Alienware m17x with 4GB RAM installed - 32bit Vista Ultimate only sees 2GB

Hi everyone,

I've seen a lot of comment about why 32bit Vista can only see 3.x GB of 4GB installed memory, but having just splashed out on this expensive Alienware laptop, I'm disappointed that I can only see exactly 2GB of memory. I'd be happy with 2.5 - 3GB even! I need to run Virtual PCs (some need 1.5GB to run properly.)

I realise that graphics/audio cards may take control of some installed memory for their purposes but I can't understand why I've lost exactly half of my memory. Is there something obvious that hasn't been set? I spoke to Alienware support and the guy said that noone else has complained about it and that it's a Vista problem not an Alienware problem (?!?!).

As you can see from the attached screengrabs Vista sees exactly 2046MB in Task Manager. And MSINFO32 shows the disparity very clearly! 'About Windows' shows 4GB as well.

Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Ben

 

upgrade to a 64 bit operating system and brute force solve the problem.

 

Your computer's not seeing the other 2Gb because the OS is based on 32bit software. Which means it can make at most 2^32 memory allocations (4,294,967,296). That's 4Gb of RAM. But, due to the fact that 4Gb is plenty, most 32bit OSes see only 2Gb.

I would say that there's no rush to get the 64-bit version just to get the other 2Gb of RAM to be seen by the OS, because 2Gb is plenty enough already.

 

ive seen people having this problem with rams not showing up.
im also running windows vista 32bit but mine do show 4gb in the system.

i thought they fixed this after SP1?

 

Thanks for the prompt reply guys!

I didn't realise that there might be a chance to install 64-bit Vista on 32-bit hardware. I'm a little out of touch with OS/mobo compatibility! I'll need to take my time with it as I use this machine to do video editing with Adobe CS3 so I'll need to research compatibility issues first.. or maybe attempt a dual boot.

The reason I need more than 2GB is to run a Virtual PC that currently sits at 1.5GB. I can't even start it as it says I don't have enough memory!

Cheers,
Ben

 

No...not quite on the math. 32bit OSes can measure up to 4GB of address space. System resources subtract from that 4GB, and the rest is what is available in RAM.

Let me guess...you have dual graphics cards? That eats a TON of the available RAM addresses.

Also, you can try a 64bit OS provided you have a 64bit CPU but AW does not support you with drivers.

SP1 only modified what the computer properties shows. Instead of it showing how much you can use, it now shows how much is physically installed. 32bit Vista SP1 can not use 4GB of RAM nor will any 32bit OS now or in the future.

 

Aye, Greg. I wiki-ed it. And corrected myself. Thanks for the correction too, though.

So, what is the exact reason for 32bit OSes not using being able to use 4Gb of RAM? Just because of the coding?

 

32bit means the OS uses 32-bit-long "adresses" for the system to run. and with 32 bits, you can create enough different combinations for exactly 4Gb of RAM to adress. however, the system also needs to adress various caches etc., not to mention the GPU RAM, so the adresses for the actual RAM are distributed last. so your RAM is 4Gb - VRAM - caches etc. = ~3.2Gb on a normal 32bit system.

 

Thanks Greg/whizzo, that's a good summary of the situation. So I assume the Core 2 Extreme X9000 CPU that comes with this beast is 64-bit and therefore capable of Vista 64-bit? Just a matter of waiting for driver compatibility then I guess.

Yes, I got the dual 512MB Graphics Cards (given that I'm doing HD video editing) but I didn't expect to lose 2GB of RAM because of this. What's interesting is that it's showing exactly 2GB of available RAM not 2.1GB or 1.9GB. Most threads I've read about losing some of the 4GB to graphics/audio cards talk about having 3.2GB or 3.4GB left over.. I'm surprised that mine's exactly 2GB and not a megabyte more.

Cheers,
Ben

 

i think that is incorrect because i have dual 8700s in my m17x and i have lost exactly 2GB aswell... but i do have the X9000 aswell maybe it is that which is eating up the 2GB?? not sure but any help would be great

 

whizzo seems to have hit this spot on! Right off the bat, you get less than 3GB available just with the dual GPUs. Somewhere you have enough hardware that it is taking up another 1GB of space, which is not unheard of.

