32bit XP with 4GB RAM

[vivitron 15]

Hi

I built a new pc recently, and put vista 64 on it. After much messing about with drivers and software, I ended up going back to 32 bit XP (SP3). Long story short - I couldn't get my 2 graphics cards playing nice in vista, and I couldn't get my tv tuner working well in 64 bit.

When I bought the machine, because I was expecting to have a 64 bit OS, I got 2 x 2GB sticks of RAM. When I took the decision to downgrade to 32 bit XP, I expected to lose some RAM (32 bit etc), and expected to get around 3.2GB.

Now that I'm up and running, XP shows only 1.93GB of RAM. I have checked with CPUz, and it sees both sticks, and recognises 4GB, but in the system properties, and also in task manager, I only see 1.93GB.

I have been googling this all morning, but haven't managed to find anything useful.

Does anyone have any ideas where my 1.27GB (3.2 - 1.93) of RAM has gone? Is this to be expected?

Hope that makes sense!

Thanks

V

[clocker]

Start> Run>MSCONFIG.EXE> BOOT.INI tab> Advanced Options button... UNcheck
/MAXMEM box.

[Snee]

Lookie here. (http://www.battle-lands.com/forums/showthread.php?p=97)

You won't be able to use all 4GB for one single application, though. At once, I mean. But it should halp when running lots of stuff.

[vivitron 15]

Thanks guys

clocker - I had a look in the advanced settings of boot.ini, and the box was already unticked. When i tick it, the max I can set it to is 1984.

Snee - congrats on the little one! and I followed the link, and think i understand a bit better what is going on. I think I read elsewhere that PAE has been disabled from SP2 for XP - nevertheless, I tried it without success. I also tried the /3GB switch, which didn't work either.

Any other ideas?

Thanks

V

[clocker]

Hmm.
The numbers you're showing make it seem like one stick isn't getting read at all.

Maybe try pulling one stick, see if Windows is happy.
If so, swap to the other stick and see what happens.

Then try it again with both sticks.

Seems like makework, but you never know.

[Snee]

Snee - congrats on the little one!

Bret: My wife and I weren't able to have children. ... Bret: Yeah, she's imaginary, yeah. The kids take after her in that sense.


and I followed the link, and think i understand a bit better what is going on. I think I read elsewhere that PAE has been disabled from SP2 for XP - nevertheless, I tried it without success. I also tried the /3GB switch, which didn't work either.

Any other ideas?

Thanks

V

http://www.eggheadcafe.com/community/aspnet/65/10046904/solution-3gb-option-does.aspx might halp.

PAE needs a bit of tinkering but should be enablable. /3GB might be more help though, if you can get it to work. The above link may do it for you. If you get the entry working you can take the original out or better yet put the 3gb entry as default and save the other. Be careful, though.

It's been ages since I've used it myself. Not using anything with above 2gigs myself nowadays, but last I heard both tweaks should be usable on XP. Although it might be it only works with xp pro. Are you on XP home?

But clocker makes a good point about it possibly being bad ram or something.

[vivitron 15]

Thanks again guys. I think clocker's idea is the first place to start - the simplest solution is usually correct and all that!

Failing that, I'll try adding a new line to boot.ini, as per the link.

Grrr, why are pcs so complicated - im sure MS do it just to keep IT people in work!

[lynx]

Grrr, why are pcs so complicated - im sure MS do it just to keep IT people in work!
Nope, they do it so that when they change things around they can make the IT guys pay for expensive training courses. :angry:

[starbucks]

edited, basically said the same thing as clocker


Thanks again guys. I think clocker's idea is the first place to start - the simplest solution is usually correct and all that!

Failing that, I'll try adding a new line to boot.ini, as per the link.

Grrr, why are pcs so complicated - im sure MS do it just to keep IT people in work!

hey now, i would like to keep my job :D

[vivitron 15]

Well, yesterday I pulled one of the RAM sticks, and booted: windows showing 1.93GB. Pulled the other stick, booted: 1.93GB. Put both sticks back in, but in the yellow sockets (were in black before): 1.93GB.

One thought I just had is: is it worth trying one in a black, and one in a yellow?

The next step is to try with the /3GB in front of /fastdetect, as per the link above.

...and I'm on XP Pro

Actually, after a little more googling, I found a link that suggests turning "memory mapping" off (http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20070213233226803&board_id=1&model=P5B+Deluxe&SLanguage=en-us&page=1). I will also try this, see if it helps any (I have the Asus P5B motherboard).

hmm, so I booted into Bios and changes the memory mapping setting (it was off, so tried it on), and that did nothing.

I also tried putting /3GB in the boot.ini file - same.

