old notebook bios not seeing all memory

[PCVSnotebook]

I recently upgraded my old (945GM) chipset notebook memory ...

added 2x2G DDR2 800

while Intel says 945GM supports upto 4G of RAM , the Bios only recognized 3G in dual channel mode.

the System in Windows , says 4G of RAM ... and 3 in use .

the Graphics is not stealing the missing 1G here , when I put 2x1G it says 2G total in bios ..

any thoughts?

I already updated the Bios ... and I know that 32bit old cpu can handle and address 4G of Ram ..

And one last Question ,

Can I use the 4G without any stability problems given that the bios onle see 3 G of ram ?

 

[Harvey]

Assuming you're running a 32 bit version of Win XP, many (but not all) machines, including yours, can "see" 2 x 2 GB sticks 4 MB of RAM. However, the 32 bit OS can access only 3.x GB of that RAM.

In machines that recognize all 4 GB of RAM, the onboard video can access the extra RAM, instead of borrowing it from the memory available to run programs. I did this on my Compaq lappy running 32 bit XP Pro, and it has all the RAM the OS can possibly use. 😎

The puzzling part of your post is that your machine's BIOS doesn't see all of the RAM, but Windows recognizes all of it, although it can only use 3.x GB. My machine is just the opposite -- It recognizes all 4 GB in the BIOS, but Windows reports 3.00 GB. I don't know what to tell you about that, but if your Windows reports 3 GB of usable RAM, kick back and enjoy the best configuration you can have for your machine. 🙂

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Some early Macbooks (which used the 945 chipset) only recognized 3GB of RAM with 4GB installed. I don't know if it was a chipset limitation or an Apple Sucks limitation.