Dell Studio XPS 8000 - 4GB Installed BIOS shows 2GB - 64 Bit Windows 7

Hi Bob,

My PC reports 8GB on the same screen but in resource monitor (you find it within performance monitor) it reports only half as being usable and therin lies the problem.

The reason I ask is someone else had their MB changed yesterday and had the same problem afterwards i.e. only 4GB usable.

Sean

Sean,

Hope this helps.

Hmm..interesting.  Mine is reporting 2057 MB reserved for hardware.

Dell have dispatched yet another mainboard and 4 replacement sticks of memory - so this'll be my third board. Due to be fitted this evening (Pacific Time). It's remarkable, isn't it, that when you speak to tech support they have no awareness of this issue and they take you through the whole process of  logging on to your PC and checking everything that's already been checked, then concluding it's a faulty board. Maybe it is and I'm just unlucky to have had two in succession. I'm glad Bob got his sorted and I'll report back on the success or otherwise of my experience later today. Meanwhile, I've just discovered that the external eSATA socket on my 8000 seems not to be working either. So I'll go hunt that as an issue while I wait.

My first replacement main board arrives on Monday (tech supp decided to replace when they realised I could only see half my memory in BIOS).

I'm hoping I will share in Bobs good fortunes and be able to use all my RAM.

I'm really dissapointed to hear about problems with eSATA too because I have plans to use that.

Please keep us posted.

Sean

I'm pleased to report that it is third time lucky for me. The third board and new memory are fitted and the BIOS is showing 8gb installed. System properties is also showing the full 8gb (as per Bob's screen shot) and so is the resource monitor (again with similar allocations as Bob's). The tech did tell me that a different brand of  memory was supplied (the new installation is Samsung; I forget what the other one was but it began with an 'E' and was a name I never heard of) so perhaps there is an issue here regarding the MB/memory combo.  I also solved the eSATA problem - my own stupid fault. It has to be recognized in BIOS first (F2 on boot-up). Once I did that, exited and saved (F10) everything was fine and my new Fantom external drive is present and working blindingly fast. Good luck Sean (and others) in getting this issue resolved.Here's proof that persistence pays off. Dell's first response on this was that it was a software problem. Clearly it wasn't. Keith

Thats great news Keith.

Mine came with Samsung memory anyway so chances are it was purely a mainboard problem.

Fingers crossed for Monday!!!

Sean

I can attest to the fact that it is the motherboard.  I haven't replaced mine yet but when testing the RAM slots, the last two slots cannot recognize any RAM as it will not boot up whatsoever.  Dell is also replacing my MB.

nice!!!  Can you please tell us what version the BIOS is?  (Press F2 when it's first powered on)  We all need ether an update or a new motherboard. 

I have the same problem as everyone else with 8GB and only 3.99 usable.

The BIOS version is the latest one out there for Studio 8000s, A01.

Good luck with yours!

Sean Mantey:

My first replacement main board arrives on Monday (tech supp decided to replace when they realised I could only see half my memory in BIOS).

I'm hoping I will share in Bobs good fortunes and be able to use all my RAM.

I'm really dissapointed to hear about problems with eSATA too because I have plans to use that.

Please keep us posted.

Sean

Still waiting for my main board replacement after technician failed to turn up today because they do not have spares :-(

The Dell guy is supposed to be here in about 2 hours to replace my MB. I'll report back afterward.

-EDIT-

Nevermind, guess Fedex didn't have the MB yet.  He'll be here tomorrow.

I have got the same problem with my XPS 8000, i.e. 6GB installed, but only 3GB showing (nice, not to be alone in the world, though :-)  ).

I have contacted Dell regarding this and referred to these threads as well - but no reply yet.

I will post any useful info I may obtain...

-Jan-  

Just recieved my XPS 8000 today and the first thing I did was check for this issue.  I'm glad to report that all of my memory (8GB) is showing correctly in the bios and in Windows.

Whatsamahoozit:

The Dell guy is supposed to be here in about 2 hours to replace my MB. I'll report back afterward.

 

-EDIT-

Nevermind, guess Fedex didn't have the MB yet.  He'll be here tomorrow.

Any news?

I'm still waiting for an engineer to swap my MB (cancelled on the day first time round).