Mortandos
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Q: 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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Mortandos

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

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  • by Mortandos,

    Mortandos Mortandos May 6, 2015 7:13 PM in response to Loner T
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    May 6, 2015 7:13 PM in response to Loner T

    Ok, that doesn't work so well. I put Yosemite on the USB stick, I booted from the stick, I formatted the hard drive (FAT 32 & MBR) and then I started the Boot Camp Assistant. Of course it doesn't allow me to create a Windows Boot Installer since I have a superdrive, I have to modify the plist again but I cannot choose the INSTALL WINDOWS option, it's grey (the one that formats and partitions the HD from the BCA).

  • by Mortandos,

    Mortandos Mortandos May 6, 2015 7:27 PM in response to Mortandos
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    May 6, 2015 7:27 PM in response to Mortandos

    What's worse - now my SSD drive doesn't show up anymore when I boot my Mac (holding the option key), I can only choose the OS  installer even when I unplug the USB stick

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T May 6, 2015 7:57 PM in response to Mortandos
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    May 6, 2015 7:57 PM in response to Mortandos

    1. If you have OS X on a USB, you will be safer disconnecting the external SSD.

    2. You need to run SMC reset and NVRAM reset, because your NVRAM was told by BCA that a Windows installer requiring multiple boots will take over.

    3. Since you have OS X on USB, you can leave the internal HDD as a GPT disk, but BCA can be told to partition as Windows by telling it to make Windows 1TB. It will become a Hybrid MBR disk, which is the standard method for Windows on iMacs.

  • by Mortandos,

    Mortandos Mortandos May 6, 2015 8:51 PM in response to Loner T
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    May 6, 2015 8:51 PM in response to Loner T

    The most importamt thimg right now is to get my MACOS back, the SSDdrive still doesn't show to boot from after the 2 resets. my mac keeps rebooting, i see the apple symbol and then some lines show up, bsd process name corresponding, MACOS version not set yet

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T May 7, 2015 3:45 AM in response to Mortandos
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    May 7, 2015 3:45 AM in response to Mortandos

    Can you boot using Command+Opt+R (Internet Recovery) or Command+R (Local Recovery)?

  • by Mortandos,

    Mortandos Mortandos May 7, 2015 9:14 AM in response to Loner T
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    May 7, 2015 9:14 AM in response to Loner T

    Yeah, I had to use recovery and use my Time Machine backup. Quite disturbing, lol. Back to the original problem: BCA didn't allow me to do anything but download the support drivers for Windows, the create Windows installation didn't show (because I have a super drive) and the option to format was grey / not selectable.

  • by Mortandos,

    Mortandos Mortandos May 7, 2015 4:09 PM in response to Mortandos
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    May 7, 2015 4:09 PM in response to Mortandos

    Is there any way to continue without the BCA (but NOT using the suggested method with the virtual machine)?

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T May 7, 2015 4:13 PM in response to Mortandos
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    May 7, 2015 4:13 PM in response to Mortandos

    Do you want to look at the second link in the first reply on page 2?

  • by Mortandos,

    Mortandos Mortandos May 7, 2015 4:45 PM in response to Loner T
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    May 7, 2015 4:45 PM in response to Loner T

    This method requires boot camp again (if you're talking about Kunu's solution in this discussion thread) which seems to cause problems on my MAC. And didn't you say that I need to natively boot the Windows installation stick? I'm confused now.

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T May 7, 2015 7:37 PM in response to Mortandos
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    May 7, 2015 7:37 PM in response to Mortandos

    I was referring to differences between EFI Boot and MBR (BIOS mode). Your Mac supports the BIOS mode, EFI Mode will cause problems. If your Mac has an Optical drive, you cannot use a USB to boot and install Windows. It has to be done using DVD.

  • by Mortandos,

    Mortandos Mortandos May 7, 2015 8:04 PM in response to Loner T
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    May 7, 2015 8:04 PM in response to Loner T

    I used the USB to boot and install Windows before. You mean it's possible but not using the BIOS mode but EFU mode or am I getting this wrong? (I'm really new to the MAC as you might have figured by now but I really appreciate your help and much more your patience).

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T May 7, 2015 9:39 PM in response to Mortandos
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    May 7, 2015 9:39 PM in response to Mortandos

    Any Mac which does not have a built-in Optical drive, will support installing Windows from a USB and/or an external Optical drive.

     

    With the exception of a couple of models, a Mac with a built in Optical drive

    a. will not support USB booting, and,

    b. will not support EFI boot. If it is forced to use EFI mode, there are numerous issues, like black screens, audio, gpu, BSODs, etc. As you get closer to 2013, the issues get fewer. Late 2013 and newer models support EFI fully.

    c. W7 is very buggy about EFI support, W8.1 is much more stable with EFI boot. Sleep/Hibernation are issues with either method of installation.

     

    Your 2011 iMac will work best using a legacy BIOS installation. BCA provides two main features, partitioning and booting. Partitioning is relatively easier and can also be achieved manually. Booting is also possible, if you have an external Apple SuperDrive, the chances of success are much better. There are utilities like Rufus USB or UnetBootin or Microsoft's diskpart on a USB, that can be used to achieve booting.

  • by Mortandos,

    Mortandos Mortandos May 8, 2015 7:50 AM in response to Loner T
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    May 8, 2015 7:50 AM in response to Loner T

    I was actually following this guide:

     

    http://mihail.stoynov.com/2013/04/22/force-boot-camp-into-using-an-iso-image-of- windows-to-create-the-usb-flash-drive-fo…

     

    And then this "manual" method of formatting and installing:

     

    http://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/2fy3be/by_popular_demand_my_better_than_boo tcamp_guide/

     

    Which worked well except for the 2.48 GB and the sound issue.

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T May 8, 2015 1:18 PM in response to Mortandos
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    May 8, 2015 1:18 PM in response to Mortandos

    I have read through both links. The comments below the respective articles do not inspire on such machinations.

  • by Mortandos,

    Mortandos Mortandos May 14, 2015 5:50 PM in response to Loner T
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    May 14, 2015 5:50 PM in response to Loner T

    I'm still at at square 1, you suggested I should follow solution number 2 on page 2 of this discussion thread (which would be Kudus solution, Bootcamp without Optical disc drive) but this is not possible since my BCA doesn't allow me to do STEP 5 since I have an optical drive (like I said earlier, I can modify one file so that then it will eventually allow me to do so).

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