RAM detected lower than installed

[aquariusdaydreamer]

I have a HP pavillion zv5000 with windows xp installed and am a star wars galaxies player. This is hell on all resources, especially RAM so we were planning on swapping a chip from a crashed compaq laptop to the HP since the detected amount of RAM is only 384 mb. Well, I cracked it open and there was two 256 chips installed so I'm a bit miffed and wanting the extra RAM and wondering where it went. Is this just another XP quirk? Any help would be appreciated T_T

 

[micker377]

Download and run "Everest Home" to see how much memory there really is. Also look for memory specs for both computers to see if they are even swapabble. As for your problem (memory amount), run one stick to see what the computer recognizes. Pull it out and put the other on in and see what the other one registers as. If they both say 256, then you have a problem. Try one stick in both sockets to see if it registers as 256. If everything checks OK with one at a time, for some reason the memory sticks are incompatible. If so, check warranty!

 

[cdogg]

Find out if the system has a video card. If not, chances are that some of that RAM is being allocated for video. Newer boards can use up to 128MB (384 + 128 = 512).


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[aquariusdaydreamer]

Thanx for the tips I will try to swap out chips and see what that does. It is a brand new laptop and has a 256 chip underneath with easy access and another 256 chip on the motherboard. Also, there is an ATI radeon 9000 128mb so I don't think the RAM is being used for VRAM as far as I know. Will have to monkey with it more to see what the heck is going on though.

 

[cdogg]

Your right. Most newer laptops, especially those that use the newer Mobile Radeon GPU's have embedded memory and don't rely on system memory.

In fact after looking up your model, it does appear to have 128MB dedicated.

Since it's pretty new, I would contact HP. You could have a defective stick. Did both come with the laptop? Are they the same brand?


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884