Why can I only use 2.48 GB RAM in Boot Camp (Win 8.1 Pro, 64-bit)?

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Level 1

4 points

Why can I only use 2.48 GB RAM in Boot Camp (Win 8.1 Pro, 64-bit)?

Hello, I am fairly new to the iMac and I have to use some programs in Windows that are not available for Mac so I set up Boot Camp and installed Windows 8.1.

My iMac is a I7-2600 CPU @ 3.4GHz with 16 GB RAM, system type-bit. Under system in Windows it shows Installed memory (RAM) 16 GB (2.48 GB usable).

I read about this problem and most answers are related to people using 32-bit. So what is wrong in my case, where is the problem?

Thank you in advance for help and suggestions.

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on May 3, 2015 11:52 AM

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Answer 1

Mortandos Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 14, 2015 1:13 PM in response to Loner T

But I cannot boot from my superdrive because it's broken.

Regarding your earlier post:

Parallels or VM ware? Unfortunately that's out of the question, much too slow (I actually tried that BEFORE I even came up with the whole Boot Camp idea).

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Answer 2

Loner T

Level 9

59,477 points

Jun 14, 2015 2:31 PM in response to Mortandos

If you copy the DVD contents to a CD and exclude the install.wim, and try to boot from this CD, does it work? If the drive can read CDs but not DVDs, this is worth a test. You will waste a CD, if it does not work.

The other option is to use Rufus USB, burn the DVD to the USB and test if it can replace the DVD using Alt/Boot.

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Answer 3

Mortandos Author

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Jun 16, 2015 6:15 PM in response to Loner T

I really don't understand why my iMac is acting so weird. Used Rufus to make a bootable stick, it doesn't show when I boot.

I was able to burn the CD as suggested (so the superdrive is really weird, why can it read CD's but not DVD's?) but the superdrive doesn't show as a boot option.

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Answer 4

Loner T

Level 9

59,477 points

Jun 16, 2015 6:16 PM in response to Mortandos

I suggest you look for a replacement Optical drive.

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Answer 5

Mortandos Author

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4 points

Jun 16, 2015 10:25 PM in response to Loner T

There has to be another way. I found this guide

http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-install-windows-8-1-on-mac-without-boot-camp/

There has to be a reason why I don't even get to the point where I see the efi boot option and the Windows boot option after creating a bootable USB stick.

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Answer 6

Loner T

Level 9

59,477 points

Jun 17, 2015 4:40 AM in response to Mortandos

The link you posted does not mention the Mac year/model that method was used on. I can execute the linked method on a Late 2013 iMac, but not a 2010/2011 Mac. Read the comments under the article.

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Answer 7

Loner T

Level 9

59,477 points

Jun 17, 2015 10:10 AM in response to Mortandos

Do you want to try Re: Bootcamp issue: "Non-system disk, press any key to reboot" ?

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Answer 8

Mortandos Author

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4 points

Jun 18, 2015 3:22 PM in response to Loner T

I will try that but with my iMac (mid 2011 model) it seems to be a problem in general to boot from a USB stick. I made a bootable stick with RUFUS and it didn't find it, do I have to use the bless terminal command again?

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Answer 9

Loner T

Level 9

59,477 points

Jun 18, 2015 3:33 PM in response to Mortandos

Yes, you need to use the bless command.

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Answer 10

Mortandos Author

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Jun 18, 2015 5:04 PM in response to Loner T

Still getting the NO BOOTABLE DEVICE error. It seems there was some kind of disagreement about whether the info.plist needs to be modified or not. I know my iMac was booting from USB before but I don't know how to get back there. When it was booting from the USB stick my problem was that it couldn't install Windows because the hard disk was not formatted correctly. Now I can't even get back to that point.

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Answer 11

Loner T

Level 9

59,477 points

Jun 18, 2015 7:09 PM in response to Mortandos

1. Does your Mac boot from a USB which has OS X installed on it? If yes, then your USB booting is fine.

2. If you want your BC Info.plist back to original, the safest method is to re-install OS X, which will not modify any of your files. If you use Internet Recovery, it will install the version of OS X shipped with you iMac, not the current version. Please see

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Answer 12

Mortandos Author

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4 points

Jun 18, 2015 8:05 PM in response to Loner T

1) 2 weeks ago it did... when you suggested to boot Yosemite from a stick and then start the whole process.

2) Please see... see what? It seems there is something missing. It's not that I WANT to modify my info.plist, I just wanted to know whether it's necessary or help me in any way.

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Answer 13

Loner T

Level 9

59,477 points

Jun 18, 2015 8:07 PM in response to Mortandos

The link I wanted to post was this one OS X: About OS X Recovery - Apple Support .

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Answer 14

Mortandos Author

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Jun 19, 2015 10:36 AM in response to Loner T

I'm still wondering how Maubaraf (that's from a previous link you sent me) was able to use DISKPART, format it as fat32 and then copy the files from a mounted Windows 7 .iso to the stick. Like Windows 8 the Windows 7 file is too large for a fat32 partition, what am I missing here? Why is that not mentioned there?

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Answer 15

Loner T

Level 9

59,477 points

Jun 19, 2015 10:45 AM in response to Mortandos

The appropriate link should be https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj200124.aspx . From this link, step 9 (it is 1 because of renumbering), you should use NTFS, not FAT32, because your Mac is not UEFI-compliant.

To format the partition, type

format fs=ntfs quick

, and then click ENTER.

Important
If your server platform supports Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), you should format the USB flash drive as FAT32 rather than as NTFS. To format the partition as FAT32, type `format fs=fat32 quick` , and then click ENTER.

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