A very odd conundrum re MEMORY

motherboard Asus P5B VM

I got the memory spec'd per my motherboard book (not from Crucial(?) site).

I put the new Corsair sticks in slot 1 and 3 and old sticks in 2 and 4. I put new sticks in slot 1 and 2. I put new ones in 1 and 3 and old one in 4.

Nothing. I keep showing 2gb as memory. I tested each new stick in the slot 1 and both times got 2Gb.

they are 2x2Gb sticks.

why isn't the system seeing them? I thought this was plug and play type instal or do I need to configure my bios?

Please advise...and thank you. this is very odd.

 

Hi

You should probably explore the BIOS memory options to see if there's a setting you need to change.

What are the EXACT model RAM sticks (old AND new) that you have?

EDIT: It appears you're not alone with this issue, it seems to be a common problem with this particular motherboard:

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx...oard_id=1&model=P5B-VM&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

 

Where are you checking for the total amount of memory installed? Unless you have a 64bit OS you cannot use 6gig of memory.

Have you tried installing just the two gig sticks into slots 1+3 and checked the bios to see is it recognises all 4 gigs and its running in dual channel?This will be in the system summary in your bios.

From your manual,there are a few other memory limitations related to your motherboard in the manual,unfortunately its impossible to tell how serious they are for example even though it says you cannot install memory with different latencies I have done this before without problem.

As mcsms said you need to post the exact spec's of the memory your tryna install,even then some sticks just won't work together.

http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5B-VM/e2833_p5b-vm.pdf

 

first off, thanks so much for your responses.

I believe I did run the brand new memory in slots 1 and 3 first. and noticed 2Gb. which is odd, b/c that tells me that its reading at least one of the memories. the old memory was 1gb stick each and they were in slots 1 and 3 as well, showing 2Gb. oddness #1 - why wouldn't it show 4gb (new memory 2gb in each of slots 1 and 3).

the memory is Corsair unbuffered and is TWIN2x4096-6400c5c. pc2 6400 ddr.

I'm not a computer tweaker in any sense and figured this was just plug in you'd get 6gb and off you go! On another forum here I did post this query about improving performance and a recommendation was just to pop in some new memory (propery specs of course) which I thought I could do. and I believe I'm running 32 bit windows.

I checked with Everest and the My Computer Properties thing. 2gb.

so even thought the computer doesn't SEE the memory is it even utilizing it or doesn't even know its there?

thanks again

 

the other old sticks are
1) Rendition RM12864aa667.8FE 1GB DDR pc2 5300 and
2) LD (some generic) DDR 1GB 64*8 667 mhz

 

It can't utilise it,its a limitation of 32bit operating systems.

But as I said try connecting them either both 2gig sticks or all 4,start tapping del as your computer is booting to enter bios and check if the motherboard recognises the memory,memory size is usually displayed in "standard CMOS features" and various other places such as health status or memory over clocking menu's.You can also disable quick memory check or quick bootup and this will test all the memory in your system at the first boot screen which is handy while your diagnosing memory issues.

If you don't see all of the memory in your bios then there's a problem with the memory configuration,the memory,the motherboard or all three and even if your do see it you won't be able to use it because your have a 32bit operating system and TBH there's no real reason you would need more than 2gb of memory with XP,although it is possible to use up to 4gb with 32bit XP when configured correctly.

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platform/server/pae/paemem.mspx

And its no problem

 

thanks Ricky - I'll try that. the only thing I was wondering that for applications (such as gaming or burning or whatever) would it utilize the additional memory - I'm just wondering if there is no reason to use more than 2Gb, why do they sell memory expansion and/or allow the motherboard to go up to 8gb?

 

sorry Ricky went into the BIOS and noticed that it is only showing 2.8Gb of memory. I have installed 4Gb. recall that I 'tested' the memory by only installing one 2Gb set in port 1 at a time and saw 2.8gb.

I'm just thinking that I have 4gb or 6gb in the computer, windows only recognizes 3Gb or whatever, do applications such as CoD MW2 or Nero or whatever USE the full 4 or 6 or only the 2.8 that the windows 'allows' the system to see?

if that's the case, I basically have memory that isn't being used and that's just odd to me....

