this is my situation I have 2gb ram (2 sticks of 1gb each) so I decided to do a little upgrade and buy 4gb ram ( 2 sticks of 2GB each) both sticks have the same stats as the other ones... the only difference is that the 2 old ones are 1gb each and the 2 new ones are 2gb each. Now this is the thing(with the 4 sticks installed) when I right click my computer and click on properties its says that I have 3GB but when I go to the bios it says that I have 6GB I ran a hardware scan and this is what I got.

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OS Information:
PropertyValue
OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional|C:\WINDOWS|\Device\Harddisk0\Partitio n1
Service Pack 2.0
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS


Processor:
PropertyValue
Current Clock Speed 2137
Description x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 6
Manufacturer GenuineIntel
Name Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6400 @ 2.13GHz

Current Clock Speed 2137
Description x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 6
Manufacturer GenuineIntel
Name Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6400 @ 2.13GHz


Memory (RAM):
PropertyValue
Bank Label BANK0
Capacity 2147483648

Bank Label BANK1
Capacity 1073741824

Bank Label BANK2
Capacity 2147483648

Bank Label BANK3
Capacity 1073741824

Total Memory Deteced in Hardware: ~6144 MB
Memory Reported to Operating System: 3071MB

Disk Drives:
PropertyValue
Description Disk drive
Manufacturer (Standard disk drives)
Model WDC WD25 00JB-00R SCSI Disk Device
Media Type Fixed hard disk media
Size 250056737280 (~233 GB)
Number of Partitions 1


Installed Printers:
PropertyValue
Name Send To OneNote 2007
Port Name Send To Microsoft OneNote Port:
Default True
Driver Name Send To Microsoft OneNote Driver


Motherboard:
PropertyValue
Manufacturer ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Model
Name Base Board
Part Number
Product P5W DH Deluxe
Serial Number MB-1234567890
Version Rev 1.xx


BIOS:
PropertyValue
Manufacturer American Megatrends Inc.
Name BIOS Date: 08/08/06 19: 21:58 Ver: 08.00.12
Release Date 20060808000000.000000+000
Version A M I - 8000608


Monitor:
PropertyValue
Description Plug and Play Monitor
Name Plug and Play Monitor
Screen Height 1200
Screen Width 1920

Description Default Monitor
Name Default Monitor
Screen Height
Screen Width


Keyboard:
PropertyValue
Description USB Human Interface Device


Pointing Device:
PropertyValue
Manufacturer (Standard system devices)
Name USB Human Interface Device


Sound Card:
PropertyValue
Manufacturer Realtek
Description Realtek High Definition Audio
Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0882&SUBSYS_1043E601& REV_1001\4&225F9914&0&0001


Video Card:
PropertyValue
Adapter Compatibility ATI Technologies Inc.
Adapter RAM 536870912
Description Radeon X1900 Series
Installed Display Drivers ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version 6.14.10.6719
Driver Date 8/22/2007 2:07:39 AM
Video Mode Description 1920 x 1200 x 4294967296 colors

Adapter Compatibility ATI Technologies Inc.
Adapter RAM 536870912
Description Radeon X1900 Series Secondary
Installed Display Drivers ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version 6.14.10.6719
Driver Date 8/22/2007 2:07:39 AM
Video Mode Description


DirectX Installation:
PropertyValue


Modem:
PropertyValue

Network Adapters:
PropertyValue
Description Marvell Yukon 88E8053 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller - Packet Scheduler Miniport
Description Packet Scheduler Miniport
Description Marvell Yukon 88E8053 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller
Description Packet Scheduler Miniport
Description Realtek RTL8187 Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps USB 2.0 Network Adapter
Description Packet Scheduler Miniport

External Ports:
PropertyValue
External Reference Designator PS/2 Mouse
External Reference Designator PS/2 Keyboard
External Reference Designator USB1
External Reference Designator USB2
External Reference Designator USB3
External Reference Designator USB4
External Reference Designator LPT 1
External Reference Designator MIDI
External Reference Designator Audio Line Out1
External Reference Designator Audio Line Out2
External Reference Designator Audio Line Out3
External Reference Designator Audio Line Out4
External Reference Designator Audio Line Out5
External Reference Designator Audio Line Out6
External Reference Designator SPDIF_OUT1
External Reference Designator SPDIF_OUT2
External Reference Designator IE1394_1
External Reference Designator IE1394_2
External Reference Designator GbE LAN 1
External Reference Designator GbE LAN 2
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator

Expansion Slots:
PropertyValue
Slot Designation PCIEX16
Slot Designation PCI_1
Slot Designation PCI_2
Slot Designation PCI_3
Slot Designation PCIEX4_1
Slot Designation PCIEX16_2
Slot Designation PCIEX1_1
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why is my OS not detecting the other 3GB help plz =///

I did a quick search on you Mobo, and found these specs...



Looks like your Mobo supports only a 4 GIG max.

and I am not 100% sure about this, but i dont think you are suppose to mix and match DIMM's and SDRAM, i think you are suppose to choose one or the other. My New Mobo has slots for DDR and DDR2 memory, but it clear states on the Mobo, do not mix. I would almost bet, if you take out the 2x1 Gig sticks, you'll start seeing 4GB of RAM.

nope that was the first thing that I did and it said I had 3gb ram :P I also tested each stick individually on each slot to make sure that there was nothing wrong with the stick/slot and every stick showed the correct amount of ram. oh and this is my motherboard http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?m...3&l2=11&l3=248 it supports 8gb max

This is a widely discussed issue that I do not have specific answers to but via research one school insists that XP 32 bit will never use or show more than 3 GB RAM. Many say this is an absolute limit. To use more RAM you need a 64 bit operating system.

On the other hand this is often denied. I can only offer some searches for you to browse:

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system...AE/PAEmem.mspx

http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...8&q=ram+3gb+xp

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...on&btnG=Search

This is one of the most definitive statements adhering to a 3GB limit:

http://www.dansdata.com/askdan00015.htm

I can only say from personal experience that I have never registered more than 3GB on a 32 bit system.

I do have 4 GB running on XP 64 bit and have seen 8 GB on same.

It really is a simple matter of physics and physical limitations of 32 bit wide pathways. 2^32 (2 to the power of 32, or 2 times itself 32 times) equals 4,294,967,296 - or 4G and 1K = 1024 (2^10). Therefore there is no way ANY 32bit system will ever be able use more than 4Gb - that is not just Windows, but ANY 32-bit system whether it be Windows, or Linux or any other OS.

The fact that a motherboard may support more than 4Gb has nothing to do with it - it is all about the OS. This is why some boards support 8Gb or more, and why Dmytro see's all 6Gb - the system is simple scanning the hardware - not using it.

The reason why you see less than 4Gb is as explained in the "Dan's Data" link jephree posted - hardware overhead.