Vista with 4Gb RAM using only 3Gb? Why?

[anat0l]

Re: The totally off-topic thread

If I were you, I'd be upgrading to Windows 7 ... and then to Win10 ...

He'd probably have to purchase a Windows 7 licence though. I doubt they are flogging them cheap due to the free upgrade to Windows 10 available, even if Windows 8 existed for a while after it.

I assume Windows 7 and 10, even if run in 32-bit, does not experience the same issues with addressing up to 4 GB RAM?

I never used Visa

Well most of us don't want to - we prefer our American Express cards

... went strait from XP to Win7 ...

I'll be straight up with you, that's a big strait!

Yeah, stop blaming the autocorrect......

 

[JohnK]

Re: The totally off-topic thread

If I were you, I'd be upgrading to Windows 7 ... and then to Win10 ... if you need assistance, send me a PM.

I never used Visa ... went strait from XP to Win7 ... earlier this year ...

Still don't quite understand why Vista is reporting 2GB correctly on one laptop but reporting 4GB as 3032MB on another laptop.

I hated Vista with a passion when I first used it. Then I bought a Windows 7 laptop and from the first day hated it even more. And as it so happened that particular laptop blew 2 hard drives in less than 2 years and Iost a lot of information including all the photos of my trip to Greece and Canada with dad in 2009.

Miss Internet Explorer and all the things one can do with it. Slowly using Firefox but that is not quite the same.

Hoping I can get 3-4 years use out of these Vista laptops and then see where to go from there.

 

[cambriamarsh]

Re: The totally off-topic thread

Still don't quite understand why Vista is reporting 2GB correctly on one laptop but reporting 4GB as 3032MB on another laptop.

I hated Vista with a passion when I first used it. Then I bought a Windows 7 laptop and from the first day hated it even more. And as it so happened that particular laptop blew 2 hard drives in less than 2 years and Iost a lot of information including all the photos of my trip to Greece and Canada with dad in 2009.

Miss Internet Explorer and all the things one can do with it. Slowly using Firefox but that is not quite the same.

Hoping I can get 3-4 years use out of these Vista laptops and then see where to go from there.

Try using Chrome, seems simpler and easier to get used to than Firefox, not sure why tho.

 

[anat0l]

Re: The totally off-topic thread

Still don't quite understand why Vista is reporting 2GB correctly on one laptop but reporting 4GB as 3032MB on another laptop.

Because of the reasons outlined previously. With 2 GB RAM, Vista x86 should have no problems at all addressing all of the memory successfully. But the same OS will have problems addressing a full 4 GB of RAM (but if you had installed Vista x64, should be no problem).

Miss Internet Explorer and all the things one can do with it. Slowly using Firefox but that is not quite the same.

IE is still available if you really want it; in fact, it's the default browser for all Windows versions up to 10 (where now in 10 it is Edge, but you can still activate Internet Explorer if you really want to). For me, it's way too slow. Even the new Edge browser on Windows 10 doesn't catch my fancy, though that said I've been so used to Firefox for so long that I'm probably biased.

Hoping I can get 3-4 years use out of these Vista laptops and then see where to go from there.

How old are the refurbs, age wise? Some refurbs don't recharge or change the batteries, so that might be the first to go (it doesn't really "die", just means you might not get anything useful when it is detached from the power). Hard drives, depends on previous use and how much you use the computer. In any case, it pays to keep backups of your critical data.

If you don't change your OS at all, apparently Vista support will finish around 2017, which means after that there will be no more updates available for the Vista OS, if I interpret that correctly. I'd have to say you might be the only person who likes Vista over Windows 7, and for reasons that I probably won't understand.

 

[anat0l]

Re: The totally off-topic thread

Try using Chrome, seems simpler and easier to get used to than Firefox, not sure why tho.

Probably more cosmetic, IMO.

Admittedly, naked Firefox with no extensions is not very exciting at all.

 

[serfty]

Re: The totally off-topic thread

He'd probably have to purchase a Windows 7 licence though. I doubt they are flogging them cheap due to the free upgrade to Windows 10 available, even if Windows 8 existed for a while after it. ...

There's more than one way to skin a rabbit ... View attachment 58588

...
I assume Windows 7 and 10, even if run in 32-bit, does not experience the same issues with addressing up to 4 GB RAM?
...

Well, I searched for a similar issue with win7 and drew a blank - also, my Win7 at home specifically states it's using ¾Gb for the video, leaving the other 3¼ Gb.

...
Well most of us don't want to - we prefer our American Express cards

I'll be straight up with you, that's a big strait!

Yeah, stop blaming the autocorrect......

No autocorrect -was using a desktop ...

 

[serfty]

Re: The totally off-topic thread

...
Hoping I can get 3-4 years use out of these Vista laptops and then see where to go from there.

Each to their own - to me, Vista is so much more like Win7 then XP, but slower than both.

 

[JohnK]

Re: The totally off-topic thread

IE is still available if you really want it; in fact, it's the default browser for all Windows versions up to 10 (where now in 10 it is Edge, but you can still activate Internet Explorer if you really want to). For me, it's way too slow. Even the new Edge browser on Windows 10 doesn't catch my fancy, though that said I've been so used to Firefox for so long that I'm probably biased.

Internet Explorer 9 is as far as you can go on Vista. Lots of websites won't function.

How old are the refurbs, age wise? Some refurbs don't recharge or change the batteries, so that might be the first to go (it doesn't really "die", just means you might not get anything useful when it is detached from the power). Hard drives, depends on previous use and how much you use the computer. In any case, it pays to keep backups of your critical data.

