Problem with physical memory in vista

I have a sager np8660 with a 4 gb ram. I installed vista 32 bit ultimate.

Now even though my system properties show that i have a 4 gb ram, in the task manager i get only 2553mb of physical memory which is creating a great problem when editing videos.

My adobe premier pro cs3 keeps crashing and on investigating a bit i found that at the time premier crashes my physical memory usage is at 99%. I thought vista 32 bit recognizes upto 3.3gb odd of ram.

i am pasting a complete copy of the diretx diagnostic tool information here

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System Information
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Time of this report: 11/16/2008, 18:00:20
Machine name: LAPPY
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Ultimate (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.longhorn_rtm.080118-1840)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: CLEVO CO.
System Model: M860TU
BIOS: BIOS Revision: 1.00.06S LS1
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU P8600 @ 2.40GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
Memory: 2554MB RAM
Page File: 1775MB used, 3699MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 6.00.6001.18000 32bit Unicode

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DxDiag Notes
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Display Tab 1: The file nvd3dum.dll,nvwgf2um.dll is not digitally signed, which means that it has not been tested by Microsoft's Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL). You may be able to get a WHQL logo'd driver from the hardware manufacturer.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.

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Display Devices
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Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 9800M GT
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_060B&SUBSYS_08601558&REV_A2
Display Memory: 1523 MB
Dedicated Memory: 501 MB
Shared Memory: 1021 MB
Current Mode: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Driver Name: nvd3dum.dll,nvwgf2um.dll
Driver Version: 7.15.0011.8043 (English)
DDI Version: 10
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 10/23/2008 00:12:00, 6017024 bytes

and the list goes on
Can some one tell me what to do. I am guessing the shared 1021mb of video memory is responsible for my missing ram. BTW isnt the 512mb dedicated video memory sufficient, i thought shared video memory reduces the performance. I do play games


So can some one tell me how to get the maximum out of my ram as i do a lot of video editing

 

To use all of the 4 GB of RAM you will have to get Windows Vista 64-bit, because Windows Vista 32-bit only supports up to 3 GB of RAM. And definatly the shared video memory is responsible for your missing. The 512 MB of dedicated is more than plenty. But yeah. You have to have Vista 64-bit for it to reognize all 4 GB of it.

 

_Vista 32-bit will support up to a maximum RAM of 4GB; however, you will never see that much because the OS also only has a maximum logical address space of 4GB's of logical addresses to assign to every component on the system that the CPU needs to address.

In your case, because you have the 9800GT which, according to the logs you posted, is using 1021MB of shared memory, and has 501MB of its own memory that must be addressable, that means that there are 1522 MB worth of logical addresses that are effectively reserved for video usage and therefore cannot be assigned to physical RAM bytes.

On top of that, your system has to assign logical addresses to all of the other components, like the PCi bus, the hard drives, etc..., etc..., further reducing the number of logical addresses available to assign to your physical RAM.

As a result, you have 4096MB of logical addresses available initially, of which 501MB must be assigned to the GPU, leaving 3595MB of logical addresses. Another 1021MB of logical addresses is assigned to physical RAM, but that RAM is then turned over to the video system (aka "shared memory" of 1021MB in your post), leaving only 2574MB worth of logical addresses to be assigned to the remaining system components, including RAM.

Since you currently have 2553MB of available RAM showing, that indicates that a further 21MB worth of logical addresses were assigned to all of the other components on the system, such as PCI, hdd, ethernet adapter, and whatnot.

Consequently, you will never actually see a full 4GB of RAM available for discretionary use.

You might poke around in your NVidia control panel to see if you can reduce the amount of video shared memory as that is where you're most likely to gain additional useable RAM.

 

racoon -

BIOS Revision: 1.00.06S LS1 is the problem. You need to update your BIOS to version 8 and it will solve the issue (if I remember correctly it was fixed in version 7). Just contact Sager and they will be able to help you out

 

as Neil stated, the bios update will sort it.
you still will only be able to see and use 3065mb of ram instead of the full 4gb unless you upgrade to vista 64bit

image 1 before bios update
image 2 after bios update

 

Quick question, how do I let my video card use only its intended 512MB of ram and not share some with the system?

 

I've been searching for this ever since I installed my new video card and it kept the same sharing as the old one. I believe its in the BIOS or something.

 

well for my previous laptop (acer) which too had a phoenix bios had an option there letting me chose the amount of shared video memory (max being 256mb). I checked the bios of sager but there is no such option and i definitely feel that 1.5 gb of video memory is a megere waste of resourse. I think the dedicated 509mb is enough and i would be glad to have a 3 gb ram. I dont inted to upgrade to 64 bit as i will have to spend a lot on the software that i already own and on the useless windows too!!

SO any suggestions on how i would best utilize my ram. I want a balenced allocation and definitely any added ram would be great for video editing as any additonal amount of ram allows larger files to be edited at the same time..

And can some one tell me or guide me to a how to on bios upgrading?? will that help, i havnt done a bios upgrade yet and is it safe on the first hand?

 

where can I download this BIOS update anyway

 

normally from your resellers support website/forum.
its on here somewhere as well.

 

here is the latest BIOS and KBC/EC firmware

Boot into dos using a bootable usb stick (guide in my sig) and run step1.bat, reboot then run step2.bat IN THAT ORDER

 

I can't run step1.bat
when i run it. it shows
c:\clevo\ecflash ecm86tu.08
Bad command or file name

 

Download ecflash and add it to the boot drive.

 

Where can I get that ecflash?
Do you have the link to it?

Thanks

EDIT:
I managed to found it, but it's from Kobaltcomputers.
Can I use it? since I see that it's the same model M860TU.

EDIT2:
nvm, it appears to be the same thing.

 

For all those who havnt updated their bios/firmware please write to sager requesting for techincal support. They provided me with the download link and all the required how to! Witing 10 hrs of me writing the mail
Hope this would help