I have 2 memory slots, and in both of them i installed 256 sticks, which should add up to 512, but is only adding up to 384, which would be the case if one stick were only 100 something... what am i doing wrong??

You can get a program called CPU-Z that will tell you a bunch of information about your computer and exactly what you have installed for your ram modules. It does seem that your computer is recognizing them as a 256 stick and a 128 stick which is a possibility, but we will see.

Download CPU-Z from the attachments below this post (or search google for it) and unzip it and double click on the cpu-z icon inside the new folder you created. Then click over the top tabs to the one called SPD (I have a picture attached to show this.) In that tab there is a drop down menu in the top left side for the different slots that ram can go into in your computer (either 2, 3, or 4). Two of them should have information about the ram that is installed including the manufacturer, and the ram size.

If they both say that they are 256 then report back here as we can see further what to do. However, if one is a 128, and the other is a 256 then you know that this is what they really are. If you really think that you installed 2 256 sticks you can open the computer case and examen the sticks as they should have information pertaining to the size that they are.

Hope this helps

yes they both say 256... i remember my comp always adding up to 512, utill today i realized it was only showing up 384 which is craziness, but that program says theyre both 256 and total ram should be 512...

how do i take a screenshot of that program so i can show you?

Ok...so we know that you do have 2x256 sticks in there. Lets now figure out what your computer's motherboards max ram is capable of handeling. Could you tell me the make and model number of your computer?

iof u have onboard graphics it shares the memory with 512 so if its showing just 384 then thats 512 physical minus 384 = 128 MB graphics being shared by intel or whatever onboard graphics....

He did say that earlier on it used to add up to 512, and this prob started recently. If that's the case, you should try getting two ram sticks and see if those are detected. If yes, your RAM sticks are at fault, else the problem lies somewhere in your board.

ya agreed... but we'd have to find out what his config is coz my answer makes the most sense so far but yea like u said he says it showed 512 ram.. however.. did it show 512 in dxdiag or in cpu-z earlier on... coz cpu-z always shows total physical ram..

hey dude do u have a graphics card.. whats ur config ? run dxdiag and see..