4GB + ram issue on windows xp 32 bit os

abidullah

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May 17, 2008
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I just bought a system with 6GB of physical RAM in it. The BIOS posts 6GB, but Windows tells me that I have anywhere from 3.25GB of RAM. Where is the rest of my RAM? it even shows that there is 6gb of ram in the system ifo.



System Information report written at: 05/22/08 01:45:44
System Name: AFFY-PC
[System Summary]

Item Value
OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name AFFY-PC
System Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model EX38-DS4
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 11 GenuineIntel ~2400 Mhz
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 11 GenuineIntel ~2400 Mhz
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 11 GenuineIntel ~2400 Mhz
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 11 GenuineIntel ~2400 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Award Software International, Inc. F3, 2/27/2008
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)"
User Name AFFY-PC\Virus
Time Zone Arabian Standard Time
Total Physical Memory 6,144.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 2.68 GB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 5.09 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
 
the 32 bit OS will not address more than about 2.5Gig of memory, 2.68 in yur case, a 64 bit OS will indentify 4 Gigs, I see you are in Arabia, do they know about OS limitations there, did the guy who built the computer know this, or did you get a sales pitch
 



2G of RAM is WinXP 32bit OP/SYS sweet spot and best overall performance range, I know its a punch in the gut to have bought all that RAM but when you move to Vista Ultimate 64bit you'll need it, until then drop your RAM back to 2G and you'll get the best performance.