The last chance is trying one yellow and one black. Interestingly, bios showed up as 2GB just now - im sure it didnt when the ram was in the black slots...

hmmm, so i have put the two sticks in slots 1 and 2 (black and yellow), and bios definitely shows 4GB installed.

Using either the default boot.ini or the boot.ini with /3GB, I get the same - 1.93GB.

------------
OK, it turns out that I need to have "memory mapping" turned on for 4GB to show up in bios; with it turned off, only 2GB shows up.

Now, I'll try (again) using the /3GB switch, to see if that does anything

-------------
Hmmm, so I turned "memory mapping" on, with the sticks still in different coloured slots, and booted with the /3GB switch, and still nothing.

Very bizarre. I'm hoping to mess about with some home movies, and so was hoping to have the extra RAM to help out. In the meantime, I have cleared a partition and "bought" a copy of XP 64bit. I am going to install this on the spare partition and dual boot. I figure this will help with two things: firstly, I can have 64bit, 4GB RAM for home movie stuff (on a cleanish system), and secondly, I will know that I can get 4GB RAM working (i.e. its not the RAM thats the problem).

Still would love to get the extra in 32 bit though!

[tesco]

So with this 'memory mapping' turned on do you now see more than 1.93gb in the bios?
If not then I doubt 64bit windows will do anything for you until you sort that out.

[vivitron 15]

sorry, just rereading my post, it doesn't read very well!

With "memory mapping" enabled, I see 4GB in bios. without, only 2GB.

But even with it enabled, XP (32) can only see 1.93GB

[tesco]

Well then 64bit will solve your problem. :)

[clocker]

Is there something specific in your board's instructions about using different colored DIMMs?
Usually, you'd expect them to be in matching slots so dual channel would be enabled.

I still think something is up with your memory...XP should be seeing over 3GB of RAM and it's apparently only reading 1 stick.
Have you confirmed that the board is set to the right memory voltage?

[vivitron 15]

This is what I'm thinking Clocker. There's something wrong somewhere along the line. I'm going to try 64 bit dual boot tomorrow, and if I can still only get 1.93, i know its either ram, or motherboard or something.

[clocker]

Sounds like a plan.

I'll predict it doesn't see 4 GB.

[lynx]

If you only see 2GB in bios then you OS isn't likely to be able to see anything extra.

I assume you have 64MB shared memory for graphics which is pulling the usable memory down by that amount.

The very fact that you can make the bios see 2GB or 4GB leads me to think that the problem lies with the bios settings, consequently the first thing I'd try is resetting those to default if you haven't already tried that.

[vivitron 15]

I've been experimenting a lot more this morning.

1. With memory mapping enabled, Bios doesnt like just 1 stick of RAM (2GB)

2. With memory mapping disabled, and 2 sticks in, bios "sees" just 2GB RAM

3. With memory mapping enabled, and 2 sticks in, bios "sees" all 4GB RAM

4. With just a single stick [stick 1](memory mapping disabled), windows 32 and windows 64 boot just fine, and see 2GB.

5. With just the other single stick [stick 2] (mem map disabled), both 32 and 64 XP boot fine and see 2GB.

A combination of 4. and 5. suggest that each RAM stick is working fine.

Coupled with 2. and 3. in order to use all 4GB in XP64, I will need to enable mem mapping.

-----------------------
I tried putting the sticks of RAM in different slots, and there was no difference in any of this (suggesting that the "one black, one yellow" from a previous post was a red herring).
-----------------------
6. With both sticks in, and mem mapping enabled, bios sees 4GB, XP32 sees the usual 2GB, and XP64 won't boot! :frusty:

[clocker]

What motherboard and memory are you using?

[vivitron 15]

It's an Asus p5B motherboard, and 2 sticks of Corsair RAM:

Manufacturer (ID) Corsair (7F7F9E0000000000)
Size 2048 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
Part number CM2X2048-6400C5

according to cpuz.

I have version 1803 of bios, and have just been googling if its worth upgrading.

[clocker]

And the memory voltage is set at 1.9v?

[vivitron 15]

the memory voltage is set to 1.8V according to CPUz - should it be 1.9?

[clocker]

the memory voltage is set to 1.8V according to CPUz - should it be 1.9?
That's what Corsair says...wouldn't hurt to try.

[vivitron 15]

Just tried putting it to 1.9 manually, and no difference. I don't think I've ever been this frustrated before!

-------------------------

Sorry, I should have said - when xp64 doesnt boot up, I just get a black screen (after I select which OS to boot from), as opposed to a BSOD or anything like that...don't know if that helps?

[clocker]

Have access to any other RAM to try?

[vivitron 15]

Unfortunately, I don't (with the exception of buying more).

[clocker]

Too bad.
Does XP64 boot with just one stick in place?

