<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=windows-1257"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16640" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <DIV><A href="http://computermemoryupgrade.mysuperpc.com/windows_ram_memory_4gb_problem.shtml"><FONT face=Arial size=2>http://computermemoryupgrade.mysuperpc.com/windows_ram_memory_4gb_problem.shtml</FONT></A></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The actual amount that Windows recognizes at the operating system level varies depending on a number of factors, including the motherboard chipset, BIOS, and devices installed.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><STRONG>Some computers may have an actual maximum around 2.75GB, while others may go as high as 3.5GB</STRONG>. The usuable amount of memory is different from the physical amount of memory installed due to "memory mapped IO reservations". This sets aside a significant amount of memory addresses for internal use, reducing the total amount of system memory avaialable to the user. <BR></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=5>There's really nothing that can be done about this, except plan your memory upgrade accordingly. For example, if you have four memory modules on your motherboard and want to max out the amount of RAM in your computer, you may want to get two 1GB memory modules and two 512MB memory modules, <U>for a total of 3GB, which is about all that can actually be used.</U> This saves money over getting four 1GB memory modules, <U>where the last 1GB memory module provides little or no actual usable memory.</U> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><U><FONT face=Arial size=5></FONT></U> </DIV> <DIV><U><FONT face=Arial size=5></FONT></U> </DIV> <DIV><U><FONT face=Arial size=5></FONT></U> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>OMG!!!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>:))))))))</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=5><U></U></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=5><U></U></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=5><U><FONT size=2></FONT></U> </DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>