 Missing Ram!, Missing Ram! Hardware or Software problem? |
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 Oct 23 2007, 12:59 PM
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#1
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New Member  Group: Members Posts: 12 Joined: 8-October 07 Member No.: 161,705  |
When I first got the system I was checking it out and in the control panel on the systems page it said I had 1024MB of ram. So About a month or more ago I started Having Problems. I first posted in High Jack This Forum for help with posible viruses or spy ware. Along the way of getting help with those problems I noticed that I now only have 766Mb of ram. I was told this must be a hardware problem cause there is no known software or virus that can steal ram like that. I opened the case on this laptop and seen that there are two(2) memory (ram) sticks of 512k each. What I don't understand is, If this was a hardware issue Wouldn't I have lost 512k of ram not just 258k? I could see losing 258k if the system had 4 sticks of 258k each, I would just know that one of the sticks was bad but how can just half a stick be bad? Any ideas or help? I was also told to show you this part of my dss.exe scan that proves what I have said is true: Deckard's System Scanner v20071014.68 Run by Kip on 2007-10-18 13:37:18 Computer is in Normal Mode. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Last 5 Restore Point(s) -- 6: 2007-10-18 15:33:36 UTC - RP258 - Scheduled Checkpoint 5: 2007-10-17 20:24:58 UTC - RP257 - Scheduled Checkpoint 4: 2007-10-17 05:55:23 UTC - RP256 - Windows Update 3: 2007-10-15 23:33:20 UTC - RP255 - Scheduled Checkpoint 2: 2007-10-14 13:39:24 UTC - RP254 - Scheduled Checkpoint -- First Restore Point -- 1: 2007-10-13 13:49:25 UTC - RP253 - Scheduled Checkpoint Backed up registry hives. Performed disk cleanup. Total Physical Memory: 766 MiB (1024 MiB recommended). Thanks for any help in advance. |
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Oct 23 2007, 03:50 PM
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#2
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 Forum Addict Group: BC Advisor Posts: 1,295 Joined: 28-September 06 From: New York Member No.: 87,553 |
Does your graphics share system ram? Go to start, then run, then type in dxdiag (assuming your using xp/vista). What does it say your graphics is under the display tab? How much memory? Seems kind of weird, that it would all of sudden just start sharing memory though. Also, about 256mb seems like a lot to be sharing.
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Oct 23 2007, 05:49 PM
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#3
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Forum Addict Group: BC Advisor Posts: 7,460 Joined: 3-September 05 From: Killeen, TX Member No.: 33,068 |
Start/Run...type msinfo32...look at last item visible in right-hand column.
How much physical memory is reflected? Louis |
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Oct 23 2007, 06:40 PM
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#4
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Forum Addict Group: BC Advisor Posts: 2,609 Joined: 6-November 05 From: Avondale, Arizona USA Member No.: 39,726 |
Your issue also sounds like a shared ram issue. I have seen some computers that can use up to 256 meg of regular ram as video ram. Several sony computers come to mind.
-------------------- The name says it all -- 59 and holding permanently
**WARNING** Links I provide might cause brain damage |
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Oct 26 2007, 10:20 AM
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#5
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New Member Group: Members Posts: 12 Joined: 8-October 07 Member No.: 161,705 |
Wow lots of replys to my ram problem! Thanks everyone! I'l start by answering the first person first.
When I run dxdiag it says I only have 766 ram of memory and my display is using 382 of that. I know I have 1024mb of ram cause I have two "sticks" of 512mb of ram each. Ok As for the next question: When I run msinfo32 it says I have 765.56 MB ram Ok and for the last person I have an Acer Aspire 5050 running Windows Vista Basic Here is what I found on the displayed system info: OS Name Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Basic Version 6.0.6000 Build 6000 Other OS Description Not Available OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation System Name JIMMY System Manufacturer Acer, inc. System Model Aspire 5050 System Type X86-based PC Processor AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile Technology MK-36, 2000 Mhz, 1 Core(s), 1 Logical Processor(s) BIOS Version/Date Acer v1.3115, 12/7/2006 SMBIOS Version 2.4 Windows Directory C:\Windows System Directory C:\Windows\system32 Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2 Locale United States Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.0.6000.16386" User Name Jimmy\Kip Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time Total Physical Memory 765.56 MB Available Physical Memory 358.63 MB Total Virtual Memory 1.75 GB Available Virtual Memory 969.72 MB Page File Space 1.04 GB Page File C:\pagefile.sys |
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Oct 26 2007, 10:59 AM
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#6
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Forum Addict Group: BC Advisor Posts: 7,460 Joined: 3-September 05 From: Killeen, TX Member No.: 33,068 |
Well...I'd pull those two sticks and check them.
