A few days ago I decided to update a Win 7 system that I had not used for weeks. Win 7 64 bit pro. It was my intention to restore an image, to update the system/image and to save the image afterwards to my external harddrive. I booted the system from the Macrium Reflect (free) restore dvd. (Linux ?) After restoring an image I rebooted. Next thing, I got an error message that the memory size had decreased ! Full system spec: custom desktop 1+ years old, Win 7 64 bit pro, 4 GB RAM. I have never seen anything like this. Subsequent attempts to restore an image caused the same result: an error message on boot (from the BIOS?), stating that the memory size had decreased. After that a verbal Win 7 error message about the missing memory, but no error code. Other than that, the computer was working normally. So I went from the full 4 GB to only 2 GB. I'm not that familiar with the technical aspects of Win 7. The automated tool to diagnose/deal with the problem found no solutions. In the system (?) log or whatever there was an error message referring to the missing memory. This would have been easier if this had been a Win XP system. I don't have access to the system right now so I'm not sure about the exact phrase, but googling the verbal error message did not yield any solutions or insights. Maybe it's a hardware issue and maybe I'll need to bring it to a shop but I'd rather try to determine what went wrong first. If this were a Win XP system I would start with the error number. All I got were some numbers pertaining to the system (but no error number) and a 'dump' file that I couldn't easily access, not with notepad anyway. So I guess I'm asking where to start. Does Win 7 have some kind of log with numbers that will help me track down the problem. I have more than basic computer knowledge but I'm not familiar at all with the technical aspects of Win 7. It seems to be quite different from Win XP. The Win XP eventviewer is simple compared to Win 7's. Can I get a few pointers about investigating the system and figuring out what's wrong, please ?
first double check your ram in the slots. then check in the bios to see it shows all 4gb. then check the bios for memory settings like extended memory or something similar you can post settings here and i should be able to tell you if there is one some mobo's have a setting for this...then i would remove one stick and boot win7 and see what it shows. then boot from the other single stick. then again try both. post results...you may be able to check the event manager in the administrative tools in the control panel for errors
The BIOS menu proved to be more extensive than I had believed. In the BIOS the full 4 GB is acounted for, two slots. There are lots of settings, but I didn't see 'extended memory'. I think I may have found the cause. In the BIOS' Event Log there is the message 'CMOS battery failure', which occurred before my current problem. I'm not quite sure what it means. Time to replace the CMOS battery if possible ? I didn't get around to opening the computer and (re)moving memory yet.
Remove the CMOS battery, make sure you know which are the + and - connectors, and remove your RAM sticks, leave the system turned off like this for 15-20 minutes so that the BIOS completley clears itself. Then replace the CMOS battery and RAM and restart. You will have to reset the current date etc. in the BIOS as everything will have been reset to the date it was originally manufactured. Let me know what happens Edit: Also did you mix the RAM? i.e SEAGATE with CORSAIR for example, as some Motherboards don't like mixed RAM, enable your Motherboard speaker, and if this is the case you will hear an Audible continuous beep on startup
My apologies for responding late. I just didn't have the time. I'm not sure what happened. A few days ago I installed a new monitor. Since then ... no more memory issues or errors. I have the full 4 GB RAM. So it would seem that the problem is solved. But how
