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PLEASE HELP 2gb showing in properties as 960mb

Feb 12, 2013 3:39AM PST

BIOS shows 2gb with like 1.9 avail, but PC settings shows 960mb??

Dont know how to do a clean install?
Or how else can i fix this??
also I need 3 ghz running processor but i have a 2.66 ghz processor and heard you can overclock them and i cant figure out how to do that either.

I work from home and recently got another job opp that requires 2gb and 3.0 ghz processor so i installed two 1 gb DDR ram in to the two avail slots but now i still have the issue of my pc settings only showing 960mb of those two gigs.

my specs are

Intel Celeron
Windows XP Professional
2.66ghz processor
1.5gb (1gb plus 500mb)
service pack 3
version 2002

Discussion is locked

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Re: 1 GB missing
Feb 12, 2013 4:19AM PST

That can happen. Let's say there is nothing you can do about that 'missing' RAM. If it's more than 0.96 GB with the original configuration (1 GB and 500 MB) that would be remarkable, but you don't mention that.
But on the other side, it's difficult to imagine work that can't be done in 0.96 GB.

Same for the speed. Overclocking can be done, in principle, in the BIOS, but only if your BIOS has such options. And you'll hardly notice the difference between 2.66 GHz and 3.0 Ghz.

So I would just start with your current machine and see how it goes. And if it goes well, you maybe have earned enough money in a few months to buy a second hand PC that meets all specs to the letter.

Kees

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1 gb missing
Feb 12, 2013 5:26AM PST

Well i put my old ram back in that equals the 1.5 which shows up like 1.47 in Settings but before i was trying to use two 1gb sticks but one was turning up missing only in my settings but it was in fact showing AVAILABLE in Bios so im confused as to y my pc is not picking up that info.

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Still light on details.
Feb 12, 2013 5:37AM PST

Nothings seems too far wrong here. Onboard video can use that RAM, we have seen for years 1.0GB RAM show as .99GB and Microsoft even published an article about that. Until more details are found I'd say this is not unexpected.
Bob

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the problem is no one is understanding my question
Feb 12, 2013 6:11AM PST

Forget the fact that my desktop currently has 1.5gb installed and available for usage...

Last night I spent hours trying to find out why it is that when i installed a total of 2gb using two 1gb sticks of DDR (maxing my ram limit) My question is ... IN BIOS MY RAM SHOWS INSTALLED AND AVAILABLE the 1.9gb of the 2.0 i installed BUT my pc settings shows only 960mb????

So my BIOS reports the ram and deems it available but my PC Settings is not gathering that info or updating itself???

I super need help, please, THanks.

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There are still good reasons for this.
Feb 12, 2013 6:30AM PST

XP has a tab in MSCONFIG to limit ram.

Type msconfig into the start search box or start run box.
Press enter
Select the boot tab.
Select Advanced options.
Remove the check in the maximum memory box
Reboot

There are other nasty reasons such as those rootkits that hide in ram. They reduce the reported memory so scanners would scan for them there.

If you suspect that, here's a link from Grif on what I scan with and one more thing. Scan in SAFE MODE.
http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6132_102-5098912.html?tag=posts;msg5099421

Which does make me wonder if it shows more RAM in safe mode.

-> Again, all this is quite normal. But I find folk to rarely take the trouble to give support today.
Bob

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I will try that
Feb 12, 2013 7:17AM PST

Now i must try again with the 2gb bc although i was all throu the MSCONF thingy, i didnt kno that that was what i needed to look for!! So thanks so much.

I let u kno if it works once i change the ram & then uncheck that setting.

ps:
wat is a rootkit and wat is safe mode?

thanks
melissa

i agree on the support thing lol

pss:
isnt it weird how everything shows correct both in bios and pc settings when i use the 1.5 gb but with the 2gb i have the 1gb hiding/lost issue

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There could be nothing wrong here.
Feb 12, 2013 7:23AM PST

If 1.5GB works and there is onboard video that uses RAM then on some old systems you lose RAM if you install more RAM. This is a lot of posts and I can't tell what machine we are looking at.

Sadly there are folk that want to know why this is. The answer is deeply technical and will never fix that machine's limitation. The best thing to do is to charge by the hour so folk don't demand a course in computer architecture. Sounds cruel but it sure stops the techs from spending time on a dead end.

Both rootkit and safe mode on google supplies ready answers. Be sure to use those first.
Bob

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ty so much- one more question
Feb 12, 2013 8:55AM PST

Hey Bob

Thanks for looking into my issue further. I think I came to the same conclusion last night when i gave up but wasnt too sure seeing as I really kno nothing about comps besides the basics..lol but im happy to have reassurance from someone familiar with my issue to say its just something technical unfortunately.

Because I hit a dead end with my current desktop, Ive set myself up to purchase a dif used comp with the specs as follows:

Dell Optiplex 745 2.8 ghz
Pentium D core 2 duo, 3gb of memory,
80gb hard drive, dvd/rw ( has expansion area for another storage drive). Has fresh reload of windows 7 - 64 bit, office 2007.

My requirements for my home job are as follows:

3.0 GHZ Processor (minimum of a Pentium 4 processor or equivalent processor running at a clock speed of 3.0 GHZ)
2 GB of RAM for Windows XP, Vista users* or Windows 7 users
12 GB of Available Hard drive space
PC must have a vendor manufactured date less than six years in age as some older models are not compatible with our secure environment (Example: If today's date is 1/1/2012, the PC manufacture date should be no older than 1/1/2006)

So my question is, since my job requires 3ghz RUNNING clock speed, do you think that since the new tower i wanna purchase is 2.8ghz PLUS a dual processor that it would give me a clock speed of 3.0ghz or more if my pc is tested using something like pitstop?

thank you again for your time and i truly appreciate your help

Melissa

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A quick overview for GHz.
Feb 12, 2013 12:29PM PST

Some folk get confused about those GHz. A Pentium 4 (P4 for short) clock rate of 3.0GHz is usually beat by a Core 2 Duo of a lower clock rate. Here's an article about that.

http://forums.devshed.com/cpus-104/pentium-4-vs-core-2-duo-387931.html

"doing the math on those numbers would say that the Core 2 Duo @ 2.13Ghz is 1.8 times faster then a P4 @ 2.8Ghz"

So this 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo would be like a 5GHz Pentium 4.

Hope this helps,
Bob

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yes that was vry helpful
Feb 13, 2013 2:42AM PST

Bob,

Thanks again! Im happy to kno for sure that this new comp should work out for me.

Have a good day.

Melissa