# 2GB RAM recognised, 1.5GB usable?



## DriveIn (Mar 10, 2008)

A little while ago I upgraded my PC from 1GB of RAM to 2GB - or rather I attempted to. What I have right now in my motherboard is my new 1GB stick in slot 1, a 512MB stick in slot 2 and a second 512MB stick in slot 3. All 3 sticks are DDR1 PC3200, which is supported by my ASUS A8R-32 MVP motherboard. I am running Windows XP and have an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ processor BTW.

I work in tech support myself so I began the process of trying each stick of RAM in slot 1. They all worked, which lead me to test slot 2 - also working. Having tested slot 3 it seems that anything I put in it doesn't get used. I don't think it's simply broken however, as when I look at my BIOS it tells me that I have 2048MB of installed memory but that I only have 1536 MB of usable memory. A quick DXDIAG confirms that I only have the 1.5GB working, although the system scanner at Crucial.com correctly reports that I have 2GB spread over the 3 slots.

I must confess that while the RAM sticks are all identical besides the size, they aren't from the same manufacturer - the 512MBs are from Elixir/Nanya Technology whereas the 1GB is Kingston. I don't think this is the issue however, as I have the Kingston stick working fine in slot 2 and a known good Elixir 512MB being ignored in slot 3. If I swap them over then it says that I have just 1024MB usable.

Can anybody suggest how to proceed?

Many thanks in advance.


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## scottydont2841 (Aug 3, 2005)

Does the graphics card share any of the RAM, 512MB of it?


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## DriveIn (Mar 10, 2008)

My graphics card is an ATI Radeon X1900 XT which comes with its own 512MB of memory. I'm 95% sure it's onboard anyway, how best to be sure?


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## speedster123 (Oct 18, 2006)

slot 3 looks bad
what power supply is installed?


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## DriveIn (Mar 10, 2008)

I have an Antec TruePower 2 TPII-480P 480 Watt power supply.

Also I tried moving the 512MB stick in slot 3 to slot 4 and I'm getting the same thing; 2GB recognised, 1.5GB usable.


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## speedster123 (Oct 18, 2006)

check the caps on the mainboard for any leaking or bulged units.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131004
if this is your board, you might need a bigger power supply. [at least the 550 trio]
but i would try the 0602 bios
and then try identicle sticks of ram first, one that are approved on the qvl list for that board


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## DriveIn (Mar 10, 2008)

Let me know if there's anything not covered here:

Windows: Windows XP5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 1
Memory (RAM): 1536 MB
CPU Info: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3200+
CPU Speed: 2003.9 MHz
Sound card: Realtek HD Audio output
Display Adapters: Radeon X1900 Series | Radeon X1900 Series Secondary | NetMeeting driver | RDPDD Chained DD
Screen Resolution: 1280 X 1024 - 32 bit
Network Adapters: Marvell Yukon 88E8053 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller | Marvell Yukon 88E8001/8003/8010 PCI Gigabit Ethernet Controller #2
CD / DVD Drives: D: IDE-CD R/RW 12x8x32 | G: HITACHI DVD-ROM GD-8000
COM Ports: COM1
LPT Ports: LPT1
Mouse: 8 Button Wheel Mouse Present
Hard Disks: C: 6.4GB | E: 55.9GB | F: 30.9GB
Hard Disks - Free: C: 298.9MB | E: 445.0MB | F: 3.1GB
USB Controllers: 3 host controllers.
Firewire (1394): 1 host controllers.
AC Power Status: OnLine
BIOS Info: AT/AT COMPATIBLE | 03/29/06 | A M I - 3000629


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## DriveIn (Mar 10, 2008)

Thanks, I'll give it a go.


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## DriveIn (Mar 10, 2008)

Well I tried to update the BIOS to 0602, but I just got "Bad CMOS checksum" on boot up. I tried the 0701 BIOS update and got the same thing. Can you suggest anything?

Thanks again.


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