-27-2009 at 08:06:17 PM

The_Prophecy wrote :

7 does not run "hotter" than Vista. Ignore minor temperature variances like that. If it's not going to make your CPU blow up, it's not worth worrying about.



He said GPU not CPU.
Different driver versions do have an effect on idle graphics card temps.
He's probably using a newer nVidia driver after installing Windows 7.
No doubt another will be out soon that reverse that side effect.

But it isn't anything to worry about. Load temps should still be the same.

------------------------------ Intel E8500 - 4.26Ghz - 533 x 8 - on air cooling with DDR2-1066 running native
Sapphire Ati HD4850
 Reply to SpidersWeb
Silver Win 7 badge The_Prophecy   10-27-2009 at 09:13:04 PM

Wow.... I totally misread the original message, sorry. I could have sworn he said CPU, but it seems I was mistaken.

 

In that case, yes different driver versions can make GPU's run slightly warmer when idle.


Message edited by The_Prophecy on 10-27-2009 at 09:14:08 PM
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scj123solid   10-30-2009 at 07:24:10 AM

I have the same problem. My system see's 3 2GB sticks installed, but bios and Windows 7 see's only 4. And yes, I have the 64bit version.

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JessicaD   10-30-2009 at 07:30:21 AM

scj123solid wrote :

I have the same problem. My system see's 3 2GB sticks installed, but bios and Windows 7 see's only 4. And yes, I have the 64bit version.



Scj123solid,

What are the specs of your computer (i.e. Mobo, CPU, RAM type, GPU, etc.) If your BIOS is only detecting 4GB of RAM you may have a motherboard that is maxed out and can only support upto 4GB.

Also, what version of Windows 7 do you currently have installed?

Jessica
Microsoft Windows Client Team

Reply to JessicaD
scj123solid   10-30-2009 at 07:12:35 PM

I have an Asus Rampage II Extreme Mobo, Intel i7 975 processor, 3 2gb 2000 Mhz OCZ Blade DDR3 Ram Chips, BFG 2 GB GTX 285 GPU, OCZ Vertex SSD 120 GB, Seagate Barracude 1TB. I am currently running Windows 7 64 bit.

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SpidersWeb   11-02-2009 at 04:12:55 AM

scj123solid wrote :

I have the same problem. My system see's 3 2GB sticks installed, but bios and Windows 7 see's only 4. And yes, I have the 64bit version.


Are all 3 DIMMs identical, and are they all in the same coloured slots?
e.g. all black or all gray or all orange, and not alternating (if you got this wrong, there might be a chance it boots up running the first and third DIMMs in dual channel mode, ignoring the second, if they're in the correct order, it should run all three in triple channel mode).

Sorry if you knew that, just checking this wasn't a possible cause.

------------------------------ Intel E8500 - 4.26Ghz - 533 x 8 - on air cooling with DDR2-1066 running native
Sapphire Ati HD4850
 Reply to SpidersWeb
isildur21367   11-12-2009 at 04:07:08 AM

so it appears no one has a real answer to why windows 7 doesnt recognize all of the RAM. does anyone have an answer?

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SpidersWeb   11-18-2009 at 08:28:05 PM

If you're running Windows 64, and maximum memory isn't set in your bootup config, then the problem is more likely to be hardware related.

How is the RAM configured?
e.g.
4 x 2Gb
2 x 2Gb + 1 x 4B
2 x 4Gb

Is the RAM voltage set correctly in the BIOS?

------------------------------ Intel E8500 - 4.26Ghz - 533 x 8 - on air cooling with DDR2-1066 running native
Sapphire Ati HD4850
 Reply to SpidersWeb
Bronze Win 7 badge Zoron   11-19-2009 at 03:04:59 AM

Is memory remapping enabled in the BIOS? Sometimes it's required in order for motherboards to see more than 4GB of RAM.

------------------------------ Desktop: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit; Intel Q6600 CPU; E-VGA 780i SLI motherboard; E-VGA E-GeForce 8800GT; OCZ Vista 4GB dual-channel kit; Ultra X2 750W power supply; 2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB in RAID 0. Laptop: Acer Aspire 8730-6314;
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