[vivitron 15]

It does indeed boot with a single stick in

----------------------
I'm thinking of seeing if i can install XP64 with the remap enabled...I'm running out of ideas now! I've even filled out a technical help form on the asus site....

[clocker]

Then I can't help but think that there is an incompatibility problem between your board and the memory...in other words, this is hardware, not software based.

[vivitron 15]

Thanks a lot Clocker - I'll post if I ever do solve this!

[vivitron 15]

--------------------

After much to-ing and fro-ing with Asus and Corsair technical support, I have just received an RMA code from ebuyer.co.uk!

Ebuyer have stopped stocking my motherboard, so I need to choose an alternative board. The original cost was £46.27, so I would like to spend that (or thereabouts - under £50 ideally).

So, the obvious question is now: please can someone reccomend a board from those under ~£50 from: http://www.ebuyer.com/search?store=2&cat=14&subcat=658


I have:
Q6600 processor
2 graphics cards (Nvidia Geforce 8600GT; Geforce FX 5200)
a single sata dvd burner
3 HDDs (1 sata, 2 ata)
PCI-e 1x wifi card (but I also have usb cards, if pcie 1x wasnt available)
4GB of Ram (2 sticks, as above in this thread)

I currently use stereo audio out, but I would like to retain spdif and 6/8 channel for when i get a new amp.

I dont need onboard gfx (unless I can also use onboard with the gfx cards I have)


-------
all in all, I'm after something that will a) work with my RAM! and b) be reliable

Thanks a lot

V

----------
oh, and I forgot to say, I would like plenty of usb sockets, and ideally 8GB (or more) RAM support for futureproofing, and I will probably want to mildly overclock at some point in the future.

in fact, there are no motherboards < £50 that are atx on there.
and the first that will allow >4GB of RAM is: an MSI board (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148024/show_product_specifications?spectype=extended) - has anyone any experience of this?
Or should I go for the asus one (http://uk.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=710&l4=0&model=2580&modelmenu=2) link to ebuyer (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152576)?
or Gigabyte (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152175)?

[lynx]

Well, the Gigabyte board seems to combine the best aspects of both the other boards - 16GB max memory, 12 USB ports, 7.1 Audio
BUT it has 2 regular PCI slots and 3 PCI-E-X1 slots compared to 3 regular & 2 X1 for the other 2 boards. Depends whether that's important to you.

That said, I doubt if there's much to choose between the boards in other respects.

[vivitron 15]

Thanks Lynx

I think I'm going to opt for the MSI one - 16GB of RAM is a "nice to have", 7.1 sound will be essential when i get my new amp later this year, and im not too concerned over usb slots (can always get a hub if needs be).

I also checked out the msi site, and the RAM i have is specifically mentioned as compatible with this board.

Hopefully, I'll get this working when it arrives!

[vivitron 15]

Got the new motherboard (MSI), and popped it in this morning, and voila, without doing anything in bios, i have 2GB in XP32 and 4GB in XP64. Now just to see how to turn "memory remap" or equivalent off, and im there!

although before i try to do that, i think im going to do a fresh xp64 install and see if i can get everything up and running in there - i like the idea of a 64bit os.

Oh, and the very next thing will be to reseat my heatsink - running rather hot at the minute (30-40C on idle!)...god I hate the push in clips on heatsinks - can never get them in right first time....took me ages to get it right on the last motherboard too!

anyway, thanks to all for the advice - is it occams razor that the simplest solution is usually the best? - just send the bloody thing back and get a new one solved mine!

I've been contemplating my problem getting the heatsink in properly. Has anyone any experience of using a heatsink clip (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Intel-Pentium-4-P4-Socket-775-Heatsink-Bracket-Holder_W0QQitemZ170303095427QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090216?IMSfp=TL090216113002r5552) system like that one? I assume i could just remove the plastic clips from the heatsink and screw through into that thing?

My heatsink is an Arctic Cooling AC-FRZ-7P Freezer 7 Pro (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/105994).

Thanks again!

[battues]

Removing the clips won't do you no good unless you have something for the screws to catch on or it will never be screwed it will just keep on moving freely and the cooler won't be attached to the motherboard.
On my old pc i used a lot of plastic clips coolers. what is the problem exactly?
I found it very useful to use some kind of long stick (wood or plastic) to force the clips in (i pressed each side of the clips in one by one since my hands were to big for this place).

[clocker]

Has anyone any experience of using a heatsink clip (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Intel-Pentium-4-P4-Socket-775-Heatsink-Bracket-Holder_W0QQitemZ170303095427QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090216?IMSfp=TL090216113002r5552) system like that one? I assume i could just remove the plastic clips from the heatsink and screw through into that thing?


A backing plate like that is really the only way to go.
I've used nothing but since Intel decided to use those infernal pushpins.