If i have 8 gig ram memory how come my pc only reads 4gig

[undertker]

Hello,i have an asus m3n72-d mother board with the quad 4 processor have 8 gig of ram on windows 7 it only reads 4 gig of ram why?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Is your windows 32 bit or 64 bit?

 

[treefrog07]

It sounds like your W7 is the 32-bit version. Most of MS 32-bit operating systems can only "see and read" about 3-3.5GB of Total memory. The 64-bit operating systems can see and read all of your system's memory.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/32-bit-and-64-bit-Windows-frequently-asked-questions

Look around here ^

 

[quilciri]

Other possibilities include:
bad RAM slot - try your sticks of RAM in another Machine
bad RAM - try known good RAM in your motherboard

 

[quilciri]

If you have a discrete card, 32 bit windows will read *less* than 4gb useable. 32 bit OS's can only address 4gb total, including the dedicated RAM in the video card.

So if you have discrete graphics with dedicated RAM and windows reads 4gb useable, your problem is likely something besides the OS.