How Can I Make All My Ram Show Up

firestarterut · 07-14-2008, 08:08 AM

Hey I originally had a 64 bit vista but I found it rather unstable, so I switched to a 32 bit but now its only showing 3 gigs of my ram. Is there any way I could make vista 32 bit read all my ram?

cohen · 07-14-2008, 08:11 AM

32bit only shows up 3.5GBs of ram, 64bit shows all of it.

azwebs · 07-14-2008, 11:58 PM

If you have 32 bit Vista, rip out 2gb of that RAM. 32 Bit can actually see 4gb of RAM, (according to SP1 overview files). However, in 32 bit, 1gb of RAM is set aside to be used with a dedicated GFX card (if one is installed). Unfortunately, in 32 Bit, if you or any process on your computer tries to use more than 3.5gb of RAM - 32 Bit will be even more unstable than 64 Bit and crash. Either reinstall 64 Bit (can't believe I said that) - or take out 2gb of the RAM in your PC (horrible waste!)

Which is the lesser of the two evils?

StrangleHold · 07-15-2008, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by firestarterut

Hey I originally had a 64 bit vista but I found it rather unstable, so I switched to a 32 bit but now its only showing 3 gigs of my ram. Is there any way I could make vista 32 bit read all my ram?

Thats all she wrote for 32bit Vista, if you install SP1 it will show all the memory you have installed, but around 3gbs. is all thats usable depending on your hardware.

tyttebøvs · 07-15-2008, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azwebs

in 32 Bit, if you or any process on your computer tries to use more than 3.5gb of RAM - 32 Bit will be even more unstable than 64 Bit and crash. Either reinstall 64 Bit (can't believe I said that) - or take out 2gb of the RAM in your PC (horrible waste!)

You don't have to take anything out. Microsoft has carefully written the memory manager to ignore anything above 4G, so you can install all the ram you want, Windows will just ignore it.

firestarterut · 07-15-2008, 01:26 AM

Oh well that really sucks. I just figured there was a way around it. Well thanks for the help guys. It is a waste of ram I should've gone with the better video card if I knew all that ram was going to go to waste.

StrangleHold · 07-15-2008, 01:36 AM

What would you really be doing to eat up more than 3gb of Ram anyway. If you system never uses more than 2gbs and you have 8gbs installed it doesnt make it any faster.

07-14-2008, 08:08 AM	#1 (permalink)
firestarterut New Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 4	How Can I Make All My Ram Show Up Hey I originally had a 64 bit vista but I found it rather unstable, so I switched to a 32 bit but now its only showing 3 gigs of my ram. Is there any way I could make vista 32 bit read all my ram?

07-14-2008, 08:11 AM	#2 (permalink)
cohen Diamond Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 14 Posts: 8,146	32bit only shows up 3.5GBs of ram, 64bit shows all of it. __________________ My Website Forum Site JOIN NOW! Desktop / Laptop Motherboard: Asus M2N X SE / Unknown CPU: AMD 4000+ 2.1GHZ x 2 / Intel Pentium M 1.60GHZ Ram: 2GB Transcend / 512MB Hard Drive: 320GB / 60GB Video Card: Both Intergrated Monitor: 19" Benq / 15.4" OS: Windows Vista Home Premium Service Pack 1 / Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3

07-14-2008, 11:58 PM	#3 (permalink)
azwebs Gold Member Join Date: May 2007 Age: 14 Posts: 395	If you have 32 bit Vista, rip out 2gb of that RAM. 32 Bit can actually see 4gb of RAM, (according to SP1 overview files). However, in 32 bit, 1gb of RAM is set aside to be used with a dedicated GFX card (if one is installed). Unfortunately, in 32 Bit, if you or any process on your computer tries to use more than 3.5gb of RAM - 32 Bit will be even more unstable than 64 Bit and crash. Either reinstall 64 Bit (can't believe I said that) - or take out 2gb of the RAM in your PC (horrible waste!) Which is the lesser of the two evils? __________________ In no way should my posts be taken as professional advice. Use the information I provide at your own risk. Intel Core 2 Quad QX6850 3.0Ghz @ 4.5Ghz 8GB OCZ ReaperX 1333Mhz DDR3 RAM (4 x 2gb) 3 x 1TB Seagate SATA II 7200RPM 32MB XFX GTX280 1GB OC'ed Edition in 3-Way SLi 4x BluRay Writer, 24x DL DVD Burner 2 x Samsung SM245B+ 24" (1920 x 1200) Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit Last edited by azwebs; 07-14-2008 at 11:58 PM. Reason: Evil

07-15-2008, 01:36 AM	#7 (permalink)
StrangleHold Diamond Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: In a realm of unknown Wonders Posts: 7,465	What would you really be doing to eat up more than 3gb of Ram anyway. If you system never uses more than 2gbs and you have 8gbs installed it doesnt make it any faster. __________________ NZXT Apollo Athlon 64 X2 5600-3.3ghz. Gigabyte GA MA770 DS3 G Skill DDR2 1066-944mhz. 4gbs. PNY 8800GT/VD964 Cooler W/D Sata 3.0 500gb RE2 Humans are curious creatures and by nature insane. Lock us all in a room together and within hours we're dividing into groups, creating Gods and plotting on how to kill one another.

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07-15-2008, 01:26 AM	#6 (permalink)
firestarterut New Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 4	Oh well that really sucks. I just figured there was a way around it. Well thanks for the help guys. It is a waste of ram I should've gone with the better video card if I knew all that ram was going to go to waste.

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