6 Gigs of Memory/4 usable?

[StolenThunder]

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forums, so let me know if I'm not explaining myself well or if you need more info.

My computer specs are below. I just recently bought another 4 gigs of RAM (2x 2gig sticks) to bring my total up to 8 gigs. When I tried to install it I couldn't even get my display to come up. I've been surfing various forums and a lot of people have said my motherboard is difficult to stabilize with all the RAM slots filled. I've tested each stick individually and they're all fine. I can get the display to come up with 3 sticks in (6 gigs) but at that point when I go to check on the RAM it says it finds all 6 gigs but only 4 are usable. I've seen several posts saying this can be fixed with memory remapping, but I can't find it in my BIOS. So I have several questions:

1. Do you think memory remapping is the problem with the whole "4 gigs usable" deal?
2. Does anyone know if my specific motherboard supports memory remapping? (Specs below)
2. Does anyone know how to get my display to come up with 4 sticks? (I've already upped the voltage to the RAM, so that's not the problem)

SPECS:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L
RAM: Corsair Dominator 1066 mHz
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad
Video Card: FireGL 5200
Running Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)
Main use of the computer is for Autodesk Maya and rendering

Thanks so much!
-Bri

 

[Lazarus52980]

When you are using that much RAM, it might be necessary to up the DIMM voltage a bit to help the system handle the extra load. Does your BIOS allow any sort of over volting?

 

[crucibelle]

Stolen Thunder - anything in your BIOS that says something like "Memory Hole". I'm not certain, but i think that is the setting you need to enable.

Edit: Also try hitting CTRL+F1 while in BIOS, because sometimes there are hidden settings.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

IIRC it's a common error by the OS

 

[tcsenter]

RAM: Corsair Dominator 1066 mHz

Run MSCONFIG, click on the Boot Tab (or advanced), open the advanced options, make sure to clear/remove any check mark next to Maximum Memory. Save and reboot, confirm the memory use reporting again.

 

[StolenThunder]

Thanks guys for all the quick responses. I've been away from my computer, but I should be able to try all of this tonight. I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[StolenThunder]

Alright, so oddly enough, my "4 gigs usable" problem is fixed, though not through the BIOS. I was testing my memory sticks in different slots, trying to figure out why my display wouldn't come up when all of them were full, and all of the sudden my computer started using all 6 gigs (display still won't come up with 8 gigs, so I only have 3 2gig sticks in right now). I'm not sure what it did, because other than physically switching the sticks around I didn't change anything.

That still leaves me with my final question, does anyone know why my display won't come up when all the RAM slots are full? I've seen a lot of posts about my motherboard saying it just doesn't handle all the slots being full, so I'm assuming that's it. But has anyone run into this problem before?

Thanks again!

 

[mtnd3vil]

Your motherboard supports 8GB and should be able to run all four 2GB modules with no difficulty.

Are you using SPD or manual memory speed/timing settings? In either case, what are they? use cpuz to confirm settings from in windows.

Are you overclocking the CPU?