At fault is an API that DXDiag uses

May 12, 2010 15:14 GMT  ·  By

In certain scenarios, the default DirectX 11 diagnostics tool in Windows 7 has problems reporting the correct Approximate Total Memory. According to Microsoft, users have reported this issue for computers that feature large quantities of RAM and video memory installed. The Redmond company explained that in some cases, because of the incorrect values returned for system and video memory, certain applications or games could prevent the user from running with their graphics settings at a maximum, even though their machine was perfectly capable of doing so.

“You have a system with 1GB or greater of Video memory, and 4GB or greater of system memory (RAM). You run the Direct-X Diagnostics tool, and it reports that you have an unexpectedly low amount of Approximate Total Memory on the display tab. You may also see issues with some games or applications not allowing you to select the highest detail settings,” Microsoft explained.

At fault for the issue is an application programming interface that DXDiag uses. The software giant explained that the API was incapable to correctly approximate the system memory, since it simply was not designed to deal with system configurations with so much memory. For the time being, an update is not available from Microsoft. At the same time, the Redmond company did not even detail a possible workaround for customers experiencing this issue. “Microsoft is working to resolve this in future releases,” the company promised.

“On a system with 1GB of video memory, the following values are returned with the associated system memory: System Memory 4GB - Reported Approximate Total Memory 3496MB, System Memory 6GB - Reported Approximate Total Memory 454MB; System Memory 8GB - Reported Approximate Total Memory 1259MB,” Microsoft said.