Tom's Hardware > Forum > Motherboards & Memory > Memory > Correct amound of Ram not recognized by Bios and Windows

Correct amound of Ram not recognized by Bios and Windows

Forum Motherboards & Memory : Memory - Correct amound of Ram not recognized by Bios and Windows

Tom's Hardware: Over 1.4 million members in 6 different countries available to answer all your high-tech questions. Sign up now! Its free!
Word :    Username :           
 

Hello to all,
Today I received 1 stick of 2GB DDR2 Ram 800mhz I ordered a while ago. I tried to install the stick only to find out that Bios AND Windows only recognized 440MB out of the 2GBs they supposed to be! My motherboard is an MSI P31-Neo2 FR and the 2GB Ram stick is a samsung one. Now am definetely sure my motherboard supports this stick as there is no reason not to. So I reinstalled the 2x512mb stick I already had an now have 1.5GB of ram. I ve checked the bios and couldnt find anything for this problem. On top of that CPU-Z recognizes that stick normally and shows me that I have 3GBs of ram now! :ouch:
Any ideas on whats going on? I can provide you with any more information or pictures if needed!
Thanks in advance

Sponsored Links
Register or log in to remove.

http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php [...] =1336#menu

According to MSI the maximum supported amount of memory is 4 GB... and since there are 4 slots, to me that says that the maximum supported in each slot is 1 GB modules. I believe that's your answer, but you're free to wait for a second opinion.

Reply to rodney_ws

http://global.msi.com.tw/uploads/t [...] 0_1336.pdf

Lists the various modules that have been tested to work with your board.

Reply to rodney_ws

Yea but even if it is not in that list it doesnt mean its not compatible right?

Reply to Metalman667

Metalman667 wrote :

Now am definetely sure my motherboard supports this stick as there is no reason not to.


No reason that you know about?

The Intel P31 chipset is a cut-down derivative of the higher-end P35 silicon. Cut-down meaning, some features or capability has been removed to make it less expensive. As such, P31 has more restrictions on supported memory technologies or configurations.

2GB modules must have the following specs:

# ranks: two (double rank)
# DRAM chips: 16
DRAM organization: 128Mx8 (1Gbit)

2GB modules of any other construction are not supported. Additionally, P31 supports a maximum of four DIMM ranks for all sockets/channels combined. To populate four sockets, all four modules must be single-rank. To populate two sockets, you could use:

- Two single-rank modules

*OR*

- Two double-rank modules

This assumes modules of the same type and construction. Mixed configurations are supported as well, as long as all modules combined don't exceed four ranks.

Reply to tcsenter

So in short, the problem is that my motherboard only supports 1GB per memory slot?

Reply to Metalman667

No, read again.

Reply to tcsenter

Yea i ve read it but cant get it. I stated that I tried with the 2GB only on the mobo without the other 2 512mb sticks if thats the problem

Reply to Metalman667

Quote :

2GB modules must have the following specs:

# ranks: two (double rank)
# DRAM chips: 16
DRAM organization: 128Mx8 (1Gbit)

2GB modules of any other construction are not supported.


Reply to tcsenter

Where can I check that info besides the sticker on the stick? Cpuz wont give any of that.

Reply to Metalman667

The sticker on the module, or other part numbers such as the markings on the chips, are the best information.

Also check for any BIOS updates for your motherboard. It just as well could be a BIOS issue.


Message edited by tcsenter on 10-10-2008 at 01:29:15 PM
Reply to tcsenter
Tom's Hardware > Forum > Motherboards & Memory > Memory > Correct amound of Ram not recognized by Bios and Windows
Go to:

There are 1137 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Please mind

You are about to answer a thread that has been inactive for more than 6 months.
If you still wish to proceed, please ensure that your posting is original and does not duplicate or overlap any prior responses to this thread.

Add a reply Cancel
Sponsored links
  • Ask the community now
  • Publish
Ad
They won a badge
Join us in greeting them
  • 01:00 vianescute won the Freshman badge
  • 01:00 meywd won the Freshman badge
  • 01:00 nayega won the Freshman badge
  • 01:00 gpfear won the Freshman badge
  • 01:00 Conrad925 won the Freshman badge
  • 01:00 skythra won the Freshman badge
  • 01:00 Ckaz won the Freshman badge
  • 01:00 james59 won the Uniformed badge
  • 01:00 snarl won the Uniformed badge
  • 01:00 patlabor44 won the Uniformed badge