How much memory do your GPUs have? That's the biggest RAM killer right there!

The processor will use the same amount of addressing no matter what...those won't make much of a difference. It all boils down to what your motherboard has built in, what add-on cards (WiFi, TV tuner, etc) you have, what ports (USB, Serial, etc). You get the idea.

 

I think you get precisely 1.98GB ram..2GB = 2048MB not 2046

I have the same problem. I had 2GB before buying new ram. I expected to get about 2.5 GB before installing new ram but instead I only got 1.98GB(2046MB)..That's quite ironic. Buying 4GB ram for nothing.

 

Why don't you upgrade to Vista 64bit ? See my signature for HOW TO do that

 

Findvikas, remind he is using a m17x, not an m15x.

 

@OP - I think if you give M$ a call or shoot them an email they will send you a disc for around $5 that will let you install a 64bit os on your computer. It seems that if you want to make use of the ram you will need to upgrade to a 64 bit OS and photoshop definitely needs 4GB as my PS with 2GB runs slow sometimes when I'm working with hi - res images.

 

you need not to even give a call, you can request it online as well...
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/compare-editions/64-bit.aspx
but you need to have retail product key. OEM will not work

AzalnRex, it might work as the hardware is not much different. Command Center and BinaryGFX will work for sure and if you face any challenges then let me know and I will guide you how to over come those issues. I better rename my thread as "HOWTO run Vista x64 on Area51"

The guide applies to Area51 and you can confirm that if you want to install it.

 

The Ram might be 2048 But in Task manager only shows 2046. I Running the dual 8600m Grapics and 2.4ghz cpu. I have 4gb total. So I dont think it the Gpu that mess up the memory.

In task Manager

Physical Memory (MB)
Total 2046
Cache 1269
Free 25

Yes I will be upgrading to the 64bit vista.

 

Hi guys,

Nice to know I'm not alone I guess. So after splurging out on dual 512MB video cards we seem to have lost access to 2GB of RAM! Didn't see anything mentioned about this, in their blurb on why one should upgrade to dual 512MB video cards (see attached.)

I'd expect any company that sells itself as a boutique notebook designer to be aware of this before shipping their first lot out. Even if it's 'Vista's fault', they should advise people who are buying dual 512MB video cards and 4GB RAM on the same machine that they only support 2GB.

These machines are not cheap and what I thought I was paying for was the carefully designed configuration of these systems to perform high-end HD video editing. In fact on their website, the recommended configuration for video editing is Vista 32-bit, 4GB RAM & Dual 512MB Graphics Cards.

hmm.. I'd hate to think that Alienware were just another box-pushing reseller...

 

Update: I decided to see what would happen if I removed one of my two 2GB modules. 2GB is still available to Vista-32bit and absolutely no noticeable effect on video performance (see attached.)

This obviously makes me question why having 1GB of dedicated Video memory should automatically deduct exactly 2GB from a 4GB system...?

Any ideas?

 

the OS also has to adress various caches, buffers and whatnot. why don't you upgrade to 64bit anyway?

 

I'm not against upgrading but that's not why I bought from a 'boutique' notebook designer.

Is it really up to me to spend the next week or so trying to get all the drivers for all the bits of hardware that have been supplied with my 'custom designed' notebook only to be told if, for instance the volume control doesn't work, that Alienware does not support 64-bit?

In terms of a car, they sold me a four-seater but I can only use the front two seats...

IMHO, they should send out 64-bit Vista DVDs to people who purchased 4GB RAM, with all the required drivers & instructions on how to upgrade. That's putting the booty back into boutique!

 

Haha yea sorry man you got caught up in the AW bull**** just like many other users. For example, with the M9750 you cannot use more than 2.5GB of RAM even with a 64 bit OS yet they still sell 4GB for the M9750 and provide no info what so ever.

This is just AW being a ****ing money whoring company and trying to get all the money possible while not telling their customers about hardware compatibility issues.

