Having some issues with RAM and my GPU... I think. Help please?

For the longest time, my laptop's RAM has capped out at around 4GB even though I have 6GB installed. Right clicking "computer" and selecting "properties" would list the RAM as 6.00 GB and nothing else. I eventually tried changing my boot ram in MSconfig to 6144 (the default it selected as soon as I ticked the box) and now it launches with 6.00 GB (4.99 GB usable). That's 1GB more than I've been able to use before, but I have no idea where the other 1GB is, or why I had to manually set this option in the first place. Previously, passing 4GB of used RAM would cause the HDD paging file to be used. This was mainly discovered when Killing Floor would crash once I passed 4GB of RAM while playing it, stating it had run out of memory and I only had 4096MB installed.

Now I would like to find out where that missing 1.01GB of RAM has gone. It ACTS like my previous laptop did with its integrated intel x3100 GPU, where it would take away 256MB of RAM from my 3GB and I'd only get about 2.75GB of RAM usable. Now here lies my problem: My current video card is a dedicated GPU; it shouldn't steal my RAM, but it appears as if it is using shared memory to take the 1GB of dedicated RAM it has out of my system RAM.

I'll tell you right now: I'm stumped beyond belief. Do you think anyone could help me with this? My system specs are in my signature and my OS is Windows 7 Ultimate x64.

 

Alright, time for a bump. I know it's freaking baffling this issue I have, but SOMEBODY might know how to help.

 

Mine looks like this.


Looking at Task Manager it says I`m using 2.2GB of the memory. So the first picture must be what you have available and not counting whats being used etc? If thats true I have no idea why yours is showing 4.9GB (5GB) and not 6GB.

 

Exactly my point. Where you have 16,0GB (15,9GB usable), mine says 6.00GB (4.99GB usable), and in task manager the total memory says "5111". It's as if there's 1GB absolutely missing, period. The problem is it would make sense if my video card's 1GB of VRAM was shared memory... but it shouldn't be. Not at all.

 

Another bumpity, I do need some help.

 

Have you tried booting up with one or the other DIMM removed, or with different RAM installed? Maybe one of your DIMMs is bad, so the notebook recognizes it for what it claims to be but can't access all of the RAM on the chip.

 

Impossible. I use triple channel memory, so I require three matching sticks installed at all times (I.E. I can only have 3GB, 6GB, 9GB, 12GB or 24GB of RAM installed in my PC). It's like using RD RAM, you MUST use pairs or it doesn't boot. I'm hoping to root out all possible software failings, though I do believe it's quite possible my RAM is going bad like a lot of the other gear inside my PC.

 

Wikipedia is by no means infallible, but unless your system has its own set of rules, I imagine the above would apply if you booted with one stick disconnected (and down to single-channel if you only used one stick). Have you actually tried it?

There are probably a million other possibilities, but that's all I've got.

 

XD I actually went and checked wikipedia to make sure I wasn't wrong when I found out the information all those years ago when I got this laptop and saw the very same thing. I do remember distinctly a couple people noting that it doesn't run unless I have 3 sticks, but again long ago. If nothing else turns up on the software side I'll try it, though sadly I can't remove one of my sticks =(. My tools are too weak and I can't get at the stick on the flip side of the board (long story).

As for here though, I'm still hoping it's a software problem I can simply zero in on and get rid of. It looks so much like my GPU is using its memory as shared RAM.