 

Ok first if you are running a 32-bit version of Windows the most it will "see" is about 3.3Gb out of whatever total you have. That is just how the memory architecture works in 32-bit. I run a dual booting system (XP 32-bit, Win 7 64-bit) and XP only sees and will make use of 3.25Gb out of the 8Gb I have installed, Win 7 64-bit will use all 8Gb.

So if you're going to stay with a 32-bit operating system, you then need to try the 2 2Gb sticks in all the slot combination's w/o the 1Gb sticks (cause the 32-bit OS isn't going to be able to use the extra 2Gb anyway). So try 1&2, 1&3, 2&3, 2&4, 3&4 and see if the BIOS shows the 4Gb.

If it doesn't you may also need to update the BIOS for that motherboard if a newer one is available. If you don't know how find a friend who does or take it to a computer shop in your area and have them do it. Worth a few bucks to avoid toasting your system.

EDIT- another thought does your system use onboard graphics instead of a dedicated video card? If so that uses a portion of the system memory (though the BIOS should show the total ram installed).

Sam

 

Hi

To clarify, if your Windows is 32 bit, anything running in Windows (apps, games, etc.) is also 32 bit. Whatever Windows sees, the apps, games, etc. see. So, if Windows only sees 3GB, that's all the RAM that will get used by anything you run on your computer.

As to why your board supports up to 8GB memory... 64 bit operating systems (Windows has 64 bit versions... XP, Vista, and 7 all have 64 bit systems) see up to 128GB (I believe... either way, it sees a LOT more than 3 or 4 GB) of RAM. I currently have a relatively ancient computer with 3GB of RAM, but use Windows 7 64 bit.

The BIOS update would potentially resolve issues with your motherboard seeing the additional memory, but again, anything more than 3GB is useless with a 32 bit operating system.

One final note about 32 bit versus 64 bit... you need a 64 bit processor in order to run a 64 bit operating system. I see that board supports both 64 and 32 bit processors, so depending on your processor, you may not even be able to install a 64 bit operating system.

 

hi all - thank you again for all your responses. now here's the final interesting point that I thought I would share.

New Memory = 2Gb Corsair sticks
Old Memory = 1Gb whatevers.

Earlier, I had installed New Memory in slots 1 and 3; BIOS and Windows showed 2Gb.

Then I said stuff it, installed Old Memory in slots 2 and 4 (New Memory still in slots 1 and 3); BIOS showed 4GB (hooray!) and Windows showed the same.

So I will take all the info about the Windows 32 Bit being as is.

But the BIOS is now showing 4Gb...NOT 6Gb. So maybe I need to shift it around as Corporal Sam recommended? and or get an updated BIOS.

Also, I am using a separate graphic card, ATI Radeon 1650xt with 512mb.

Hows THAT for odd? I'm a banker by trade - a dollar x 1.05^whatever = a dollar x 1.05^whatever. That's my world...for something so logical we exist in a sea of grey....

The earlier ports where the Bios (and windows wI installed the 2Gb sticks (call it New Memory) in slots 1 and 3

 

I just did a quick search on the P5B VM for memory issues and it seems this board is very picky about the memory it will work with (memory voltage and speed timings.

Please try without the old 1Gb sticks in the system. Then try one of the new 2Gb sticks and see what the BIOS shows for memory. Then try it with the 2nd new 2Gb stick and see what it shows. If it doesn't show 2Gb w/one stick in it and shows less than 4Gb with both then I would say the 2Gb sticks are not compatible with your board. If you show less than 4Gb with both 2Gb sticks in, take out the stick you had in first and try the 2nd one by itself. You need to rule out a bad memory stick.

A motherboard's BIOS is not 32 or 64 bit, it is supposed to show ALL installed memory. If it isn't showing all the installed memory, you either have a bad stick or the memory isn't compatible with your motherboard. A BIOS update may or may not fix it but is worth looking into.

Sam

 

That would have been me, and I apologize: forgot about the 32-bit limitation. :-o

 

haha hey Caliban - its not a problem! its actually just a very odd thing. Actually, all, I did some interesting things last night. (All noticed in BIOS)

So I put in the New Memory sticks in slot 1 (1 2Gb at a time) and each time I saw 2,048Gb. Perfect.