Sorry went a little over the top there

 

benem - I feel for you. I thnk you and I are in same boat here. I like the machine if it could do what it is supposed to. My goal of getting Vista 64 on this thing is coming to an end. I have given it my best shot. I don't have near the knowledge or skill of all the folks in these forums that have tried to help.

I have actually just cancelled my order. Its not official yet as they need to call back in 2 bus days to confirm.

Aside from no Vista x64 support to get at the 4gb I purchased, today was the final straw. I finally gave up on the op/sys. System back to stock setup. So I decided to go have a little fun. So I installed Crysis. The second reason i bought this machine. Well, guess what. It doesnt work. It sort of works, but I get all these horizontal green lines. In groups of about an inch flickering across the screen. So, I then turned off the SLI and guess what. It worked. Turn SLI back on it doesnt work. I started checking into updated drivers, that I am sure would fix it, but after about an hour, I realized. I am spending WAY too much time dinking with this thing trying to get it to do the few things I need it to do. If I added up the hours I have spent times my billing rate...well. Basically, that was it. Not worth my time. I am sure a studious experienced notebook pro could make this sing. But I spent big $$$ and am not willing to futz with it anymore.

 

then take them out and send them back if you dont need them. simple, no?

it has been reported that many games will not support SLI, due to limited drivers in support from the game side, not the hardware side. it is not up to AW to configure dirvers for SLI to play another companies game. it is up to the company that produces the game. while a benefit to AW if they did, it does not bring any money into thier hands to correct anothers issue.

if you had done your homework, you would have realized that AW has not and does not at this time offer 64bit OS. they do not support it, therefore they send out an OS they do support. 32bit.
while i agree that they are behind the times in several areas, to compare them to a 4 seat car is just lame.
if you did not want 4 seats, then buy a two seater...simple.

it has also been a known fact (with maybe a few updates to vista) that 32bit OS's DO NOT see a full 4G of memory regardless of a single or dual gpu setup.

 

Hi Ryujin,

I've got an HP Pavilion zd8000 series laptop that I bought 3 years ago with 2GB RAM. It's a great little 2 seater and has served me well for editing DV & movies. But over the last year it's becoming more important that I can edit HD movies on my system and so I felt that finally I needed to upgrade. Also for demonstrations I sometimes need to run a Virtual PC that is currently 1.5GB in size. When I do that on my HP I have to shut EVERYTHING else down so that it can open.

On the AW website they described the perfect HD system: the m17x. If you decide to 'customise' and take their suggested 'Creative/Pro Studio' option, they suggest Vista, dual 512MB graphics card and 4GB RAM. They don't specify if Vista is 32 or 64 bit. In fact, still on their website is this: 'Maximise Windows Vista® - The Area-51 m17x delivers the full Windows Vista® Ultimate experience, turning the scalable operating system to its max settings.' (have a look for yourself!)

Problem is all I'm seeing is exactly 2GB. That doesn't help me with maximising the memory available to my video editing software. It doesn't help me start up my Virtual PC without having to shut everything down. That's not why I bought from a boutique notebook designer and paid over £3000 pounds. I'm happy to stay with my laptop until someone out there can offer a high-end, mobile, desktop-replacement that gives me access to 4GB (or at least close to..)

Despite them clearly selling a 4 seater with the knowledge that I can't use the 4 seats, I'd still be happy to have a 3 and a half seater. But a two seater is not much different to what I have had for three years and is not enough of an upgrade to justify the money.

I don't expect them to make other people's games compatible with their systems, but I do expect them to deliver what it says on their tin (and website.)

Ryujin, it would be a sad day for users like us if we didn't insist that companies delivered on their stated configuration. AW are owned by DELL and they have the technical (and financial) resources to fast-track a Vista 64bit build for their m17x hardware to resolve this problem. They shouldn't be relying on enthusiasts to bumble around trying to get it to work, only to render their £3K+ systems unsupportable.

Is it just me (and sliqsystems) or have others also bought m17x with dual 512MB graphics and 4GB RAM but can only see 2GB?

