2

In a Dell Precision server, there are 8GB RAM. The OS is Windows XP 64-bit.

Originally, everything is working fine. Both BIOS and Windows are able to detect 8GB RAM. One day when I power up the server, the BIOS shows a message "the amount of system memory has changed. Press FX to continue". After the server finished booting up, Windows shows 4GB RAM only.

I rebooted the server and checked the BIOS. In the memory details page, it shows 4GB RAM in the summary. But below the summary column, it shows that it detected 8 x 1GB memory sticks in the system.

I have installed Speccy in Windows. It also detected 8 x 1GB RAM. But Windows's system properties window only shows 4GB.

Why the BIOS suddenly fail to detect 4GB RAM? Is this a hardware failure? How can I activate the inactive 4GB RAM? Thanks.

Improve this question
10
  • 3
    Sounds like hardware failure if BIOS doesn't report 8GB. Have you tried fully powering it down?
    – Natalie Adams
    Apr 21, 2013 at 20:26
  • Hi Nathan, yes, I have shutdown the server many times. In BIOS, it shows 4GB in the summary column, but under the summary column it shows that there are 8 X 1GB RAM. Have you seen this kind of calculation error in BIOS before?
    – userpal
    Apr 21, 2013 at 20:36
  • 2
    Try unseating and re-seating the ram. If that fails, run a memory tester application, such as Memtest, which will test for bad memory.
    – Davidw
    Apr 21, 2013 at 20:38
  • Your RAM might be defective (or it might be the motherboard, or a bug in your BIOS... is there any BIOS updates available?). Did you try the RAM bar in another machine? Or another RAM bar in this machine?
    – Ale
    Apr 21, 2013 at 20:42
  • Also, has there been any hardware changes recently?
    – Davidw
    Apr 21, 2013 at 22:21

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

Try unseating and re-seating the ram. If that fails, run a memory tester application, such as Memtest, which will test for bad memory.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.