DS3 reading 4GB Problem

[xeni]

I just put together my brothers new computer

E6600
DS3 (F7)
4GB Patriot http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220144

I have the voltage setup in the bios properly to +4 (since 1.8v is default). Now the wierd thing is that initially it did recognize all 4 GB's but i went into the bios and turn on raid and disabled all the other none needed options like (CE1 and etc so i can overclock). Once i rebooted it would just freeze on the information screen where it would say "memory xxxxxxxxxx". So i went ahead and removed 1GB and it boots up fine without any problems. Anybody have any ideas?

 

[Mondoman]

"+4" doesn't really tell us what DIMM voltage you have, since that's just a BIOS setting, and BIOSes vary; I'll assume you set it to 2.2V.
So exactly which BIOS settings did you disable? If you clear the CMOS, does it recognize the 4GB again?

In any case, your system will only be able to address roughly 3GB with a 32-bit OS, due to the 4GB memory address limit.

 

[xeni]

"+4" doesn't really tell us what DIMM voltage you have, since that's just a BIOS setting, and BIOSes vary; I'll assume you set it to 2.2V.
So exactly which BIOS settings did you disable? If you clear the CMOS, does it recognize the 4GB again?

In any case, your system will only be able to address roughly 3GB with a 32-bit OS, due to the 4GB memory address limit.

Yes i did bump it up to 2.2v which it is supposed to be set at and i disabled all the additional features according to wussie/wikkies guide here. Also i am aware about the 3GB - 3.5GB limit with 32bit.

 

[Mondoman]

My guess is that there's a bug in the BIOS and/or you disabled a feature (like PAE) necessary for the 4GB RAM to co-exist with the various other users of the memory address space.

 

[xeni]

I just loaded system optimized and setup the raid and it is booting up fine with the 4GB. Just need to get a floppy drive so i can isntall raid.

 

[Mondoman]

You might consider getting an external USB floppy drive. They're pretty cheap, and all you need is one, no matter how many systems you have.

 

[xeni]

You might consider getting an external USB floppy drive. They're pretty cheap, and all you need is one, no matter how many systems you have.

I have one but it wont recognize it when i get to the F6 screen during the xp pro setup.

 

[Mondoman]

You sometimes have to set the BIOS settings to enable it -- it varies from board to board, but I'd be surprised if a new board didn't allow it.