Total physical per msinfo32 should be dead on. I have two sticks in this system (1024 plus 512) and mine reads 1536. OTOH, if I use the number reflected on My Computer, I get the total physical minus the shared ram for onboard graphics. 784 minus 766 equals 16/18 for onboard graphics (variance due to rounding). Louis |
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Oct 26 2007, 11:21 AM
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#7
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 Visiting Alien Group: Members Posts: 5,140 Joined: 20-May 07 From: millenium falcon and rockytop Member No.: 131,963 |
don't trust anything that windoze vista baby tell you about ram on a shared ram system
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php what does this say? QUOTE Video Chipset ATI MOBILITY RADEON X300 Max Shared Video Memory 256 MB hint!!!!!!!! 766 + 256 = 1022 oldf@rt hit it 
This post has been edited by DaChew: Oct 26 2007, 11:28 AM -------------------- Chewy
life is like a box of chocolates and stupid is as stupid does but you can always run |
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Oct 27 2007, 11:29 AM
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#8
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New Member Group: Members Posts: 12 Joined: 8-October 07 Member No.: 161,705 |
what does this say?
QUOTE Video Chipset ATI MOBILITY RADEON X300 Max Shared Video Memory 256 MB I didn't understand what you wanted so here is the log it the program created: ------------------------- CPU-Z version 1.41 ------------------------- Processors Map ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Number of processors 1 Number of threads 1 Processor 0 -- Core 0 -- Thread 0 Processors Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Processor 1 (ID = 0) Number of cores 1 Number of threads 1 (max 1) Name AMD Turion 64 Mobile MK-36 Codename Trinidad Specification AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile Technology MK-36 Package Socket S1 (638) CPUID F.C.2 Extended CPUID F.4C Brand ID 2 Core Stepping DH-F2 Technology 90 nm Core Speed 2000.1 MHz (10.0 x 200.0 MHz) HT Link speed 800.0 MHz Stock frequency 2000 MHz Instructions sets MMX (+), 3DNow! (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, x86-64 L1 Data cache 64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size L1 Instruction cache 64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size L2 cache 512 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size FID/VID Control yes max FID 10.0x max VID 1.250 V Features XD, VT K8 Thermal sensor yes K8 Revision ID 5.2 Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 0 Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 1 Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 2 Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 3 Thread dumps ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CPU Thread 0 APIC ID 0 Topology Processor ID 0, Core ID 0, Thread ID 0 Type 02002005h Max CPUID level 00000001h Max CPUID ext. level 80000018h Function eax ebx ecx edx 0x00000000 0x00000001 0x68747541 0x444D4163 0x69746E65 0x00000001 0x00040FC2 0x00000800 0x00002001 0x078BFBFF 0x80000000 0x80000018 0x68747541 0x444D4163 0x69746E65 0x80000001 0x00040FC2 0x00000587 0x0000001D 0xEBD3FBFF 0x80000002 0x20444D41 0x69727554 0x74286E6F 0x3620296D 0x80000003 0x6F4D2034 0x656C6962 0x63655420 0x6C6F6E68 0x80000004 0x2079676F 0x332D4B4D 0x00000036 0x00000000 0x80000005 0xFF08FF08 0xFF20FF20 0x40020140 0x40020140 0x80000006 0x00000000 0x42004200 0x02008140 0x00000000 0x80000007 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x0000003F 0x80000008 0x00003028 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x80000009 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x8000000A 0x00000001 0x00000040 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x8000000B 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x8000000C 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x8000000D 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x8000000E 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x8000000F 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x80000010 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x80000011 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x80000012 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x80000013 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x80000014 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x80000015 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x80000016 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x80000017 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x80000018 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 Cache descriptor Level 1 I 64 KB 1 threads Cache descriptor Level 1 D 64 KB 1 threads Cache descriptor Level 2 U 512 KB 1 threads MSR 0x0000001B edx = 0x00000000 eax = 0xFEE00900 MSR 0xC001001E edx = 0x00000000 eax = 0x00000052 MSR 0xC0010015 edx = 0x00000000 eax = 0x00000001 MSR 0xC0010042 edx = 0x310C180E eax = 0x0C0C000C MSR 0xC0010041 edx = 0x00000001 eax = 0x00000E0C Chipset ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Northbridge ATI Xpress 200 (RS480) rev. 10 Southbridge ATI SB400 rev. 80 Memory Type DDR2 Memory Size 1024 MBytes Memory Frequency 333.3 MHz (CPU/6) CAS# 5.0 RAS# to CAS# 5 RAS# Precharge 5 Cycle Time (tRAS) 15 Bank Cycle Time (tRC) 21 Command Rate 1T Memory SPD ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ DIMM #1 General Memory type DDR2 Module format SO-DIMM Manufacturer (ID) Nanya Technology (7F7F7F0B00000000) Size 512 MBytes Max bandwidth PC2-5300 (333 MHz) Part number NT512T64UH8B0FN-3C Serial number E35C3845 Manufacturing date Week 48/Year 06 Attributes Number of banks 2 Data width 64 bits Correction None Nominal Voltage 1.80 Volts