What is the RAM capacity for msi a5000-222US. I know it comes with 3GB but I qould like to know what the maximum is. Secondly, what types of RAM are compatible with this laptop?

It should specs say:
• Supports Dual DDR II 533/667/800
- 2 DDRII DIMMs (240pin / 1.8V)
- Supports a maximum memory size up to 2GB.
Most systems will pick up the 4GB, but Windows 32Bit has a 3GB limitation.

The maximum amount of RAM that that motherboard can hold is 4GB. You should also know that 32-bit WIndows Operating Systems will only use 3GB of RAM though. 64-bit Operating Systems will recognize and utilize more.

See: http://www.motherboards.org/mobot/motherboards_d/MSI/MS-6378X-L%2528MS-6378%20V.3%2529/

Front Side Bus 266/200 Mhz
Memory Type SDRAM Memory Channels Single Maximum Memory 1GB
Memory Type SDRAM
Memory Channels Single
Maximum Memory 1GB
So, it's the older PC133/PC100 RAM, not the newer DDR RAM, nor the newest DDR2 RAM,
that will be compatible with the 266 (2 times 133) or 200 Mhz (2 times 100) speed of the bus.

From the manufacturer's web-site:

http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=1&prod_no=557

look at the "green" slots in the picture of the motherboard.
That's where the RAM goes -- note that the RAM has a "notch" that is *NOT* in the "centre" of the stick; so, the RAM only fits *ONE* way into the slot.

On that web-page, it says:

• Supports six memory banks using three 184-pin DDR SDRAMs.
• Supports up to 3GB memory size.
• Supports DDR400/DDR333/DDR266/DDR200 SDRAM
Note: PC3200 (DDR400) maximum 4 banks only.

So, if you buy DDR400 RAM, the maximum is 2GB (2 sticks @ 1GB/stick); if you buy DDR33 RAM, the maximum is 3GB (3 sticks @ 1GB/stick).

Okay your computer can hold a maximum of 3GB of RAM. The RAM must be PC- 133, NON-ECC, UNBUFFERED, SDRAM, DIM memory in order for it to be compatible with your computer. Also you can stick any size hard drive into your computer. **WARNING** IF YOU ATTEMPT TO OPEN YOUR COMPUTER MAKE SURE YOU ARE WEARING AN ESD BRACELET AS TO ENSURE THAT YOU DON'T DESTROY YOUR SYSTEM. ALSO IF YOU CHANGE YOUR HARD DRIVE YOU WILL NEED TO BACK UP ALL OF YOUR INFORMATION TO THAT HARD DRIVE IF YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS IT!!! If you have any other questions please feel free to ask.

Thank You,
Ryan Frame
Creative Energy Associates Technical Center

Kind of like with hard drives the amount shown is never the exactly full amount cause when it comes to hard drive space some of it is taken up for creating the partition.

When it comes to memory some of it is taken up for the system to run, boot up, etc. So as long as its close then everything is fine.

You need DDR2 PC2-5300 (240 pin) RAM.

THE RAM CAPACITY OF THIS BOARD IS
DDR266/200, Max. capacity of system memory: 3GB
- DDR333, Max. capacity of system memory: 2GB
- DDR400, Max. capacity of system memory: 1GB

Your problem is not so clear. I guess you are having a P-4 with MSI Mother board. Almost all motherboards that support DDR 333/400 can support up to 2 GB of memory.

It is always better to buy brands like kingston.

What Operating System and revision are you running?
I don't believe that XP 32bit (not sure about 64) will recognize 3GB of RAM, but Vista will as long as your MoBo (Mother Board) supports it or possibly even more than.
My Asus MoBo will utilize 4GB but Vista 32bit will only utilize 3.48GB or so, and Vista 64bit will take up to 8GB if the MoBo will.
Let us know what O.S. you're running?