 

benem: i understand your side of it...trust ne i do...i would prefer a 64bit system from AW as well....but lets be honest...it has been just recent that i have seen various companies offer 64bit as a standard OS. so while AW is behind in this fact, they are certainly not the only one to offer only 32bit at this time.
not sure if you are into the understanding of marketing....what AW and ALL other comanies do is tell sorta-kinda-near truths. you may see what they advertised as misleading and false, but in factual presentation, they did not lie. they just skirted around a few things. they did not specify what OS was offered, nor are they obliged to...so in essence, you could max out vista with a 32bit OS....

as you may be aware, there are a few threads in regards to 64bit OS, as others have taken the road less travelled and opted to install 64bit themselves.

 

Hi Ryujin,

Your attitude on this is playing into the hands of these marketers. They know that most people just take whatever marketing policies they dish out. And the small number of people that complain, they deal with individually. It's still cheaper to deal with a few complaints but make lots of money from the masses.

I'm not for one second saying that AW is the only company that employs these policies. But for a company that sells itself as 'boutique', I expect a bit more i.e. people in-house building the hardware up, testing with various combinations, making specific recommendations for gamers, HD video editors, etc...

I have no problems with the idea of installing 64bit myself, but firstly, I am busy working on stuff that helps me afford to buy boutique computers in the first place and secondly, I want to end up with a system that AW supports.

Having only 2GB available from an 4GB system is just not good enough. No amount of smooth-talking changes that fact.

 

i will close my arguments with this:

i have to disagree that i am playing into the hands of the marketers...as i know what they do, therefore i research before buying...as it appears you did not by assuming that a 'boutique' operation such as AW would not dare to deceive its potential customers....

if you understand how this all works, then why did you still purchase the system with a 32bit OS?

 

Hi ryujin,

I make videos. I don't build PCs (well not since about five years ago..) I wish I had more hours in the day (or more accurately, more weeks in the year) to research the complexities of operating system / hardware compatibilities.. but I don't.

Personally I don't care about 32bit, 64bit or 128bit or whatever. Nor should I. I want a system that delivers what it says it will: one that gives me 4GB (or at least over 3GB of my 4GB.) I currently have one that only gives me exactly 2GB.

You're saying I should either send 2GB back or attempt a 64bit rebuild. I'm saying AW should either fast-track a 64-bit build or modify their website to accurately describe what they are selling.

I think the AW marketing machine would prefer I followed your advice.

 

With all respect, I havent seem anywhere on the AW site that indicates you are getting 32 or 64. Maybe its there but I havent seen it. All other sites I visited warned that you need 64bit to get at the 4gb. But no such thing did I see on the AW site. It just states that to unlock full power ...etc etc get 4gb. I (naivly) assumed they meant they are using 64bit since they never mentioned this anywhere. Now, yes, this is subtle marketing, but in the end they are getting at least one machine back (possibly 2 if benem returns his). Thats probably around 10k they are losing. sure they get the 15% restock. But in the end I am going to save money with a sager 9262 that will have 64 and 32 bit in the same package even if I include the restock fee. The only thing I can see I am really losing here is the very nice lighting of the AW system.

 

taken from AW site:

also taken from AW site:

also taken from the AW site:

 

thus was your error and the OP's....not AW.

 

Yes, technically it was my error. I went back to see where you found your quotes. The first was from the technical forums. Which I didn't check at the time. The second was the very last line on the order page in the smallest viewable font. So, the fact that the info was there, doesnt override the fact that it is "subtely" overlooked when you place your order.

And still, there is nothing that says which version of the op/sys is coming with the machine you are ordering. Sure you could get the information that says you need 64bit to get at the 4gb, but they dont tell you which op/sys you are getting when you order.

So, in the end, I guess I was duped. Or I was not a savvy shopper. Even if this was all my fault. The machine doesnt do what I want. And according to AW wont do what I want for the foreseable future. So, it gets returned. Luckily, AW machines are so expensive you could return it and even pay 2 restock fees and get another machine with similar or better specs at a cheaper cost.

 

Ryujin said:

"also taken from AW site:
Quote:
† For systems configured with 4GB of memory, the full 4GB may not be available due to system requirements. Actual variance depends on system configuration. "


OK, so the full 4GB may not be available, huh...? So how much then, boutique notebook designers? ...say 3.8GB...? Maybe 3.4GB? Like I mentioned earlier, I'd be happy with 3.4G...

