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AdamFoster
Contributor
Contributor

4GB RAM installed only 3GB shows

Hi guys,

I have bought some new RAM for my server and it's maximum capacity allows 4GB to be installed across 4 slots. The RAM is DDR2 PC533. I have installed the 4 x 1GB sticks into the board but only 3GB shows. I have removed one stick and 3GB still shows so i swapped the removed stick with an installed one and again 3GB showed up so to me it is not an issue with the RAM.

Any one got any ideas on what the issue could be or any helpful tips on something that i am missing.

Thanks for your help

Adam

Merry Christmas

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wila
Immortal
Immortal

I have installed the 4 x 1GB sticks into the board but only 3GB shows.

Says who?? What are you using in order to see how much ram is installed on your board?

--

Wil

_____________________________________________________

Visit the new VMware developers wiki at http://www.vi-toolkit.com

| Author of Vimalin. The virtual machine Backup app for VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and Player |
| More info at vimalin.com | Twitter @wilva
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Jasemccarty
Immortal
Immortal

Hey Adam,

My first question is... What type of box is it?

My second question is... Does the 4GB show up when you go into the BIOS?

Jase McCarty

http://www.jasemccarty.com

Co-Author of VMware ESX Essentials in the Virtual Data Center

(ISBN:1420070274) from Auerbach

Jase McCarty - @jasemccarty
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TomHowarth
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Leadership

when you boot the machine what does the post test say? How much memory does the BIOS see,?

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Tom Howarth

VMware Communities User Moderator

Blog: www.planetvm.net

Tom Howarth VCP / VCAP / vExpert
VMware Communities User Moderator
Blog: http://www.planetvm.net
Contributing author on VMware vSphere and Virtual Infrastructure Security: Securing ESX and the Virtual Environment
Contributing author on VCP VMware Certified Professional on VSphere 4 Study Guide: Exam VCP-410
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TomHowarth
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There you go Jase, Great minds think aloud, however some say fools seldom differ LOL, happy holidays Smiley Happy

If you found this or any other answer useful please consider the use of the Helpful or correct buttons to award points

Tom Howarth

VMware Communities User Moderator

Blog: www.planetvm.net

Tom Howarth VCP / VCAP / vExpert
VMware Communities User Moderator
Blog: http://www.planetvm.net
Contributing author on VMware vSphere and Virtual Infrastructure Security: Securing ESX and the Virtual Environment
Contributing author on VCP VMware Certified Professional on VSphere 4 Study Guide: Exam VCP-410
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AdamFoster
Contributor
Contributor

ESXi server says it only has 3GB installed. The motherboard is a Super Micro p8sct. That's strange actually, the BIOS states it only has 3GB installed in it and i have installed the extra module.

The board manufacturer's website states that 4GB max can be used on the board. Any ideas about any BIOS settings that could be causing this issue?

Thanks guys

I have just been looking over the manual of the motherboard and it says:

Question: After I have installed 4 pieces of 1GB Memory, why does the BIOS only detect about 3.15GB of memory during POST?

Answer: Because the chipset does not support memory remapping, so there is a memory hole located around the 4GB memory address.

Well i understand some of that, anyone able to spell it out fully though?

Cheers!!!

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TomHowarth
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Leadership

Is your board running at the latest BIOS level, have you checked their support site to see if it ia a known issue?

If you found this or any other answer useful please consider the use of the Helpful or correct buttons to award points

Tom Howarth

VMware Communities User Moderator

Blog: www.planetvm.net

Tom Howarth VCP / VCAP / vExpert
VMware Communities User Moderator
Blog: http://www.planetvm.net
Contributing author on VMware vSphere and Virtual Infrastructure Security: Securing ESX and the Virtual Environment
Contributing author on VCP VMware Certified Professional on VSphere 4 Study Guide: Exam VCP-410
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Jasemccarty
Immortal
Immortal

I'm going to have to go with TH on this one...

Given the fact that the BIOS doesn't see the other stick, it is at the system level, and not the ESXi level.

That being said.... Given that you have rearranged the sticks of RAM, and the result doesn't change... It also doesn't look to be a problem with the RAM.

Is it a new board? Could there be a strange setting to turn on the last slot? (doubt it). Maybe there's an issue with that last memory slot.

I would start by looking at their support site (MOBO Manufacturer), as well as Googling the board and the type of memory you have.

Jase McCarty

http://www.jasemccarty.com

Co-Author of VMware ESX Essentials in the Virtual Data Center

(ISBN:1420070274) from Auerbach

Jase McCarty - @jasemccarty
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wila
Immortal
Immortal

Sounds like a BIOS bug to me and if I was in your shoes then I would certainly check the web site of your motherboard's manufacturer for an update.

It is still possible that this doesn't reflect the way in which you are able to address the memory.

The BIOS manual is likely referring to windows 32 bits operating systems.

Try running memtest86 from a linux liveCD such as knoppix and see if that also just reports 3GB.

--

Wil

_____________________________________________________

Visit the new VMware developers wiki at http://www.vi-toolkit.com

| Author of Vimalin. The virtual machine Backup app for VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and Player |
| More info at vimalin.com | Twitter @wilva
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laly003
Contributor
Contributor

I'm in the same boat...I have a SuperMicro P4SCE that, according to the mfg web site, should support 4Gbs however BIOS only sees 3.5Gbs...and there's no firmware update that I'm aware of....

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Bviper
Contributor
Contributor

You might want to look in your BIOS for a "memory remapping" feature. I had this exact same problem on an Asus motherboard, took me forever to dig through the BIOS to find where to turn it off, but once I did the full 4GB was reported.

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saadq
Contributor
Contributor

Hi Adam,

I have a SuperMicro machine with a P8SCT motherboard and I cannot get past the "Unable to find a supported device to write the VMware ESX 3i 3.5.0 image to" msg. Did you do anything special to get past this?

Any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Saad

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saadq
Contributor
Contributor

In this post:

http://communities.vmware.com/thread/184716

You mention that you were able to get the ESXi server "software installed without many issues (after i had disabled the onboard RAID)"

How did you disable the onboard RAID? I've tried several iterations in the BIOS settings and none seem to do the trick. Do you open the server and change a jumper setting on the MOBO?

Regards.

Message was edited by: saadq

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