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I have installed Windows 7 Ultimate x64. In System Properties, Windows tells me I have 4Gb RAM but only 3Gb is usable, displayed in the following format:
Installed memory (RAM): 4.00 GB (3.00 GB usable)
Previous to this installation, I had Vista Ultimate x64 installed and that always showed 4GB and all of it was usuable. What is it about Windows 7 that has changed this? If this is indeed a problem caused by BIOS settings, I have not altered them in any way so does this mean that Windows 7 changes the BIOS settings at the point of install?
I do not believe this to be related to some memory being allocated to my Graphics Card, it already has 512MB of dedicated memory. Why would Windows 7 assign it another 1GB of RAM, giving me a total of 1.5GB graphics memory? As I said, this was NEVER a problem on Vista Ultimate x64.
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Hello AshK86,
Thank you for posting on Microsoft Answers Forums.
Can you list what model motherboard, processor and graphics card you are using? The “Hardware or BIOS reserved” is pointing towards the type of motherboard you have. I know you said you didn’t see this with Vista, but let’s make sure we rule it out just in case.
Regards,
Edgar
Microsoft Answers Support Engineer
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I have a similar issue. I have just purchased an Acer Asipre R3610 with windows 7 Home premium 64 bit OS.
msinfo32 advises me I have Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 4GB but then says Total Physical Memory is 3GB.
I have spent over 4 hours reading the web looking for answers.
My BIOS correctly reports I have 4096 MB of RAM.
msconfig "Advanced Options" the "Maximum Memory" is unticked.
My only thought is that the video card Nvidia ion is reserving the 1GB of RAM. How can I see if this is true? msconfig says it has its own 256MB of RAM and does not mention it holding any. Is there a way to release this if this is the case?
Any other advise would be greatly welcomed.
Regards
rluner
Thanks Shekhar, I have made some progress on the issue.
Maximum memory in boot options is disabled and I have installed the latest BIOS for my motherboard. After checking in Resource Monitor, I found that 1026MB of RAM was "Hardware or BIOS Reserved". I then downloaded and installed the latest NVidia drivers for my graphics card, rather than using the WDDM assigned drivers. The NVidia Graphics Utility tells me it has 512MB dedicated video memory, and 1026MB shared memory.
I can only assume that this 1026MB RAM that is "Hardware or BIOS reserved" is the same 1026MB that my graphics card reports is being shared.
How can I stop my graphics card from reserving 1026MB RAM. Is this something to do with my BIOS or the way Windows 7 handles/assigns memory? As I said previously, this was never an issue when running Windows Vista and I cannot see how installing a new OS can alter BIOS settings.
Thanks.
Hi AshK86,
Welcome to Microsoft Windows 7 Answers Forum!
There could be two possibilities with this issue.
BIOS.
You can check with your BIOS manufacturer, about how to enable the maximum memory.
Check the advanced boot options.
Hope it helps.
Thanks and Regards:
Shekhar S - Microsoft Support.
Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum.