EPP no XMP no Timings table Frequency (MHz) 200 266 333 CAS# 3.0 4.0 5.0 RAS# to CAS# delay 3 4 5 RAS# Precharge 3 4 5 TRAS 9 12 15 TRC 12 16 20 DIMM #2 General Memory type DDR2 Module format SO-DIMM Manufacturer (ID) Nanya Technology (7F7F7F0B00000000) Size 512 MBytes Max bandwidth PC2-5300 (333 MHz) Part number NT512T64UH8B0FN-3C Serial number E15C3842 Manufacturing date Week 48/Year 06 Attributes Number of banks 2 Data width 64 bits Correction None Nominal Voltage 1.80 Volts EPP no XMP no Timings table Frequency (MHz) 200 266 333 CAS# 3.0 4.0 5.0 RAS# to CAS# delay 3 4 5 RAS# Precharge 3 4 5 TRAS 9 12 15 TRC 12 16 20 DMI ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ DMI BIOS -------- vendor Acer version v1.3115 date 12/07/06 DMI System Information ---------------------- manufacturer Acer, inc. product Aspire 5050 version Not Applicable serial LXAV40Y0346500511A2500 UUID 401DE63C-D692D811-9A6F0016-36B6AB79 DMI Baseboard ------------- vendor Acer, Inc. model Prespa M revision Not Applicable serial LXAV40Y0346500511A2500 DMI System Enclosure -------------------- manufacturer Acer, Inc. chassis type 1X chassis serial None DMI Processor ------------- manufacturer AMD model Engineering Sample clock speed 2000.0MHz FSB speed 133.0MHz multiplier 15.0x DMI Port Connector ------------------ designation J28 (internal) designation COM A (external) port type Serial Port 16550A connector DB-9 male DMI Port Connector ------------------ designation J28 (internal) designation Parallel (external) port type Parallel Port ECP/EPP connector DB-25 female DMI Port Connector ------------------ designation J28 (internal) designation Video (external) port type Video Port connector DB-15 female DMI Port Connector ------------------ designation J33 (internal) designation Keyboard (external) port type Keyboard Port connector Circular DIN-8 male DMI Port Connector ------------------ designation J33 (internal) designation PS/2 Mouse (external) port type Keyboard Port connector Circular DIN-8 male DMI Port Connector ------------------ designation J31 (internal) designation USB 1 (external) port type USB connector Access Bus (USB) DMI Port Connector ------------------ designation J32 (internal) designation USB 2 (external) port type USB connector Access Bus (USB) DMI Port Connector ------------------ designation J32 (internal) designation USB 3 (external) port type USB connector Access Bus (USB) DMI Port Connector ------------------ designation J31 (internal) designation USB 4 (external) port type USB connector Access Bus (USB) DMI Port Connector ------------------ designation J30 (internal) designation Microphone In (external) port type Audio Port connector Mini Jack (headphones) DMI Port Connector ------------------ designation J30 (internal) designation Line In (external) port type Audio Port connector Mini Jack (headphones) DMI Port Connector ------------------ designation J30 (internal) designation Speaker Out (external) port type Audio Port connector Mini Jack (headphones) DMI Extension Slot ------------------ designation PCI1 type PCI width 32 bits DMI Extension Slot ------------------ designation PCI2 type PCI width 32 bits DMI Extension Slot ------------------ designation PCI3 type PCI width 32 bits DMI Physical Memory Array ------------------------- location Motherboard usage System Memory correction None max capacity 4096MBytes max# of devices 2 DMI Memory Device ----------------- designation S1 format DIMM type unknown total width 128bits data width 64bits size 512MBytes DMI Memory Device ----------------- designation S2 format DIMM type unknown total width 128bits data width 64bits size 512MBytes Software ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Windows Version Microsoft Windows Vista (6.0) Home Basic Edition (Build 6000) DirectX Version 10.0 Resources ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000E0000000 Port I/O Space, BA=0x8440 Port I/O Space, BA=0x8434 Port I/O Space, BA=0x8438 Port I/O Space, BA=0x8430 Port I/O Space, BA=0x8400 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000FFEFEE00 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000B0005000 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000B0006000 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000B0007000 Port I/O Space, BA=0x8410 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000FED00000 Port I/O Space, BA=0x8420 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000B0000000 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000C0000000 Port I/O Space, BA=0x9000 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000B0100000 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000B02FF000 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000B0203000 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000B0203400 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000B0203800 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000B02FCF00 Port I/O Space, BA=0xA000 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000B0203C00 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000B0200000 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000E0000000, size=0x1000 Port I/O Space, BA=0x8008, size=0x4 Memory I/O Space, BA=0x00000000FEE00000, size=0x1000 Port I/O Space, BA=0x4E I don't know if that is what you needed to know or not. I also read somewhere that my video chip set can use up to 516 Mb of ram but that still does not explain why my system page is only showing 766 mb of ram. |
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Oct 27 2007, 02:04 PM
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#9
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Forum Addict Group: BC Advisor Posts: 7,460 Joined: 3-September 05 From: Killeen, TX Member No.: 33,068 |
Go into your BIOS...and disable video shared memory. Reboot.
