New Server Missing 50% of RAM

So today one of the schools I support received a new server from Dell we ordered. Its fearly well spec’d with 2x quad-core 2.2Ghz Xeons, 2x 300Gb 15,000RPM SAS 4x 600Gb 15,00 RPM SAS Hard Drives and 64Gb of RAM!

I did what I normally do with any new server I receave and wipe what ever manufacture  installed and start again. So I put the Windows Server 2008 R2 DVD in the disk drive and installed as per usual. After installing I loaded into Windows and opened to the resource manager. Then a student tech asks me a question “Why goes it say that only 32Gb of RAM can be used by Windows?” Well I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t sure why it said this. All our other servers are running no more than 24Gb and it all shows up.

I did some quick GOGGLING to find out that Server 2008 R2 Standard has a MAX memory of only 32GB! Well I was pissed off. I spent all this time installing windows to find out that during the first part of the installation I should have selected Enterprise edition not Standard like I normally would.  Oh well lesion learnt!