If you don't change your OS at all, apparently Vista support will finish around 2017, which means after that there will be no more updates available for the Vista OS, if I interpret that correctly. I'd have to say you might be the only person who likes Vista over Windows 7, and for reasons that I probably won't understand.

The laptops are 4-5 years old. I bought them for ~AUD200 each. The new hard drive on the Windows 7 laptop cost more and didn't quite make 12 months use but as I didn't use it until I had it for 3-6 months the warranty ran out.

Windows 7 operating system is not user friendly. I thought Vista was a pain but Windows 7 took the cake.

 

[whatmeworry]

Re: The totally off-topic thread

I downgraded a one Vista laptop to XP. Win 7 better then Win 8. Firefox for me. IE just too vulnerable to malware.

 

[Buzzard]

Re: The totally off-topic thread

I have no doubt I have been dudded 1GB memory. Email sent to supplier asking to please explain.

Reminds me of the time I purchased a 600cc motorbike from a friend. Turned out to be only 593cc.
Never did forgive him for 7cc's

 

[anat0l]

Re: The totally off-topic thread

Windows 7 operating system is not user friendly. I thought Vista was a pain but Windows 7 took the cake.

I'm sure you have your own reasons and I can't understand them. Whilst my Vista installation was not the crash palace that other people made it out to be, I certainly liked Windows 7 a lot more than Vista.

Probably the biggest shift in UI from Vista to 7 was changing the taskbar from title based long buttons and bundling, to an icon based one, which basically combined the Quick Launch and Vista taskbar. A lot of pundits claimed this started to imitate the equivalent app bar / launch pad (or whatever it's called) on Mac OS. I don't know why it didn't take me long to get used to it; in fact, I did something I thought I wouldn't do with the new taskbar, which is pin most of my commonly used apps to it, significantly reducing my use of the Start Menu.

IE just too vulnerable to malware.

Although on average you are right, a lot of malware occurs on account of the user not being careful enough, irrespective of the browser.

A classic includes installing free software that have co-installs, the latter being annoying and/or malicious. But people go through the installer - click, click, click - without even pausing to see what they are installing.

 

[JohnK]

Re: The totally off-topic thread

Try using Chrome, seems simpler and easier to get used to than Firefox, not sure why tho.

Have Google Chrome at work. Use Gmail but not internet. Prefer Firefox.

The great thing about Internet Explorer was storing favourites in folders and sub-folders and accessing that stored information quite easily. Not quite the same with any of the other browsers.

 

[cambriamarsh]

Re: The totally off-topic thread

Have Google Chrome at work. Use Gmail but not internet. Prefer Firefox.

The great thing about Internet Explorer was storing favourites in folders and sub-folders and accessing that stored information quite easily. Not quite the same with any of the other browsers.

Oh ok, I don't have that many Favourites so it's hasn't been an issue as yet, but a fair point.

 

[straitman]

Re: The totally off-topic thread

Time for some people to buy an apple :!:

 

[serfty]

Have Google Chrome at work. Use Gmail but not internet. Prefer Firefox.

The great thing about Internet Explorer was storing favourites in folders and sub-folders and accessing that stored information quite easily. Not quite the same with any of the other browsers.

What on earth!??!

It's so easy to do this with firefox and chrome ...

I use a bookmarks toolbar ... like a menu bar ... all my favorites available grouped in tabs along the top of the browser window ...

 

[whatmeworry]

Re: The totally off-topic thread

Time for some people to buy an apple :!:

Nah yay Nah. Not spending 3-4 times more for a product that locks me into their universe.

 

[Flashback]

Re: The totally off-topic thread

Probably the biggest shift in UI from Vista to 7 was changing the taskbar from title based long buttons and bundling, to an icon based one, which basically combined the Quick Launch and Vista taskbar.

You can still have the start bar look Vista style and in fact it's the first thing I do even still when I get a new laptop. Just started a new job and that was the first thing I did when I logged on! :mrgreen:

Have Google Chrome at work. Use Gmail but not internet. Prefer Firefox.

The great thing about Internet Explorer was storing favourites in folders and sub-folders and accessing that stored information quite easily. Not quite the same with any of the other browsers.

Ummmm I do exactly that in Chrome. The new bookmark manager sucks but you can still access the old one by chrome://bookmarks

 

[JohnK]

What on earth!??!

It's so easy to do this with firefox and chrome ...

I use a bookmarks toolbar ... like a menu bar ... all my favorites available grouped in tabs along the top of the browser window ...

Not as good as Internet Explorer. "Favorites" was a fantastic feature. I have given up saving "Bookmarks".

 

[serfty]

Favorites/Bookmarks are the same thing. ..

 

[JohnK]

Have had a reply from the supplier and it makes sense based on the advice here on AFF.

Hi John,

Are you looking at the total amount of RAM as reported in the System Properties (i.e. within Windows) or from the BIOS setup?

Given that a 32-bit operating system is likely to have been installed on
your machine, Windows will usually report no more than 3 GB of RAM
(i.e. that which it uses) in System Properties, which might be why you
are only seeing 3032MB of installed memory.

If you hit the F1 key upon turning the power on your laptop, you will be
taken to the BIOS which will give you an accurate report on the amount
of RAM which is physically installed in your machine.

Can you confirm the amount of RAM based upon this?

I will check on the weekend when I am back in Sydney.