The problem may occur because the system BIOS is outdated. In the System Configuration window, click Advanced options on the Boot tab.Ĭlick to clear the Maximum memory check box, and then click OK. To fix this, follow these steps:Ĭlick Start, type msconfig in the Search programs and files box, and then click msconfig in the Programs list. This problem may occur because the Maximum memory option is selected incorrectly. These issues and possible solutions are listed here: Check the system configuration settings There are several additional situations that could cause the usable RAM to be less than expected. These conditions reduce the total amount of system memory that is available to the operating system.įor more information about how to determine how memory is used on your computer, see the ' Physical Memory Allocation in Windows 7' topic in the 'More Information' section. Graphics memory mapping overwrites a part of the system memory. If 4 GB of system memory is already installed, part of that address space must be reserved by the graphics memory mapping. The version of Windows 7 that is installed (For example, Windows 7 Starter Edition only supports 2 GB of installed memory.)įor example, if you have a video card that has 256 MB of on-board memory, that memory must be mapped within the first 4 GB of address space. The ability of the motherboard to handle memory The devices that are installed in the computer and the memory that is reserved by those devices The reduction in available system memory depends on the configuration of the following:

This is expected behavior on computers that are running Windows 7. For example, if it displays 4.00 GB (3.5 GB usable), this means that you have 3.5 GB of usable memory out of 4 GB of installed memory. View the Installed memory (RAM) value under System.

To view the installed memory and the usable memory in Windows 7, follow these steps:Ĭlick Start, right-click Computer, and then click Properties. Usable memory is a calculated amount of the total physical memory minus 'hardware reserved' memory. Note The amount of usable memory in the examples are not exact amounts. Or, a 64-bit version of Windows 7 may report that there is only 7.1 GB of usable system memory on a computer that has 8 GB of memory installed. On a computer that is running Windows 7, the usable memory (RAM) may be less than the installed memory.įor example, a 32-bit version of Windows 7 may report that there is only 3.5 GB of usable system memory on a computer that has 4 GB of memory installed.

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