Help me make a proper reinstall of my system.

mudi on 24/10/2009 at 00:50

Yup, it sounds like some memory controlling component of your motherboard only supports 32-bit addressing, which means you can only access 4GB of RAM. I don't know if that will include device space though... if it doesn't then you should be able to access all 4GB in a 64-bit windows, but if not then you'll get the same amount of accessible RAM in 32-bit or 64-bit.

bikerdude on 24/10/2009 at 09:37

Quote Posted by mudi

if it doesn't then you should be able to access all 4GB in a 64-bit windows, but if not then you'll get the same amount of accessible RAM in 32-bit or 64-bit.

that ASrock motherboard you have only supports a max amount of memory of 4gb, which will befully useable in a 64bit version of windows.

Ostriig on 24/10/2009 at 17:01

I see, thanks! I noticed a BIOS update, 1.80 (mine is 1.30) that's stated to improve 4GB RAM support, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I only have 2GB at this time, and I've decided to leave the BIOS alone for a little while longer - it's not like I can do it right now anyway, since I need to either borrow or go buy a floppy drive. I knew I should've done it as soon as I got the unit, two years ago, but procrastination's a favourite hobby of mine. Should I need to access the BIOS, I'll go with the jumper route, but hopefully I'll get no complications.

I've been backing up my data on externals for a couple of hours now, still got some 200-300 gigs left, so I'm not starting the install to soon. I'll post back when I'm done, hopefully to say thanks, not to share of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Al_B on 24/10/2009 at 21:01

You should be able to update the BIOS within windows (with AFUWIN) without using a floppy drive.

Ostriig on 24/10/2009 at 21:27

Ah, I hadn't noticed that, thanks! I'm guessing that those aren't incremental updates, so I can just install the 1.80 over the current 1.30 without going through the other versions?

I'm still backing up data at this point, if you can believe it, got another 10 gig to go. The past eight hours have been painfully slow...

Al_B on 24/10/2009 at 22:25

Yes - installing a new BIOS version should just replace the contents of the FLASH memory so there's no concept of an 'incremental' update.

Ostriig on 24/10/2009 at 22:30

Right on, thanks! I'll look into it tomorrow, should track down my MB revision. IIRC, it was the ethernet make that helped me identify it last time.

Ostriig on 25/10/2009 at 21:38

Well, all done! I decided to leave the BIOS until I get the extra RAM, after all, but aside from that it's all according to plan. Gotta say, I like this W7 thing. Still gotta get used to some of the new navigation elements, but I do like them, and aside from the Media Player botch up, I can see why it's been getting all that glowing hype.

At any rate, thanks for the advice and info, dudes, you've been of great help!