Mem shows less then installed memory?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips (More info?)

Hello, latly my computer seems to have slowed down alot. I ran the MEM
command from the dos command prompt in Win XP Home and mem displays the
following information:
655360 bytes total conventional memery
655360 bytes available to MS-DOS
633296 bytes largest executable program size

1048576 bytes total contiguous extended memery
0 bytes available contiguous extended memery
941056 bytes available XMS memery
MS-DOS resident in High Memery Area


I have a 1 gig PC2700 ddr ram chip on the motherboard. The bios also shows
524288 memory installed. Bad mem chip??
greyscale

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips (More info?)

On Sun, 3 Apr 2005 14:19:14 -0400, "JohnD" <jhd62@optonline.net> wrote:

>Hello, latly my computer seems to have slowed down alot. I ran the MEM
>command from the dos command prompt in Win XP Home and mem displays the
>following information:
>655360 bytes total conventional memery
>655360 bytes available to MS-DOS
>633296 bytes largest executable program size
>
>1048576 bytes total contiguous extended memery
> 0 bytes available contiguous extended memery
>941056 bytes available XMS memery
>MS-DOS resident in High Memery Area

This is normal.

>I have a 1 gig PC2700 ddr ram chip on the motherboard. The bios also shows
>524288 memory installed. Bad mem chip??
> greyscale

Which system/mbrd? Assuming you have 16 chips on the DIMM in a dual rank
config, does the chipset support 512Mbit memory chips? Other than that it
could be a compatibility issue with the mbrd/DIMM but you need to give more
details.

--
Rgds, George Macdonald

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips (More info?)

On Sun, 3 Apr 2005 14:19:14 -0400, "JohnD" <jhd62@optonline.net>
wrote:

>Hello, latly my computer seems to have slowed down alot. I ran the MEM
>command from the dos command prompt in Win XP Home and mem displays the
>following information:
>655360 bytes total conventional memery
>655360 bytes available to MS-DOS
>633296 bytes largest executable program size
>
>1048576 bytes total contiguous extended memery
> 0 bytes available contiguous extended memery
>941056 bytes available XMS memery
>MS-DOS resident in High Memery Area

"MEM" is a 16-bit DOS command. When you type "MEM" at a command prompt
(i.e., an instance of the cmd.exe 32-bit command line processor),
Windows XP will load the DOS program COMMAND.COM in a DOS virtual
machine and run the DOS command. Since it is running in a 16-bit
Virtual Machine, it doesn't reflect the physical RAM installed and
available in Windows in the 32-bit Protected Mode. That is why MEM is
showing 640 KB of conventional memory and roughly 1 MB each of EMS and
XMS memory.

>I have a 1 gig PC2700 ddr ram chip on the motherboard. The bios also shows
>524288 memory installed. Bad mem chip??

If the BIOS doesn't show the correct amount of installed RAM, and
Windows doesn't show the correct amount of installed RAM (Control
Panel -> System), then something is wrong. Perhaps a defective or
incompatible DIMM or other hardware malfunction. But "MEM" will not
display correctly the amount of installed memory.

- -
Gary L.
Reply to the newsgroup only

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips (More info?)

That is a memory compatibility problem.

If you are using single sided DDR your motherboard probably does not
recognize half of the RAM because the size is denser [more chips]on one
side. Try using double sided DDR and see if it works or vice versa.

Or, instead of using 2700, try using 2100. I have been there, done that
many times with all kinds of memory modules and the reporting of half
the installed amount of RAM always points to RAM incompatibility.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips (More info?)

JohnD wrote:
> Hello, latly my computer seems to have slowed down alot. I ran the MEM
> command from the dos command prompt in Win XP Home and mem displays the
> following information:
> 655360 bytes total conventional memery
> 655360 bytes available to MS-DOS
> 633296 bytes largest executable program size
>
> 1048576 bytes total contiguous extended memery
> 0 bytes available contiguous extended memery
> 941056 bytes available XMS memery
> MS-DOS resident in High Memery Area
>
>
> I have a 1 gig PC2700 ddr ram chip on the motherboard. The bios also shows
> 524288 memory installed. Bad mem chip??
> greyscale
>
>

Don't use the DOS utility it isn't showing reality. Use the System
control panel app.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips (More info?)

On Sun, 3 Apr 2005 14:19:14 -0400, "JohnD" <jhd62@optonline.net> put
finger to keyboard and composed:

>Hello, latly my computer seems to have slowed down alot. I ran the MEM
>command from the dos command prompt in Win XP Home and mem displays the
>following information:
>655360 bytes total conventional memery
>655360 bytes available to MS-DOS
>633296 bytes largest executable program size
>
>1048576 bytes total contiguous extended memery

> 0 bytes available contiguous extended memery
>941056 bytes available XMS memery

>MS-DOS resident in High Memery Area

All is OK, except for your spelling:

http://www.computerhope.com/memhlp.htm#04
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/mem.mspx


- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 's' from my address when replying by email.