Computer not keeping information + Says I have less ram - Hardware & Software

Hey guys. So, I'm running Windows Vista Ultimate on my Dell Vostro 1520 laptop. This happened probably a few months ago. Im not sure if its the computers fault, or chromes fault. Either eay, I really want to get this fixed. So everytime I enter a password or login info, it asks if I want to save it (this is all in chrome). But now, everytime I start up a new browser window, it says "My profile could not be opened correctly", and my syncing to my gmail account doesnt work as well as remembering those passwords. So I have to open a new tab, enter all my info on various websites, then minimize it, in order for me to not have to enter thr passwords again. And now recently, its happened to steam, with its steam guard. Evertime I exit out of it, shut my comouter down, or even hibernate it, it asks me to go to my email and get the key to enter in. So any ideas on how to fix this? Oh and also, with a reformat of my OS, it. Displays my ram as 2.96 GB, but when I go to system properties, it says 3033 mb, when it should be 4 GB. Any ideas on this problem? Thanks [editline]12th March 2011[/editline] Specs soon (if needed)

Are you running 32-bit Vista?

[QUOTE=MTMod;28563719]Are you running 32-bit Vista?[/QUOTE] Yes sir.

[QUOTE=Niven;28563802]Yes sir.[/QUOTE] 32bit Windows Operating systems only supports around 3GB of ram. Get 64bit

But then how come before, when I had Vista 32bit, it said 4.00 GB ram?

-snip-

I had a similar problem when I started running 12GB a couple of years ago (and yes, I am running an x64 OS). I had to remove and re-seat the ram because there was some dust build-up (I assume, since it was rather dusty between the sticks of RAM). This fixed my problem, but may not fix yours. There are several patches designed for similar problems (and, for the record, windows vista x32 might report you having 4GB, but it will only use ~3GB). Another problem that can cause a similar issue is device memory mapping/addressing. If you have changed your video card or sound card, this can cause windows to re-address its memory mapping and map more memory to the device (i.e. if the new video card has 1GB memory, windows might reserve ~1GB in memory for the device to be able to memory swap faster, thus slowing everything else down). You might also see if you can find out how much memory windows is reserving for devices (in Win7 you just open the resource monitor and click on the Memory tab, I know it isn't the same for vista though), which you will have to google, unfortunately. If the computer is reserving more than, say, 200MB for hardware, you definitely have a memory mapping problem. I'm not quite sure how to fix it though. Also, that 200MB figure is from my laptop with integrated graphics, but my main rig at home (the one with 12GB), uses only 9MB for hardware reservation. I really hope that this helps and points you in the right direction for a fix!

[QUOTE=DoobZilla;28564698]I had a similar problem when I started running 12GB a couple of years ago (and yes, I am running an x64 OS). I had to remove and re-seat the ram because there was some dust build-up (I assume, since it was rather dusty between the sticks of RAM). This fixed my problem, but may not fix yours. There are several patches designed for similar problems (and, for the record, windows vista x32 might report you having 4GB, but it will only use ~3GB). Another problem that can cause a similar issue is device memory mapping/addressing. If you have changed your video card or sound card, this can cause windows to re-address its memory mapping and map more memory to the device (i.e. if the new video card has 1GB memory, windows might reserve ~1GB in memory for the device to be able to memory swap faster, thus slowing everything else down). You might also see if you can find out how much memory windows is reserving for devices (in Win7 you just open the resource monitor and click on the Memory tab, I know it isn't the same for vista though), which you will have to google, unfortunately. If the computer is reserving more than, say, 200MB for hardware, you definitely have a memory mapping problem. I'm not quite sure how to fix it though. Also, that 200MB figure is from my laptop with integrated graphics, but my main rig at home (the one with 12GB), uses only 9MB for hardware reservation. I really hope that this helps and points you in the right direction for a fix![/QUOTE] [url]http://www.facepunch.com/threads/1057448-Computer-Illiterate-People-who-think-they-know-things-v9-Windows-is-a-Strawberry?p=28565295&viewfull=1#post28565295[/url] Congratulations. :frog:

Ok, but what about my first question?

You have a hard drive faliure.

[QUOTE=Van-man;28563861]32bit Windows Operating systems only supports around 3GB of ram. Get 64bit[/QUOTE] Incorrect. Windows server editions that are 32 bit support 4+ GB of RAM with PAE. Windows Vista 32 bit actually supports 4+ GB of RAM in PAE mode if you hack the registry. Microsoft intentionally cripples RAM support for price tiering and because they make the excuse "Drivers aren't tested with PAE above 4 GB" which isn't true.

[QUOTE=HeraldedAssasin;28578674]You have a hard drive faliure.[/QUOTE] How do I fix it? :(

[QUOTE=Niven;28581514]How do I fix it? :([/QUOTE] You buy a new one.

Oh. Alight then. I also fixed my ram problem by installing service pack 1.

Re-seat the RAM. Flash the BIOS if that doesn't help.

[QUOTE=Candice;28584095]Re-seat the RAM. Flash the BIOS if that doesn't help.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Niven;28584056]I also fixed my ram problem by installing service pack 1.[/QUOTE] I'm also on a laptop, so I don't want to open it and screw it up.

Do you guys think that if I open my laptop up, I could put a nvidia graphics card in it? Right now, I have a Intel Mobile Chipset 4.

[QUOTE=Niven;28595004]Do you guys think that if I open my laptop up, I could put a nvidia graphics card in it? Right now, I have a Intel Mobile Chipset 4.[/QUOTE] Nope, because most laptop manufacturers are fucktards and don't want us upgrading graphics chips. You're stuck with that chip bub.

[QUOTE=Marnetmar;28565865][url]http://www.facepunch.com/threads/1057448-Computer-Illiterate-People-who-think-they-know-things-v9-Windows-is-a-Strawberry?p=28565295&viewfull=1#post28565295[/url] Congratulations. :frog:[/QUOTE] If you would actually take the time to read the entirety of the post, you would have seen that I also had memory reservation errors. I never said that dust was the absolute culprit, and I also never said that the dust between the ram was specifically the problem, only a clue as to how much dust was probably in the slot, since I had just gone from 4 to 12GB. Sometimes, trying to help is much better than trolling, even if the person trying to help doesn't have as much experience as you think that you do.