4 gig and it only uses 2 gig?!

I have an acer aspire 5100, it came with 1 gig and I upgraded the memory to 2 gig about 2 years ago. and last week went up to 4 gig. all the paper work and even acer says 4 gig is the max, but the comp only uses 2 of it, how ever the comp knows all 4 of it is there in bios and under the properties tab for the computer

im running 32bit vista home premium SP1, with an AMD turion 64 mobile 2.20ghz processor

can some one help me. ive done all i know to do

 

You'll need a 64bit OS to be able to use all 4 gigs. If you reinstall your current 32bit version it might recognize around 3gb of it...

What is your BIOS version?

 

I guess he means he have 4GB of RAM but his computer only shows 2GB of RAM installed. Even it is 32bit OS, it should show at least 3GB-4GB of RAM. Like my 32bit Vista Home Premium, it shows 4GB of RAM but I know it is using 3GB(I check it using dxdiag) since it is 32bit OS. My friend's desktop shows 3.2GB of RAM instead of 4GB in his Vista Ultimate 32bit.
So, if the computer shows less than 3GB of RAM while you have 4GB of RAM inside your computer(32bit OS installed). It should be something wrong.

 

Go into your bios, F2 or what ever key it is.

That should cause the system it initiate and read the new ram, then just save & exit.

If that does not fix your problem and your using 2x2gb its possible you have a bad stick of ram.

 

thanks for all the suggestions, the only thing i cant really do get 64 bit OS without the money for it.

I think that IS my problem though because the comp sees the 4 gig in BIOS,under "my computer" properties, but as for utilization its only showing about 2.3 or so gig.

is there some way i can make my OS into a 64 bit as it is?

 

There is only 1 way to install 64bit OS.
Get the genuine license and a 64bit Windows Vista and install to your laptop.
And yeah! You need to back-up your stuffs before doing this. Because you need to remove your old OS then only can install the 64bit OS. This is so called Reformat/Re-installation of OS.

 

The license key for 32-bit Vista on the bottom of your system is valid for the 64-bit version of the same Vista edition.
Just acquire a 64-bit Vista retail DVD from *ahem* your friend on the internet . As long as you use the license key on the bottom of your system, and not any cracks or keygens, it should technically be legitimate. And it helps that all the 64-bit versions (Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Ultimate) of Vista are on one DVD.

Keep in mind this will entail a complete reinstall of your operating system, meaning that anything on the C: partition will be wiped out (if you have two separate hard drive partitions, C: and D: ). Back up your files on C: and D:, and burn the recovery DVDs and Drivers & Applications DVD using Acer eRecovery.
Then, install Vista 64-bit to the C: partition, use the Drivers & Applications DVD to put all the drivers you need back on the system, and enjoy!
And if anything goes wrong, just use the recovery DVDs to get your system back to its original Vista 32-bit state.

 

Hi,

You can get a fully licenced version of the 64-bit DVD from M$ directly here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/compare-editions/64-bit.aspx scroll down to bottom of the page and select option; register and pay $10 shipping. I did this and I got my DVD in 3 weeks (I am in SA).

Just a word of warning: if you have any software that only has 32-bit, and no 64-bit version, then I am afraid it will not install on the 64-bit OS. Also I did not notice any performace beef after I installed the 64-bit Vista.

Hope this helps,
S

 

Tehsuigi!? It this mean I can just download the Windows Vista x64 Installer. With my OEM vista license key(below the laptop) blah blah, I can install Vista x64 using the license key below the laptop and it is legit/legal?

 

license is same for 64-bit as Tehsuigi says and full dvd will include both, but...
if you bought your lappy with eg. vista home premium 32-bit then maybe you are not covered for support from acer/retailer if you then load vista home premium 64-bit even though you are legit with m$. @Preacherman - check you can get all drivers for laptop if going for 64-bit, ideally dual boot is the best but depends on how much work you want to do.

 

Almsot all 32-bit software works on my 64-bit Vista. The only thing that won't work are programs that require drivers that aren't signed digitally (mostly for certain hardware). 32-bit software will run under 32-bit compatibility mode, as there is a program files folder specifically for 32-bit software.