Windows Vista Shows Less Than 4 GB of RAM Installed

A lot of people these days are buying home computers with 4 to 8 GB of RAM, only to discover Windows Vista is reporting that the installed Memory (RAM) is 3 to 7 GB. Two easy ways to find out how much RAM is really in your computer is to reboot, and go into the BIOS setup to view the total RAM listed there, or you can download and use CPUID to give you an accurate listing of all the main components installed. One caveat with CPUID is that it may not report the speed (MHz) of your RAM properly if it wasn’t labelled properly by the manufacturer, but that doesn’t mean the RAM isn’t performing at the speed listed by your computer manufacturer.

Microsoft does have a workaround, however, it requires certain hardware, and a 64 bit version of Windows Vista to get past the 4 GB RAM limit. For those using 8 GB of RAM, all the right hardware, and the 64 bit version of Windows Vista, there is no fix. Some memory, like video card memory, shares some of the RAM with Vista, rather than running in its own separate space.

Here’s what Microsoft says in their knowledge base article 929605 regarding this issue:

If a computer has 4 gigabytes (GB) of random-access memory (RAM) installed, the system memory that is reported in the System Information dialog box in Windows Vista is less than you expect. For example, the System Information dialog box may report 3,120 megabytes (MB) of system memory on a computer that has 4 GB of memory installed (4,096 MB).

Note, you can access the System Information dialog box in the following ways:

• Click Start, type System in the Search box, and then click System under Programs.
• Double-click System in Control Panel.
• Click Start, right-click Computer, and then click Properties.
• Click Show more details in the Windows Vista Welcome Center window.

CAUSE

This behavior is the expected result of certain hardware and software factors.

Various devices in a typical computer require memory-mapped access. This is known as memory-mapped I/O (MMIO). For the MMIO space to be available to 32-bit operating systems, the MMIO space must reside within the first 4 GB of address space.

For example, if you have a video card that has 256 MB of onboard memory, that memory must be mapped within the first 4 GB of address space. If 4 GB of system memory is already installed, part of that address space must be reserved by the graphics memory mapping. Graphics memory mapping overwrites a part of the system memory. These conditions reduce the total amount of system memory that is available to the operating system.

The reduction in available system memory depends on the devices that are installed in the computer. However, to avoid potential driver compatibility issues, the 32-bit versions of Windows Vista limit the total available memory to 3.12 GB. See the "More information" section for information about potential driver compatibility issues.

If a computer has many installed devices, the available memory may be reduced to 3 GB or less. However, the maximum memory available in 32-bit versions of Windows Vista is typically 3.12 GB.

WORKAROUND

For Windows Vista to use all 4 GB of memory on a computer that has 4 GB of memory installed, the computer must meet the following requirements:

The chipset must support at least 8 GB of address space. Chipsets that have this capability include the following:

• Intel 975X
• Intel P965
• Intel 955X on Socket 775
• Chipsets that support AMD processors that use socket F, socket 940, socket 939, or socket AM2. These chipsets include any AMD socket and CPU combination in which the memory controller resides in the CPU.
• The CPU must support the x64 instruction set. The AMD64 CPU and the Intel EM64T CPU support this instruction set.
• The BIOS must support the memory remapping feature. The memory remapping feature allows for the segment of system memory that was previously overwritten by the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) configuration space to be remapped above the 4 GB address line. This feature must be enabled in the BIOS configuration utility on the computer. View your computer product documentation for instructions that explain how to enable this feature. Many consumer-oriented computers may not support the memory remapping feature. No standard terminology is used in documentation or in BIOS configuration utilities for this feature. Therefore, you may have to read the descriptions of the various BIOS configuration settings that are available to determine whether any of the settings enable the memory remapping feature.
• An x64 (64-bit) version of Windows Vista must be used.

Contact the computer vendor to determine whether your computer meets these requirements.

Note When the physical RAM that is installed on a computer equals the address space that is supported by the chipset, the total system memory that is available to the operating system is always less than the physical RAM that is installed. For example, consider a computer that has an Intel 975X chipset that supports 8 GB of address space. If you install 8 GB of RAM, the system memory that is available to the operating system will be reduced by the PCI configuration requirements. In this scenario, PCI configuration requirements reduce the memory that is available to the operating system by an amount that is between approximately 200 MB and approximately 1 GB. The reduction depends on the configuration.