New computer, 4 Gigs windows cant support?

My new computer just arrived:

A Dell XPS 410
4GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
Intel 2 Duo Processor E6700 (2.66GHz,1066FSB) with 4MB cache
250GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM)
24 in Wide Aspect Digital Flat Panel Display
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
32-Bit System
------------------------
Price: $2600.00
View Screen Shot

For many of you, you'll probably cringe and scream and wonder why I spent so much when I could have built it myself for cheaper. I'd answer that question, but the longer I dwell on it, the more I too begin to ask myself the same thing.

I digress...

After I first booted it all up and uninstalled the BS that it comes with, I 'kicked the tires, popped the hood' just to make sure all was in order. I right mouse-clicked on my computer, went to my properties and what do i see?

3.0 Gigs of Ram.

I immediately got online with tech-support, only to have them tell me that Windows XP & XP Media Center Edition don't register 4.0 gigs.... but they tried to assure me that I infact was operating on 4 gigs of juice in my Windows enviornment. Matter of fact they told me to goto my BIOS and I could see for myself all 4.0 gigs of ram (I am still talking with them right now so I have yet to do this).

Anyway, its been a few years since I've been up-to-speed in the computer industry so if this is true, it's news to me. I was wondering if anyone has any insight to offer as it will help me a lot.

What can I do to fix or resolve this? Also, when I upgrade to Windows Vista, will this 'problem' carry over?

disable the paging file:

right click "my computer", go to properties -> advanced -> settings (performance) -> advanced
under "Virtual Memory", click change
set it to "no paging file" and click ok

jaketone said:

My new computer just arrived:

A Dell XPS 410
4GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
Intel 2 Duo Processor E6700 (2.66GHz,1066FSB) with 4MB cache
250GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM)
24 in Wide Aspect Digital Flat Panel Display
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
32-Bit System
------------------------
Price: $2600.00
View Screen Shot

For many of you, you'll probably cringe and scream and wonder why I spent so much when I could have built it myself for cheaper. I'd answer that question, but the longer I dwell on it, the more I too begin to ask myself the same thing.

I digress...

After I first booted it all up and uninstalled the BS that it comes with, I 'kicked the tires, popped the hood' just to make sure all was in order. I right mouse-clicked on my computer, went to my properties and what do i see?

3.0 Gigs of Ram.

I immediately got online with tech-support, only to have them tell me that Windows XP & XP Media Center Edition don't register 4.0 gigs.... but they tried to assure me that I infact was operating on 4 gigs of juice in my Windows enviornment. Matter of fact they told me to goto my BIOS and I could see for myself all 4.0 gigs of ram (I am still talking with them right now so I have yet to do this).

Anyway, its been a few years since I've been up-to-speed in the computer industry so if this is true, it's news to me. I was wondering if anyone has any insight to offer as it will help me a lot.

What can I do to fix or resolve this? Also, when I upgrade to Windows Vista, will this 'problem' carry over?

Click to expand...

Unless you're running windows XP 64 bit (which you're not), 4 gigs is useless and I've actually heard causes worse performance than say 2 gigs. Not sure how, but that's what I've heard. Anyway, from the sounds of things, 4 gigs will be the magic number for vista.

Also, if you want to make sure you've gotten rid of all that dell BS, I would reformat my drive. What video card did you get with that?

it depends on what you use the PC for. sometimes 4GB is better.

To answer the question of WHY i needed a new computer with 4 Gigs; I'm a graphic designer. For this reason I purchased the most up-to-date computer possible almost 3 years ago. I needed the a reliable superfast NON-APPLE computer. It's served me well, but running all of the heavy graphics program simultaneously has taken its toll so I needed to buy a new one

The video card I got was : NVIDIA GeForce 7300 LE
I'm not sure how great it is but I got the TV-Tuner package for free.

If I disable the paging file, what will this do? Will my systems performance be affected?

jaketone said:

I needed the a reliable superfast NON-APPLE computer.

Click to expand...

Haha, another Mac-hater. What a joke.

maybe a NON-APPLE computer was needed for format reasons... don't be so quick to judge.

jaketone: check BIOS settings and check the modules in CPU-Z(downloadable freeware) under the SPD tab, to see what the problem might be. Windows has nothing to do with your RAM not showing up... I've seen home versions of windows supporting 8Gig. Your MOBO is what governs this.
Reply back with the settings in bios for ram, and perhaps a screen of the cpu-z findings

The General said:

Haha, another Mac-hater. What a joke.

Click to expand...

So that you don't feel left out, I'll include myself in your 1-sided conversation you are having with yourself and respond:

"If you were unable to discern, simply out of context, why I don't have an APPLE as a graphic designer, please finish bagging my groceries..."

fuxal0t:
Unfortunatly I'm at work and unable to check my BIOS settings, but as soon as I get home I'll do so. I'll also check out this CPU-Z program as it sounds intriguing. I'll update everyone interested tonight with my results. I see that you built your own system, and it looks great.
If you don't mind, I'd like to hear your opinion about my system in general.

jaketone said:

If you don't mind, I'd like to hear your opinion about my system in general.

Click to expand...

Your system is really nice for graphic design. You'll get things done very quickly and everything will look great on your monitor. However, don't expect to do very much gaming since the card isn't strong for today's games, plus you have a huge resolution with the 24". But if you're not going to game, then it's an awesome system. If you do want to game, it's simple to replace the card.

KingAustin said:

Your system is really nice for graphic design. You'll get things done very quickly and everything will look great on your monitor.......If you do want to game, it's simple to replace the card.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your opinion. If I were to buy a graphics card to stay on top of things what card would you recommend?