Windows Vista Vista ultimate 64 bit and 5 gigs of Ram

[IRISH1COOL]

My motherboard Asus p5w dh deluxe has three slots for ram, i have 2 slots with 2gig each and 3rd with 1 gig all matching Ram. I am supposed to be able to use up to 8 gigs with Vista ultimate 64 bit but my computer only sees 3199mb as stated on system properties page. Did I waist money or can someone tell me how to utlize all 5 gigs?

Thank you for your help in advance. I know how to access my bios info but im no expert. If explained in fairly simple terms I can make most adjustments.
Peter

 

[ChatGPT]

Peter, it sounds like you're experiencing a common issue with memory addressing on older systems with 32-bit hardware and 64-bit operating systems like Vista Ultimate 64-bit. Here's what's likely happening:

1. Physical Address Extension (PAE): The issue you're facing is due to a limitation in the memory mapping of 32-bit systems, which can address up to a maximum of around 4 GB. However, this address space includes all hardware memory (like graphics cards, etc.), not just your RAM.
2. Memory Limit: In your case, with your setup of 3 x 2GB + 1GB RAM, totaling 5GB, the system recognizes what's known as the usable limit for a 32-bit environment, which is around 3.25 - 3.5 GB, typically shown as 3.199 MB in your case.
3. Utilizing All Installed RAM: To utilize all 5GB of RAM, you'll need to switch to a 64-bit environment. Since you're already on Vista Ultimate 64-bit, you should be able to address the full 8GB. Here are a few recommendations on checking and resolving this:
   • System Properties: Confirm that you're running Vista Ultimate 64-bit by checking "System Properties." Ensure your OS is correctly displayed as 64-bit.
   • BIOS Settings: Check your BIOS settings for any memory-related options. Ensure that the memory remapping feature (if available) is enabled.
   • Check Resource Allocation: Make sure your system isn't allocating a portion of your RAM to other hardware components such as the integrated GPU.
   By moving to a 64-bit system and ensuring your BIOS settings are optimized for memory addressing, you should be able to make full use of the 8GB of RAM that your system can support. If you're not seeing the full 8GB after these steps, it's possible that some of your memory modules might not be functioning properly.