When you buy a 400GB harddrive, the full 400GB 'may not be available.' Sometimes you lose 1%, sometimes 2 or 3%. That's pretty normal.

What I'm specifically referring to here is exactly 2GB being available from a system advertised as a 4GB system 'that delivers the full Windows Vista® Ultimate experience'....

That's a small loss of 50%!!!

Does anyone in this forum honestly think that is acceptable?

 

Haha yea dude I know what you mean except I'm 100x worse. I don't even want to say how much time I've spend installing / uninstalling / trying new drivers. I even wrote an SLi guide because I was doing this so many times and I figured that a bunch of other people here will have to sooner or later. I have made a decision to never touch my drivers again (if I had my laptop that is )

 

Benem,

You'll have to excuse ryjun. As I'm sure you've noticed, as well as anyone perusing this post (and oddly, my wife who was just peering over my shoulder trying to figure out what I was laughing my @$$ off over), ryjun has obviously been spending very long evenings beneath the desks of AW executives.

But take heart, you're not alone.

You can see my signature below for yourself. I decked out my m17x, and it took me almost three weeks to finally admit that Alienware is a sh!t company. I mean, who else would charge an additional $350 just for two extra gigs of RAM. And yes, my m17x only showed two gigs, even though I had all four installed (with two different manufacturers, just to make sure I was right).

Alienware lied to you when you purchased the system; they lied to you when they said nobody else has had that problem. I've called them personally so they could tell me why I forked up $350 for two extra gigs of RAM that their system can't even take advantage of. Hell, you can buy a full 4GB of RAM off Newegg.com for around a $100.

After I finally realized that my two year old HP could start up and shut down quicker, could go into sleep mode and come out of it quicker (almost three times as fast, mind you), and could recognize 3GB of RAM, I finally accepted the fact I'd been sent an overpriced illuminated keyboard...and alien head logo.

I sent it back, and am waiting on the Arima W840-DI to come out. It has duel HDD's available in RAID, operates on the new 1066mhz front side bus system by Intel (Centrino 2), and supports up to 1333mhz RAM. it will also sport the new Intel mobile quad-core processors. As far behind in technology as Alienware keeps themselves, they won't upgrade to Intel's new platform this decade. Did I mention the Arima W840-DI has an illuminated keyboard? And the companies who build on that chassi won't be charging $350 for 4GB.

Ryjun can speak up and defend Alienware all he wants, but there's a reason the m17x is being sent back to Alienware by the pallet load. There's also a reason why there are several websites completely dedicated to bashing AW (check google). Unfortunately, it took me $5400.00 to figure it out. Well, 15% of $5400.00 .

PS: Sliqsystems, don't be so polite to ryjun. You know very well what he's up to. Nobody loves AW that much in the face of so much evidence unless he's actually tied up in one of their cubicles during the day taking service calls and telling the callers it's not AW's fault they're only getting 2GB out of the $350 extra they paid for their RAM.

 

Lots of companies well gladly sell you 4 gigs of Ram and a 32 bit operating system, it's not just AW. If you're going to spend a bunch of money on a computer then you should do some research first. There are a ton of threads on this issue and you could have consulted them before you made your purchase.

That being said, I feel for you and I wish that AW would stop being deceptive and lead by example. They should have a better disclaimer or get off their butts and put out 64 bit drivers.

If they support a 64 bit OS, I would be an M17x owner by now.

You have a few options.

1. Return it.
2. Upgrade to a 64 bit operating system.
3. Live with it.

If you really want to understand the 32 bit limitation, check out this post:
http://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/archive/2008/07/21/3092070.aspx

-SigX

 

I disagree with the above statement completely. Yes, lots of companies will gladly sell you 4 gigs, but they charge you extra for the two extra gigs, and you normally end up with something for your money (be it 2.5GB, 3GB, or 3.2GB). Everyone knows that.

But what Alienware is doing, is charging their customers $350 (!!!) extra for an additional 2GB of RAM, when they know full and well their m17x won't even recognize it! They should be lynched for such practices.

