System Memory Overstated

[Alexander]

I recently added a 256Mb (or so the label on it says - and of course the price fits!) PC100 DIMM to a Gigabyte 5AX motherboard with two 128Mb DIMMs already on board. Now POST and Windows Device Manager both indicate a total of 768Mb of RAM when my arithmetic says it should be 512Mb. Have I struck lucky and been sold a 512Mb DIMM in error? Hardly likely, because the motherboard specification does not permit DIMMs larger then 256Mb. The machine is working fine, but the inconsistency niggles me and I am eager to learn if anyone else has had a similar experience. Unrecognized memory is a common problem, but overstated memory is something else again.

[Chuck]

I have seen your post on another board and can't remember if you ran Sandra against it. If not, see what it shows. Sandra is a free download and gives a wealth of information. As long as it works, feel lucky and don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Unless, you want to call the supplier and check it out.

[Alexander]

Thank you, Chuck. I don't have Sandra, but I did try removing the other DIMMs and booting up with just the 256Mb DIMM on board. POST found 524,288 bytes (base 10 equivalent of 512Mb, I suppose)and gave up at that point. My supplier confirmed that it is a compatibility problem. No gift gee-gee, unfortunately - in fact it caused Photoshop to crash repeatedly.