I thought Vista SP2 (32bit) would "show" 4 gigs RAM...

I know 32-bit Windows wouldn't be able to utilize any more than ~3gigs RAM, but I was pretty sure last night I saw my Computer Properties displaying 4gigs of RAM..now it's just 3GB. What gives? A 1-gig partition in a single-stick 2gig wouldn't go bad, right?

 

my 32bit vista shows only 3gb even though I have 4gb installed.

I think you are fine, just go into the bios and see if it shows all 4gb there.

 

No, a single bank wouldn't go bad leaving just half a stick usable. When a memory stick goes bad its a goner. Theres a trick which makes XP Pro see all 4GB of RAM, it just can't use it. There might be a similat trick for Vista. Its worth checking your BIOS settings too and looking for a option similarly called "memory remapping" and making sure its set to enabled.

 

I see. Hold up, here, it says 4GB now, either because I restarted my system or I reseated the modules, but I don't know. I read somewhere that Microsoft put in something in Vista SP2 to make it read the 4GB RAM, just can't find the exact page..

 

it will show 4GB as it reads it from SPD, but it will utilise only 3 of them. Go to Task Manager and u will see only 3 in use

 

Quoted for confirmation.

 

That trick is called 'PAE,' and no it does not really work. MS disabled 4+ GB support in PAE a long time ago for stability reasons in consumer operating systems. If you want 4GB support on a 32bit OS, you have to get one of their corporate/server OSes. And find drivers that are PAE aware, and even then programs can only use more than 2GB of RAM in the 32bit OS by being PAE aware.

 

Mmhmm, I know about the 3 only policy, much more in Home Premium. I just got bothered since we had the laptop opened by an Acer service person *AND* a dumb stew-peed counter-girl *WITHOUT* anti-ESD wrist straps. So she bothered me a little, not to mention annoyed the cr*p out of me and my dad for bluntly contradicting the international warranty policy Acer has for my notebook...but I'm ranting here already.

Perhaps I might actually be gone for some time, since my laptop's leaving for Singapore two days from now, never know when it'll be back lol.

Anyway, thanks for the help guys! Appreciate it!

 

You don't need an anti-ESD wrist strap I never use one. As long as you are not on carpet you should be OK. Also unplug machine and take out battery.

 

Yeah I'm a professional computer tech and I haven't used an anti-ESD wrist strap in like 5 years.

 

I have never used an ESD strap in my life, and I've built three of my own desktop computers, helped two other people build their own, and taken apart three laptops down to the motherboard numerous times. It's really more of a paranoia thing, unless you're working on carpet, and that's a questionable decision in the first place.

 

same with me.

 

Vista SP0 32-bit does not show the full 4 GB if you have 4 GB installed; that was introduced with SP1. Not sure why that would be affecting you unless you just so happened to get SP1 or SP2 installed when you restarted, though.