F1 Pro - BIOS reports 3GB RAM instead of 4

[eross]

I have an LG F1 Pro Express Dual laptop. The specs claimed support for up to 4 GB RAM . I installed 2X 2GB Kingston modules , and Win 7 X64.
Windows reports 4GB (3GB Usable). Resource Monitor reports that 1 GB is "Hardware reserved". The Bios reports 3GB RAM, 8MB reserved for video.
I updated the BIOS to the latest version on the LG CD posted in this forum (v7.04 from 01/17/07)
There is no option in the BIOS regarding the RAM
Is there a way to enable more options in the BIOS?
Any idea why it only "sees" 3GB? While Windows sees all 4 , but can only access 3GB?

[namaiki]

That laptop seems to have the Intel 945GM chipset which only supports just under 4GB RAM due to a 32-bit memory controller or something like that.

[eross]

According to this Mobile Intel® 945GM Express Chipset it should support 4GB

[namaiki]

It's been a while since I've checked. I think it specifies why all 4GB of RAM is not usable on page 325 of the datasheet.

[eross]

I see what you mean. Strangely I saw this post: [Solved] Maximum RAM supported in HP Pavillion dv6450us - Memory - Motherboards-Memory
The last post ....

[namaiki]

They say that it works (it also "works" for you), but they don't specifically say that they have checked how much memory they can access.

[KLF]

"Works" and "supports" mean it doesnt explode or bluescreen when you have 2x2GB installed. It doesn't mean you can use whole 4096MB ram at once

[eross]

Is there a way to enable more settings in LG BIOS? Some MB have that feature (Usually CTRL+Fx will enable that). I could not find any reference to LG BIOS. (It's an MSI board) I was hoping there might be an option for memory remapping hidden somewhere....

[Greg]

Is there a way to enable more settings in LG BIOS? Some MB have that feature (Usually CTRL+Fx will enable that). I could not find any reference to LG BIOS. (It's an MSI board) I was hoping there might be an option for memory remapping hidden somewhere....

No. The memory controller can only address 4GB of memory space, and some of that is reserved for system use (device I/O, etc). Nothing you can do about it. Memory remapping would map the RAM to above the 4GB barrier and that is only possible with the 965 chipset and later.

[eross]

Thanks guys.