Available RAM = 12mb, Installed Physcial memory = 2GB

[Ethire]

Hey guys,

This is my first post as i can usually find my answers elsewhere, but this time, ive had no luck.

I am running windows xp sp3 professional 32-bit and have recently upgraded my RAM from a 256mb(333) + 512MB(333) to a 512MB(400)+512MB(400) set up. When i did this upgrade i got an enjoyable multi-tasking boost so i again upgraded to a 1GB(333)+1GB(333) set up. Again another good performance boost!

But, over the last three days the pc has become slower and slower, today when i checked 'system information' i found that windows was recognising the 2GB physical memory as it had when i first installed it, but instead of having between 1600MB-1200MB of 'available physical memory' after a boot up, i was sitting on 52MB of available physical memory.

I tried reinstalling the two 1GB RAM sticks, changing their order, then returned to the 512MB+512MB set up but had the same problem, except i now have only 12MB of available physical memory! (Screenshots taken in system information are during this time)

I cannot find anyway to fix this and my computer has slowed to a virtually unusable state. Any suggestions would be fantastic!

Thanks in advance!

I have posted this on a couple of forum's but havent got anywhere yet so any help would be seriously appreciated!

Thanks, Ethire

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[c-tech]

Hi Ethire,
Have you tried doing a memory test from the BIOs of your machine to confirm that the RAM sticks are okay? I believe there should be that option. Also, download CPU-Z from www.cpuid.com and run it to see whether it detects both memory sticks or not.
Regards.

[Dragennd]

Although very unlikely you might also do a virus scan. Its also possible that your computer might not be able to utilize 2GB of RAM even though it can see that it is there. This is a common problem on older computers (basically what c-tech said :P). Just check your model number to the manufacturer's website to see what the max RAM your motherboard supports is.

[Ethire]

A bit of background might help, i recently (last week) did a complete OS reinstall because as you noticed, the computer is fairly old, and had run enough different programs over the years that registry was beyond repair and the hard drive clogged with unnecessary data which was tied to programs long uninstalled. Any how, it was running pretty slowly i was also facing fairly regular BSOD issues. So, i completely wiped my hard drive, reinstalled Windows XP, updated the BIOS, installed drivers, and updated windows XP SP2 to SP3. Then i installed chrome, AVG 2012, and for a short time Windows Live Mail. Everything was running very snappily and i was having no issues. I then installed my RAM from the (1x512MB)+(1x256MB) DDR-333 set up to the (2x512MB) DDR-400 set up, then, wanting to run some programs which requested minimum 1GB RAM and more multi-tasking capability, went to the (2x1GB) DDR-333 set up. This final set up was even better and i was very impressed with the way the old beast was operating. Then, the strange memory situation occurred. I have now checked for malware, viruses etc, uninstalled Windows live essential, uninstalled AVG 2012 and run both CPU-Z and PC Wizard 2012 for some more system/memory specs and have linked them here.

I understand that the OS should be using as much memory as is available to make it run as quickly and smoothly as possible, but that is not the case as the computer is running terribly slowly, and struggles to open a single tab in Chrome, the user-interface of AVG(when it was installed) and took nearly 20 seconds to copy the screenshot I took into Paint to save it as .jpg.

I am still perplexed as to the issue and am considering just re-re-installing windows xp as i wont lose much data or be too much hassle as hope that the issue doesn't recur.

Cpu-Z various tabs screenshot

PC Wizard 2012 Screenshot showing memory details