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  • Only 65 MB available after installing G400MAX

    After installing my G400 Max both windows and DOS can only detect 65MB of memory.
    If I have 64MB or less the correct maount of ram is detected but anything over this ie 96,128,160 or 256 is detected as 65MB.
    The BIOS always reports the correct figure.
    Can anyone help?

  • #2
    So you're saying under windoze 9x if you go to control panel > system it only shows 64mb.
    Or are you using the Dos command mem as this can sometimes misreport the actual memory available depending on what version.
    Chief Lemon Buyer no more Linux sucks but not as much
    Weather nut and sad git.

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    • #3
      The memory is shown as 65MB in windows control panel, DOS 7 and DOS 6.2. If I use a G200 agp instead of the G400 max all three show the correct figure for the memory and windows stops using the swap file.

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      • #4
        My motherboard is a Chaintech 6BTM, cpu is an intel P2 266 overclocked to 300Mhz (Problem still appears at 266Mhz and lower), other cards installed are a Creative Labs Soundblaster Live 1024 and a Hauppauge Win TV PCI.
        I am running windows 98SE with directx 7 and the I am using the beta version 5.5 of the matrox drivers.
        I get the same low memory reported if I disconnect everything except the keyboard and floppy drive and boot into DOS.

        Thanks for helping, it has now been over two weeks since I sent this problem to Matrox support and I have only recieved an automated reply, here I got a reply within hours.

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        • #5
          This looks interesting. Yeh give us the machine specs make irq numbers etc. The G400 looks like the culprit since it everything was fine before.
          Chief Lemon Buyer no more Linux sucks but not as much
          Weather nut and sad git.

          My Weather Page

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          • #6
            Lets look at the daft things first what happens when you load Bios defaults.
            Chief Lemon Buyer no more Linux sucks but not as much
            Weather nut and sad git.

            My Weather Page

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            • #7
              Ummm ... I'm not 100% sure about this but to my knowledge DOS in any of its incarnations COULD NOT see more than 64 megs of RAM, even 6.21 ... so I do not know where you're getting your DOS figures from unless its from a Win98 DOS Box or DOS Prompt.

              I have 512Meg RAM and DOS certainly says I only have 64Meg.

              Your BIOS would read it correctly but DOS could not address more than 64Meg. So where are you getting your DOS readings from?

              David

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              • #8
                That's strange...

                Well, this is a new problem on this fori...

                I haven't got a clue why that's happening, but let's hope this thread doesn't die off...

                Give us more specs (like: mobo, drivers and directX version, Windoze version, additional boards in your machine...), maybe it's a shot in the dark, but it's worth a try...

                I think this is really interesting...
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                • #9
                  Well, I don't know, but usually the videomemory is mapped somewhere into the real memory, or to be exact: somewhere behind the RAM, so i can't do any harm and the memories aren't overlapping.

                  Couldn't this be the case here? That somehow the G400's RAM is mapped into the physical memory behind the 64 MB?

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                  • #10
                    Laristan, you are correct about DOS. DOS is a wimpy 16 bit joke of an OS which cannot address more than 64MB of memory. However, some DOS programs can peek into what the BIOS thinks the total amount of memory is. However, that is all they can do; they cannot access anything other than the regular 64MB of ram that DOS is limited to.

                    James, there is usually a BIOS option regarding OS/2 and ram > 64MB. Unless you are running OS/2, make sure that the memory is set to be a non-OS/2 operating system with RAM > 64MB. I don't know why this would only occur with the G400, but it is a good sanity check starting point.

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                    • #11
                      So the Bios always counts through the whole lot if you do a memory check at boot. I've had conflicting Dimms before but the bios has always failed to count through them and reported weird memory settings from boot onwards.

                      Previous suggestion seems good. The bios normally has a 'OS/2 memory hole at 64m' setting. Just make sure it's not on.

                      Check your system properties - something hasn't been thrown into DOS Compatability mode has it ?

                      What does Windows Safe Mode detect ?

                      The Haupage WinTV is a pretty weird beast too as it uses full bus mastering to send it's signal to the Video Card (so that it doesn't use the processor it just shoves it up the PCI Bus). Does it still work ? Try removing it temporarily from the boot configuration - although I wouldn't have thought it would cause anything this wierd, but look at the FAQ on their page as it lists quite a lot of conflicts.

                      ------------------
                      Warning: Sigs may seriously damage your health...
                      Warning: Sigs may seriously damage your health...

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                      • #12
                        Well, I'd go for the BIOS OS/2 option... Check it out and post back...
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                        • #13
                          One amusing thing on plugging in my Microsoft sidewinder steering wheel I lost 128mb of ram.
                          I had to switch off again and then restart.
                          You haven't got Multiple steering wheels have you James?
                          Chief Lemon Buyer no more Linux sucks but not as much
                          Weather nut and sad git.

                          My Weather Page

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                          • #14
                            I've seen similar problems before when dealing with systems. In some cases, there can be a hairline crack in the motherboard, which makes it SEEM like it's a problem with a specific card, when it's a motherboard problem. If you replace the vid card with your old one, and you still have a problem, then you know where to look for the problem. You can also re-seat your memory. Even though your memory worked before, it may have been luck that it worked. Or you need a BIOS update for your motherboard. These are just a few ideas.

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                            • #15
                              Anyone notice what drivers he's using? 5.5 Beta. Try 5.41. See if it helps. I know it sounds stupid, but you never know.

                              ------------------
                              PIII 450 @ 504
                              generic BX motherboard
                              G400 MAX : )
                              Maxtor 13 gig UDMA 33
                              Maxtor 13 gig UDMA 66
                              Creative 36x CD-ROM
                              HP 2x2x6x CD-RW
                              64 megs PC100 RAM
                              128 megs PC133 ECC RAM
                              NetGear 10/100
                              Soundblaster 32 AWE
                              Diamond SupraExpress 56k
                              Logitech Wireless Desktop (best $50 ive ever spent)
                              1 92mm Sunon Fan
                              4 80mm Sunon Fan's


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