Then I put a 2Gb New Memory in Slot 1 and a 1 Gb in slot 3. Got 3,048. Perfect.

Then I added another 2Gb New Memory in slot 3. And I got 4,096Gb, instead of say 5Gb. I added the old 1Gb in slot 4 and STILL got 4,096Gb. instead of 6Gb or so.

My takeaway so far is that the New Memory is indeed functional.

What's odd and I need to recheck is what happens when I put New Memory in slot 1 and 3. Or I need to shake it up and put Old Memory in Slot 1, New Memory in Slot 2 etc. etc. as was advised in an earlier post.

One thing - by shifting and moving the memory around, do I ruin the contacts or risk damaging the memory?

Also, this is not necessarily for Windows Applications but say using a game, a photo program, etc.

Thanks everyone.

 

Hey Bluesbreaker,

Again, as I already tried to explain, as long as your computer has 32 bit Windows on it, your COMPUTER will not use more than 4GB of RAM for ANYTHING. No game, photo program, or ANYTHING ELSE is CAPABLE of using more than 4GB of RAM. Think of it like a four wheel drive truck and a front wheel drive car. Either CAN use two wheel drive, but the truck can also use four wheel drive. If both are stuck in mud, the truck can use four wheel drive to (hopefully) get unstuck, while the car can't. You would have to completely convert the car in order to HAVE four wheel drive, and be able to use it, likely including putting in a bigger motor.

Also, again to clarify, Windows applications are anything running in Windows. Unless this game, photo program, or whatever runs in a completely separate 64 bit operating system (which on your computer, they don't, since you don't have a 64 bit operating sy stem), they're limited to what Windows is limited to.

 

Anybody need some black-and-white acquisition financing?

thanks again to everyone for your assistance...I get it now re memory, applications and operating systems. one last bit. the Bios will show as much memory as is installed? I believe that was the takeaway. Windows will use up to 4gb. Bios will show as much memory as is installed.

because IF I am not showing 6GB (irregardless of how much Windows uses) AND BIOS is supposed to show all installed, then for some reason the system is reading some New Memory and some Old.

Again, sorry to be such a pain when it comes to this....seems so vague.

 

Hey,

First of all, I really hope I didn't sound rude in my last post... I was simply trying to make sure you understood. Trust me, I don't feel high and mighty or anything for knowing what I do know about computers. My wife barely knows how to turn the thing on, and I'm patient with her. Everyone has their knowledge strengths! I don't even know what acquisition financing is, exactly.:-D

Secondly, a little bit about the BIOS. BIOS is simply software built into the motherboard. The BIOS (just like Windows and everything else about computers) is dated. This is true of any computer, and there are BIOS upgrades available, free from the motherboard manufacturer, when things change. However, upgrading the BIOS is a risky venture, and unless needed for your situation, isn't recommended.

About the BIOS recognizing your memory... yes, it should recognize up to 8GB of RAM. It IS possible that one or more of your memory slots are faulty... basically, if the slot doesn't work, BIOS can't detect anything in it. However, I think the settings in your BIOS are wrong somehow where the memory is concerned. Maybe dual channel is disabled, or something. I'm not familiar with that motherboard's BIOS (or Asus in general, I've mainly had experience with Dell and Gigabyte motherboards so far), so I can't tell you what settings could be changed. However, while curiosity is plaguing me with this one as much as I'm sure it's plaguing you... you only need 4GB of memory installed for Windows to max itself out with the RAM.

 

no way Master Sergeant. I did not think you were rude - you were trying to make yourself clear. emails, text, forums - always hard to convey the emotion or feeling behind the words. Please don't think I took away anything but you're helpfulness (and patience). Everyone on this forum has been outstanding and I've been fortunate to find it!

I've got the New Memory and Old Memory in slots 1 and 3, 2 and 4, respectively. My bios shows 4Gb+, not six or five. you're right something in the bios seems odd but hey, if I'm maxing out at 4gb, I got a sweet deal onthe memory and the computer seems faster.

I'm going to try that code for the windows boot.ini file and will see what happens.

thank you to everyone for your help and patience. My brother is a geek as well and I was trying to get ahold of him but he's often too busy to help his slow brother. That said, I still think all you computer phreaks are insane....