In fact, you don't even have to disable it...just reduce the shared amount to 32GB. Save the BIOS settings. Reboot and see what is reflected on the My Computer summary. Louis |
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Oct 27 2007, 04:44 PM
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#10
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Visiting Alien Group: Members Posts: 5,140 Joined: 20-May 07 From: millenium falcon and rockytop Member No.: 131,963 |
for vista I would leave it alone, 256 megs is about right
adding another gig of memory will be better, but both your memory slots are full best to optimize/streamline vista might even get away with only sharing 128MB of video memory in bios if you disable all the eye candy that vista tries to run -------------------- Chewy
life is like a box of chocolates and stupid is as stupid does but you can always run |
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Oct 28 2007, 11:38 AM
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#11
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New Member Group: Members Posts: 12 Joined: 8-October 07 Member No.: 161,705 |
i have my system set to preformance setting any way. I don't care about all the "pretty" "bells and Whistles" So how do I reduce the Video memory in bios?
Thanks again Mindy |
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Oct 28 2007, 02:01 PM
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#12
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Forum Addict Group: BC Advisor Posts: 7,460 Joined: 3-September 05 From: Killeen, TX Member No.: 33,068 |
Follow manufacturer's instruction for entering the BIOS, these vary according to manufacturer. Should be contained in your owner's manual, among other places available.
Enter the BIOS/Setup. Each BIOS can be somewhat different...but there should be a screen available which reflects various component settings. One of these will say something like "shared memory" or "memory allocated for vide". Click on that item, thus allowing you to change the setting. I would allocate no more than 32GB for video. Unless you are gaming, 32GB is more than sufficient for routine computer tasks these days. Most video cards express extreme amounts because they are targeting gemers and gaming stresses a video card in the manner that the more memory, the better the card performs at rendering graphics for the game. Once you change the memory allocation for video, follow instructions to get out of the BIOS. Be sure to save all settings (press F10) as your last step. System will reboot. Louis |
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Nov 1 2007, 11:03 AM
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#13
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New Member Group: Members Posts: 12 Joined: 8-October 07 Member No.: 161,705 |
Thank you to everyone for your help! My system is running fine now. I set my my video to 128 and my system runs better now (even gaming) then before the trouble started.
thanks again to all who helped, Mindy |
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Nov 1 2007, 01:42 PM
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#14
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Forum Addict Group: BC Advisor Posts: 7,460 Joined: 3-September 05 From: Killeen, TX Member No.: 33,068 |
Nice work, Mindy...thanks for the feedback.
Louis |
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Nov 1 2007, 02:57 PM
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#15
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 Still visually handicapped, new avatar :0) Group: Global Moderator Posts: 15,531 Joined: 2-October 05 From: Southeastern CT, USA Member No.: 35,824 |
The new Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) has changed the way that memory is reported throughout Windows Vista - so the numbers won't be the same (or in the same places) as they were in XP. Go to this link and on the right hand side will be a download for the full Word document: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/displ...hicsmemory.mspx (direct download link to document: http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/c...phicsMemory.doc )
If you can stay awake while reading it (I just managed to finish it not long ago) page 7 has details on how to calculate the graphics memory. Since CPU-ID shows both 512 mB chips - you've got 1024 mB of RAM - but it depends on what's being used for graphics (and how it's being used) as to what your exact numbers will be. -------------------- - John
**If you need a more detailed explanation, please ask for it. I have the Knack. ** BTW - the avatar pic is a camel as it looks back at me while I'm in the saddle (and he wasn't happy!) |
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