8gb memory, 6gb recognised and 3.98 usable

rick jam3s

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Mar 17, 2013
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10,530
hey guys i built a computer a couple days ago, and upgraded to windows 8 64bit. i have 8gb of memory(2x4gb) installed on the computer. windows says i have 6gb (3.98 usable). how do i fix this? i tried reseating the memory, and that did nothing. please help!

heres my hardware:

motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128519

cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113286

memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

graphics card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121642

power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028
 

behour

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Aug 26, 2009
15
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18,510
Yes it is. Several easy to find articles on the web about that. The upgrades are still the full Os. Ms just tries to make people believe they need to buy the more expensive version.
 

rick jam3s

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Mar 17, 2013
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10,530
so if i do a clean install of windows, wiping the old one it should give me my full 8gb of memory? and i can just put all my programs onto a cd to copy over once im done also correct?
 

behour

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Aug 26, 2009
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18,510
Honestly I believe a friend of mine had this same exact problem..However I really would feel bad for you to waste time/effort if this does not work. For future always clean install.

If you have some time maybe others can come in to give advice on what to do. It is odd..that two sticks of 4gb=8gb become 6gb

Anyways..It could be a variety of things. Bios settings,ram needs to be put in properly (sometimes they are sensitive),buggered slot, a bad stick. As said above test each stick to make sure windows actually reads the ram properly first.Make sure memory is not defective. Also make sure everything is updated..Bios,drivers etc. Sometimes even reseating the Cpu. Can also try deselecting maximum memory in msconfig which I often hear works.

If all else fails.. Then only option is clean install which is no guarantee. Note that usable is always lower then actual physical ram.
 

rick jam3s

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Mar 17, 2013
29
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10,530
well that would also get rid of a LOT of space that windows.old takes up any(100gb) correct? if so im going to do it anyway, and check the sticks before i do it too. and all my drivers are up to date yes, first thing i did after installing security.
 

behour

Distinguished
Aug 26, 2009
15
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18,510
You respond faster than I edit above.

Also something that I just recalled..
I heard of settings in bios often called something like "Install mode" or "OS install" that limit the amount of system RAM to a lower amount to prevent errors during OS installation. However I am not familiar with this and do not know if it actually defaults back after install or not.. But does not hurt to mention.
 

rick jam3s

Honorable
Mar 17, 2013
29
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10,530
did that last night, saved me loads of space on the hard drive, but didn't fix the issue. still 6gb(3.98 usable). when i go into bios, it says i'm only running the memory at 1333mhz, if i set it to the 1600mhz its suppose to run at, will that do it? or maybe i need to enable memory remapping? how would i do that in bios?
 

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