6.00GB RAM installed but only using 2.18gb?

[AndrewAcqu]

So, my dell inspiron 545s has 6.00 gb of ram installed, and in bios it says only 1.78gb are usable, yet when i check resource manager; it says that i have 2.18gb installed? i have tried disabling max ram in msconfig, nothing seems to work. please help.

 

[unreal9400]

You need 64-bit OS to see more than 4 GB of RAM.

 

[AndrewAcqu]

It is a 64 bit os. And it is the stock ram. And I have tried switching around the dimms, so I assume some of the dimms are probably dead.

 

[unreal9400]

Run MemTest86

 

[MarkW]

The Dell Inspiron 545 uses integrated graphics. This machine dates back to at least 2009. The integrated graphics is going to need memory to function. My guess is that it is most likely using 1gb of memory for that. There are various different CPU and video options, so its impossible for me to know exactly what your machine has.

In any case, Windows is using a nice chunk, the video card is too, and then pieces of memory are reserved for all those devices in the system. So seeing just under 2gb of memory as available on a 6gb system is very possible.