Thinkpads Forum

Has anyone gotten 4 G of RAM? Running 64 bit OS and I still see 3 G of RAM. I wonder what the problem is. I'm running Gutsy. I'm not sure if those running Vista 64 have the same problem.

I believe you are looking for this thread

Yes, but it seems they don't have the answer. I have been reading a little bit on this. Some people are mad because even undering 64 bit OS, they only see 3 G of RAM.

I even look through the bios to see if there is an option that would make a difference. I couldn't find it.

Oh sorry, how's about this thread. It would seem to me that a T60 can't use 4GB.

If that's the case, the customers have been mislead by lenono. They should not said expandable to 4 G of RAM.

An interesting point, so I went looking. I found that some T60s are, according to Lenovo, expandable to 4GB and others only to 3GB. I've uploaded part of a pdf document (4KB) here showing apparently which can and can't. These are 3 pages from a Lenovo Product Guide for europe.

When I was buying my T60, I recall the specs on the T60 is that it supports up to 4 G of RAM. Of course, it did say something about XP only supporting 3 G of RAM. But then I thought that's because XP is a 32 bit OS.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-62487

madcow wrote:When I was buying my T60, ...snip... it did say something about XP only supporting 3 G of RAM. But then I thought that's because XP is a 32 bit OS.

Just out of interest, which T60 do you have? Maybe you could add type and model to your sig.

andyP wrote:An interesting point, so I went looking. I found that some T60s are, according to Lenovo, expandable to 4GB and others only to 3GB.

but in that case they should have said that only some T60s are expandable to 4GB. Without disclaimer we could all demand that they provide some kind of fix or compansation.

It does state in the link provided by madcow;

256MB, 512MB, 1GB, or 2GB and supports up to 4GB maximum memory
Note: Microsoft Windows XP supports 3GB maximum memory

That is a sort of disclaimer, or..

The T60 cannot "see" more than 3GB of memory regardless of the operating system. However, installing 2x2GB SODIMMS enables symmetric dual-channel memory mode, which slightly improves performance.

In order to get 4GB of usable memory, you have to have a T61 running Vista 64 or server 2003.

madcow wrote:Yes, but it seems they don't have the answer. I have been reading a little bit on this. Some people are mad because even undering 64 bit OS, they only see 3 G of RAM.

even though vista SP1 RC displays 4GB total, only 3GB of it is addressable by the system.   it takes a 36-bit or 64-bit OS to support memory hoisting and allow that last GB to be addressed by the system.

madcow wrote:I even look through the bios to see if there is an option that would make a difference. I couldn't find it.

sorry but you won't find anything.   unfortunately there is nothing you can do to get any OS to address more than 3GB on your T60.

quoted from official lenovo documentation:

Maximum memory capacity may require the replacement of standard component with largest supported component available. On ThinkPad systems with an Intel 945GM, 945PM, GM965, or PM965 chipset, even though it is possible to physically install 4GB of memory, the actual amount of memory addressable by an operating system will be limited to 3GB. This limitation does not exist with the Intel GM965 and PM965 with the 64-bit operating systems Windows XP Professional 64-bit and Windows Vista 64-bit Editions.

please see this sticky: T60/T61/p memory limitations -- the definitive answer

the T60/p absolutely cannot utilize more than 3GB due to chipset and BIOS limitations.

Maximum memory capacity may require the replacement of standard component with largest supported component available. On ThinkPad systems with an Intel 945GM, 945PM, GM965, or PM965 chipset, even though it is possible to physically install 4GB of memory, the actual amount of memory addressable by an operating system will be limited to 3GB. This limitation does not exist with the Intel GM965 and PM965 with the 64-bit operating systems Windows XP Professional 64-bit and Windows Vista 64-bit Editions.

