SATA not detecting/Incorrect RAM amount- Asus Commando

[Sidewinder0010]

just assembled a new computer which includes:
Asus Commando rev 1.00G
2x 2gb patriot extreme ram
evga nvidia geforce 8800GTX
Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB
Lite-On SATA DVDRW
Thermaltake 850w Toughpower

I have two problems
For 1, my raptor is not seen on start up by the bios... my DVD is seen by the bios, and in windows (I had to install an IDE CD/HDD to get windows XP SP2 setup and test things), BUT the DVD is not reading any disks i put in it, on start up or in windows. My IDE HDD and CD are not seen by the bios, but they work fine on boot and in windows.
I have tried all the SATA ports on my mobo, i have tried both the legacy and SATA power for the hard drive. I also installed the new bios 1001.
I called Western Digital and they believed it was a mobo problem, as do I.

For 2, My ram is only reporting 3008MB at Start up, and in windows, and dxdiag. And it should be 4028 I think?? The RAM chips are plugged into the two blue slots.

The system seems completly stable and everything else is working smoothly, I benchmarked my computer with 3dmark06 and Performace Test 6 and it seems in he correct brackets.

I have emailed Asus tech support, but they have not yet responded.

Thank you anyone for your help, I have a limited time to determine the problem and get the parts replaced.

 

[samsayit]

My ram is only reporting 3008MB at Start up, and in windows, and dxdiag. And it should be 4028 I think?? The RAM chips are plugged into the two blue slots.

Not sure about your mobo, but I had an ASUS PW5 DH Deluxe mobo which in BIOS reported 3200 MB of RAM when in fact I had 4 gigs.
It said something like:

Total amount: 4096
Appropriated: 896
Available: 3200

The solution was to enter the BIOS > Advanced, here there was an option called "Memory Remap" or something like that - changed id from Disabled to Enabled, save and exit, reenter BIOS and all 4 gigs were now available.
So was it in Windows but I use 64 bit Windows. If you're using 32 bit XP, I believe it can only address around 3 gigs...