3 gigs installed, windows only sees 1.48

ive got corsair CMX1024-3200C2 SDRAM, three 1 gig modules total. my motherboard is an ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe and im running windows XP pro 32-bit service pack 3.

my problem is that if ive got anything more than 1 gig of memory installed windows will only register 1.48 gigs. thats the amount listed in the system info via control panel and it is further verified by viewing my performance tab in the task manager.

ive tried running all three modules, two of them, and only one of them. in all cases initial memory check during start up will list the correct amounts installed and amount OK. i had to enable the memory hole in bios to acheive this but that much is fine. i actually have a fourth module but it was bad out of the box and needs to be sent back. i know i cant take advantage of dual channel running 3 modules but in either case, running 2 or 3, windows should not think ive got 1.48 gigs available. i know that the memory eaten up by the OS is taken into account when windows lists available memory but im missing entirely too much here.

i cant find any settings within XP that aloow me to tweak my available memory. the closest i can find is focusing memory allocation for either programs or system cache, and i know that wont fix my problem.

i see a lot of similar threads on this forum from people who are having trouble hitting the 4 gig cap in XP but all of those cases ive seen have had a distinctly higher available memory count than i do now, even those who are running 2 gigs.

im stumped now, ive got a fourth 1 gig module on the way and i cant even optimize with 2 gigs when everything seems to suggest i should be able to. so i hope someone has some wisdom theyd be willing to impart that could help me out of this.