dahdout

its cuz you have vista 32bit. you need vista 64 bit. Microsoft will send you a 64 bit cd for $10. 32bit only recognizes 3 gigs, when 64bit recognizes much more.
Here is the link for the $10.00 upgrade:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvist...a/default.mspx

this n00b again

It says in the first original post and in my sig, that i have been running x64 vista.

also it states in my original post that i did run with 4GB of ram installed and recognized for a while (probably more than a year), and suddenly without any bios changes that it dropped to 3GB.

then somewhere in side this thread i even show a picture where 4gb is being recognized and about 3.8 gb is being utilized

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(1) good value coolers: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 or Black Knight |OCZ Vendetta 2. (2) 8 PIN power connector on MOBO = 2x 4 pin connectors in parallel to lower resistence/voltage drop. 1x 4 pin will work (3) x64 OS showing only 3.x GB enable memory remapping (4) Fridge cannot cool the heat output from a PC. (5) SLI/CF is not always better than a single card. (6) CTRL + F11 will start up the dell recovery console

xz3rorom3o

just reset cmos and reinstall vista x64 if you can't figure it out

this n00b again

LOL didn't i say that i did a bios flash, which reset the cmos to all default values?

+ it shouldn't be a bios problem anyways, because i didn't change the bios prior to the problem.

i'd rather avoid reinstalling.

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(1) good value coolers: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 or Black Knight |OCZ Vendetta 2. (2) 8 PIN power connector on MOBO = 2x 4 pin connectors in parallel to lower resistence/voltage drop. 1x 4 pin will work (3) x64 OS showing only 3.x GB enable memory remapping (4) Fridge cannot cool the heat output from a PC. (5) SLI/CF is not always better than a single card. (6) CTRL + F11 will start up the dell recovery console

mrtn400

Try running Prime95 in the mode that uses up 100% of your RAM and watch on your sidebar gadget if it does use up all 4GB.

If it does, you should stop fretting over this issue because it isn't effecting your performance.

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this n00b again

LOL i will try that, but side bar can't reach 4GB because it only recognizes 3GB.

__________________
(1) good value coolers: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 or Black Knight |OCZ Vendetta 2. (2) 8 PIN power connector on MOBO = 2x 4 pin connectors in parallel to lower resistence/voltage drop. 1x 4 pin will work (3) x64 OS showing only 3.x GB enable memory remapping (4) Fridge cannot cool the heat output from a PC. (5) SLI/CF is not always better than a single card. (6) CTRL + F11 will start up the dell recovery console

this n00b again

---update---
well i just ran the prime95 and tried to do 4gb run, and it got to somewhere around 3 gb then maxed out.

anyways went into safe mode to find a surprise. where it would normally recognize 4gb in vista (system information), in safe-mode it only recognized 3GB.

anyways since i had to restart after safe-mode i decided to do a vista memory diagnostic. just because. anyways. no errors found

Attached Thumbnails

       

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(1) good value coolers: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 or Black Knight |OCZ Vendetta 2. (2) 8 PIN power connector on MOBO = 2x 4 pin connectors in parallel to lower resistence/voltage drop. 1x 4 pin will work (3) x64 OS showing only 3.x GB enable memory remapping (4) Fridge cannot cool the heat output from a PC. (5) SLI/CF is not always better than a single card. (6) CTRL + F11 will start up the dell recovery console

AMD+nVidia

Ok, this is officially WEIRD.

Do you happen to have a secondary hard drive you can to a test installation on to? Try and maybe see if that it's a OS issue?

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this n00b again

that is a good point, but geez, installing vista again. hmmm

if im going to do that i should try running it with 2GB and see if it only registers 1GB. or 3GB and see if it registers 2GB or 3GB.

either way, i will attempt some more tests to isolate the problem later today.

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(1) good value coolers: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 or Black Knight |OCZ Vendetta 2. (2) 8 PIN power connector on MOBO = 2x 4 pin connectors in parallel to lower resistence/voltage drop. 1x 4 pin will work (3) x64 OS showing only 3.x GB enable memory remapping (4) Fridge cannot cool the heat output from a PC. (5) SLI/CF is not always better than a single card. (6) CTRL + F11 will start up the dell recovery console

dasparx

is there an option called something like memory remapping in your bios?
if so, look if it's enabled. if not, enable it.

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