Symptoms
Consider the following scenario:
1) You have a graphics adapter that has 2 GB or more of dedicated (on board) video memory.
2) You run the inbox Windows tool MSInfo32.exe and look at the Adapter RAM value under Components->Display.
In this scenario, the dedicated video memory on the graphics adapter is reported incorrectly under Adapter RAM. Instead of the expected value showing the memory in gigabytes and bytes, you may instead only see an incorrect value in bytes.
1) You have a graphics adapter that has 2 GB or more of dedicated (on board) video memory.
2) You run the inbox Windows tool MSInfo32.exe and look at the Adapter RAM value under Components->Display.
In this scenario, the dedicated video memory on the graphics adapter is reported incorrectly under Adapter RAM. Instead of the expected value showing the memory in gigabytes and bytes, you may instead only see an incorrect value in bytes.
Cause
The value that holds the dedicated video memory size and that MSInfo32.exe uses to populate Adapter RAM is stored in the registry as a signed 32-bit integer. As a result, the value is only capable of storing a positive integer that is under 2 GB in size. If the dedicated video memory on the graphics adapter is 2 GB or greater, MSInfo32.exe will incorrectly report the amount and will also display it as a negative number.
Resolution
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.
More Information
The following are some examples of what MSInfo32.exe will report for Adapter RAM under the Display component when the graphics adapter has between 1 and 3GB of dedicated memory:
Dedicated Video Memory Reported by MSInfo32
1GB 1.00 GB (1,073,741,824 bytes)
1.5GB 1.50 GB (1,610,612,736 bytes)
2GB (2,147,483,648) bytes
2.5GB (1,610,612,736) bytes
3GB (1,073,741,824) bytes
Note that MSInfo32 will report the exact same number of bytes for 1GB of dedicated video memory as it does for 3GB. The same holds true for 1.5GB and 2.5GB.
Dedicated Video Memory Reported by MSInfo32
1GB 1.00 GB (1,073,741,824 bytes)
1.5GB 1.50 GB (1,610,612,736 bytes)
2GB (2,147,483,648) bytes
2.5GB (1,610,612,736) bytes
3GB (1,073,741,824) bytes
Note that MSInfo32 will report the exact same number of bytes for 1GB of dedicated video memory as it does for 3GB. The same holds true for 1.5GB and 2.5GB.