The above not on the spec when the T60/p were still being sold. It was more like.. expandable to 4 G. Windows XP will not be able to can only use up to 3 G. I was convinced it was XP, and nothing do to with the hardware. But now that I found it is hardware, I felt of betrayed by Lenovo.

madcow wrote:The above not on the spec when the T60/p were still being sold. It was more like.. expandable to 4 G. Windows XP will not be able to can only use up to 3 G. I was convinced it was XP, and nothing do to with the hardware. But now that I found it is hardware, I felt of betrayed by Lenovo.

they are expandable to 4GB.   like RonS said above, 2x1GB or 2x2GB SODIMMS will enable dual-channel mode and boost performance slightly, even though only up to 3GB is addressable.

lenovo's documentation on the T60/p does say "Supports up to 4GB maximum memory. Note: Windows XP supports up to 3GB maximum memory" because XP and 2000 are the only OSes that lenovo supported on that machine.   they make absolutely no mention of support of any other OS, including vista 32 and 64.

They also support Vista.

madcow wrote:They also support Vista.

vista may be supported now but it was not listed as a supported OS in their documentation published at the time of system release: T60/p Operating systems

The following operating systems are supported on the ThinkPad T60/p systems:

* Windows 2000 Professional (SP4*) with USB 2.0 support
* Windows XP Professional (SP1a*, or SP2) with USB 2.0 support
* Windows XP Home (SP1a*, or SP2) with USB 2.0 support

* Supported only when Core Multi-Processing is disabled.

Notes:

* Previous versions of these operating systems are not supported.
* Operating systems other than those preinstalled on the systems may not provide full-feature functionality

That's strange.. because this one says it supports these:
* Windows XP Professional
* Windows XP Home Edition
* Windows Vista Home Basic 32-bit
* Windows Vista Business 32-bit
* Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-62487


And according to microsoft, Vista 32-bit supports up to 4 G of RAM. http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/aa366778.aspx

And when I ordered mine, I had the choice to pick between XP, or Vista. I even told the salesman if I can choose no OS. But he said that can't be done.

The specs from Intel said:

Mobile Intel® 945GM/GME Express Chipset
Feature Support

Supports single-/dual-channel DDR2 SDRAM
• Maximum Memory supported: up to 4 GB at 400, 533 and 667 MHz
• 64-bit wide per channel
• Three Memory Channel Configurations supported:
— Single-Channel
— Dual-Channel Symmetric
— Dual-Channel Asymmetric
• One SO-DIMM connector per channel
• 256-Mb, 512-Mb and 1-Gb memory technologies supported

http://download.intel.com/design/mobile ... 921905.pdf

madcow wrote:And according to microsoft, Vista 32-bit supports up to 4 G of RAM.

unfortunately that's where everyone gets confused.   even on a T61/p with 4GB installed, microsoft's supposed "4GB supported" OSes cannot see all 4GB due to hardware addressing conflicts sucking up that last 1GB.   it's all because of how 32-bit architecture works.

i understand your frustration as i too was frustrated with all of this when i was debating between a T60p and T61p.   however, i don't feel that lenovo's documentation is enough to leave one feeling "betrayed" considering that the root of the issue here is an unfortunate reality with the limitations of 32-bit architecture.

these exact same problems arose 12 years ago when we transitioned from 16-bit windows 3.11 to 32-bit windows 95 and addressable memory space was lost to addressing limitations.   the difference is that most of today's PC users didn't even own or use a PC 12 years ago to remember.   history will repeat itself when we transition to 128-bit but i think that day will be a long way away.

So with my T60 running XP Pro, is it possible to run 2 x 2GB? If so, would I even notice a difference moving up from 3GB?

Billmanweh wrote:So with my T60 running XP Pro, is it possible to run 2 x 2GB? If so, would I even notice a difference moving up from 3GB?

you can install 4GB but your system will only address 3GB max.   once again, please see this sticky: T60/T61/p memory limitations -- the definitive answer

Billmanweh wrote:If so, would I even notice a difference moving up from 3GB?

Basically..... no!

Cheers,

Bill

According to the t60/t60p 2.19 bios release

Changes in this release
-----------------------
Version 2.19
[Fix]
-SLP2 support with 4GB memory

What is SLP2?
Anyone tested?

mario_jr wrote:What is SLP2?

System Locked Preinstallation v2.0

sorry but it has absolutely nothing to do with addressable system memory support.   that's still stuck at 3GB on the X60 and T60.