As I said in my previous post, there's a reason multiple websites are set up for the sole purpose of hating Alienware.

PS: SigX, that is, however, a very informative link for those systems which will recognize a percentage of RAM over the 2GB mark.

 

Hi PLPerron,

Well done for sending it back. I really don't want to because I've set it up now with all my software/data but hey, that's life (should have done more research up front..) But hopefully this thread will help people who are considering the m17x to beware. I'd read stuff about losing a bit of RAM but not 2GB's worth!

Look at how Sony sell their 4GB RAM Vista 32bit laptops. Have to dig a bit deeper with DELL but at least it gives you the information whilst you're still configuring your system.

Anyway, I wonder if more than just three of us are sending it back? Surely at some point AW will make the OBVIOUS decision to fasttrack 64bit support...

 

Ah, found this thread while using google. Just got my m17x yesterday. Trying to run VMWare and gave guest os 2GB of memory. All of a sudden my whole system freezes and I check task manager... whallah.. no memory for host OS.

I looked up if there is some setting that AW missed... nope... not the issue... they purposly screwed me and everyone else on this thread.

It took over 2 months for these jerks to get me my laptop.. and this was after i screamed at them on the phone to get it to me after the first 60 days of waiting.

So, now I get to scream at some mexican lady on the phone AGAIN. This time to get my money back. Yeah, I have to pay the 15% restock fee.. but, atleast I bought this on pre-tax dollars and got a 25% discount to begin with.

I am so fed up with Dell/AW... time to get a Macbook and run parallels.

I really feel for all of you on here. We aren't experts... which is why we rely on the "best of the best" to guide us in giving us what we expect. The "best of the best" are out to screw each and every one of us. This is a sad day for me. I wanted an AW system since I was a kid... and now I just found out they were sitting there waiting to take me and my money for a ride.

Good day

 

one question: can I disable Memory Remapping on my m17x??
I have the same problem with the 4gb ram on my m17x.........

 

i do not feel sympathy for anyone who does not research any purchase before an actual sale.
all of you complaining about how AW did this to them is nothing short of childish behavior. take responsibility for your own decisions and actions for a change.

it was asked where on the site information could be found...i found it.
i also stated that while AW did not specifiy out in the open what bit OS was installed, they did not mislead. you assumed the incorrect information by not asking the questions when purchasing the system.

this said, stand up, be a man (woman) and take responsibilty for your inability to research and ask questions before you buy. make yourself and educated buyer, not a finger pointing child.

 

I have been reading this thread with great interest as I am currently 'Researching the Purchase of new laptop' to replace my current desktop machine which is getting long in the tooth and Alienware was at the top of my list until now, I can see both sides of the argument about the 4gig RAM.

The comment about the OS not seeing all 4 gig is clearly stated if you click more info in customize it clear states 'if you have 4 gig installed the system should see between 2.5GB and 3.12 GB'. If you purchase 4 gig of memory based on this information and the laptop only sees 2 gig then it's 'NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE' under UK Sale of Goods Act.

Because I am researching my purchase I have emailed and spoken to customer support and got conflicting answers to what profile is the HDMI connector, according to the spec it's 1.2 but according to technical support it's 1.3 which one is correct, very confusing to a potential buyer. I have also asked other technical questions about HD audio output 8:1 and how the M17X achieves it and formats it will output via HDMI. So far all I have received back is a request for my customer number until they receive it they won't answer my questions. This is great help when researching the purchase of new laptop when Technical support won't even answer questions. I really do like the look/spec of the M17X but sadly because of their negative attitude to a potential buyer sadly it's been scrubbed of my list. Sorry for going off topic I only wanted to point out that it's not just 32/64 bit OS where Alienware could be guilty of being misleading in their marketing spin.

 

at least you took time to research before getting the product.
while i agree that AW CS is seriously lacking, and tech support in some cases, this shows that you desired to become educated in your purchase and actually get what you pay for....thanks for not assuming....


and good luck with what you do get.

 

'i do not feel sympathy for anyone who does not research any purchase before an actual sale.
all of you complaining about how AW did this to them is nothing short of childish behavior. take responsibility for your own decisions and actions for a change.'

Wow ryujin, I'm surprised you still feel that way... Everyone's entitled to an opinion, but you're starting to make me wonder what's motivating yours...

Let me be clear: We only get 2GB from the 4GB sold to us.

Let me put it another way: We get a similar performance from our 'boutique' notebooks even when we pull out one of the two 2GB modules.

So ryujin, can you tell me where they (or anyone on the web) mention that you will only have 2GB from 4GB?

I'm glad we live in a country that has statuatory rights on selling products. Check out HP & even DELL's approach to advising that you'll end up with 3.x GB RAM using the supplied OS.

AW are being deceptive by selling 4GB on the m17x knowing that when you power it up at home you're only going to see 2GB.

But just one more time for the dummies: We're not even talking about 3.x GB RAM. We're talking about 2GB.

Ryujin, to help visualise the extent of the issue, I used a car analogy earlier in this thread about only being able to use two seats from a four seater car... It would be a sad day for the society if salesmen were allowed to, in the fine print, say 'the seats in the back of your four seater car can't be used as they get really, really hot and so for your protection we welded the back doors closed.' Or in the case of AW, you find out when you get home and want to take the family for a drive!

Ryujin, I really don't know how much simpler I can make my point.

Zarigani, I'm sorry to say I don't know enough about Memory Remapping to understand how best to overcome this 2GB limitation. Again, all the articles I've read seem to talk about trying to get more than 3.5GB from a 4GB system (which isn't very promising by the way..) Good luck with it though!

 

benem:
it appears as if you can not accept a simple fact that you did not know what you were buying. you asked for information...i provided...all taken from the AW site. i did not inteject anything other then what was available to any person accessing the AW page.
as you said, we live in country that has rights on selling products. we also live in a country that hopefully has educated consumers.
do you just arbitrarily sign your home owners insurance without reading the fine print? do you actually know what you are getting? and not getting?

as far as your analogy, you sated the following: post#21...

you did not mention anything other then that, therefore i offered a solution - do not buy the back seats...or buy a 2 seater car...options are available...

you also say the following: post#45

do not know where you have been for the past century or so, but this has been common place in business and will not stop. i wonder how many other items you purchase and find fault with since you seem to miss the fine print all the time...

i also provided - from the AW site - an understanding as to how the OS system addresses the memory allocation....it is not anyting anyone here has control over, and several other people attemtped to assist you in understanding why you were seeing what you were, but you seem to have not taken the information and digested it.

i have also started another thread aimed mainly at the AW reps to hopefully get a better understanding....maybe you can post in thier as well...

 

my motivation is in hopes people can learn to become better educated consumers and stop assuming things.

i mean should a company really have to tell you not to use a toaster or hairdryer in the bathtub?

 

EDITED...

"† For systems configured with 4GB of memory, the full 4GB may not be available due to system requirements. Actual variance depends on system configuration."

They should have told you how much would be available though. I mean seriously 2GB is pretty crappy for a top of the line gaming system.

 

AW website clearly states if 4gig of ram is installed it will only see '2.5GB and 3.12 GB' if the system shows less than 2.5gig of ram then it's not fit for purpose (UK sale of goods act) AW should either fix the problem or provide a full refund.

 

i think my comparisons are just fine...
would you just take a companies word for it if they said it was the fastest notebook in the world? (dont answer that, cause by several responses the answer would be yes.)

i never said it was not fair, i just simply stated an obvious oversite of a buyer by his lack of investigating what he was purchasing, or considering to purchase. thus, the majority of his issue is self perscribed.

and how would the purchasers not know what they were buying? hell, i am not as tech savy as several people on this fourm, but even i knew about the limitations of a 32bit OS and how it resolves RAM addressing and why you do not see a full 4G. i even know how to read the fine print, as obviously the OP knows about the fine print, but just decided not to read it. again, his issue.

and i bet you all agree that the lady who ordered coffee should have been warned and told that it was hot before she drank it....

i guess common sense and accountability are nothing anyone adhears to for ones self when they can point the finger at someone or something else...