8gb ram, but only 3.90 usable

pham0s · Apr 15, 2015

Okay i tried almost every and i really don't know how to fix this error. At first the 2 sticks of Team Vulcan 4GB 2133 ram were working perfectly then i resetted the CMOS and all of a sudden it says i have 8GB of ram but only 3.91 is usable. I'm lost and really need help fast!
I did everything in this thread and have the exact same issues (http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1998833/ram-bios-4080-windows-bit-months.html) and nothing seemed to fix the error.

Emerald · Apr 15, 2015

Have you manually set the memory timing in the BIOS?

pham0s · Apr 15, 2015

Will you please clarify?

Emerald · Apr 15, 2015

There should be an area in the BIOS where you can set the timing values, voltage, and frequency for the memory.

what make and model is your motherboard?

pham0s · Apr 15, 2015

Emerald, my motherboard is Asus M5A97 R2.0.

Emerald · Apr 16, 2015

Check the Ai Tweaker menu in the Advanced BIOS settings

toyftw · Apr 16, 2015

pham0s :

You do have 64bit version of Windows right? Because if it's 32 bit Windows will only use 3.9gb.

pham0s · Apr 16, 2015

Yes i'm using windows 64 bit. I tried nearly everything and it still doesn't work.

miha2 · Apr 16, 2015

Get a good memory and try that. I trust G.Skill Sniper series, Kingston HyperX (though it may be just HyperX now), Corsair is a good brand. I wouldn't trust Team Vulcan, A-Data, and few other brands. If it still shows 4 gb, as an option, try another motherboard. And if all 8 gb are available in BIOS, try to set the memory to 1866 or lower.

pham0s · Apr 16, 2015

I set the ram speed to 1866 so im guessing its the motherboard

pham0s · Apr 16, 2015

It's weird how just before i reset the bios 8gb worked perfectly normal then after i reset the bios only 4GB worked...

toyftw · Apr 16, 2015

pham0s :

Hi again - one other thing. That mobo is dual channel for memory. Just dbl check with the manual
that the ram sticks are in the correct slots.

pham0s · Apr 16, 2015

Toyftw, yes they are in the correct slots also when i add one stick to each slot they are all recognized by the bios. The thing is when i open up Speccy the ram shows up as SINGLE channels not duel. Is there a setting where i can change this?

skylord_ · Apr 16, 2015

Try pulling BOTH memory sticks out of the motherboard then putting them in one at a time
Ex put one in start it up repeat.

You may have a bad slot in the motherboard or a bad stick of memory

pham0s · Apr 16, 2015

Yeah i already checked each ram they all work and boot perfectly.

toyftw · Apr 16, 2015

pham0s :

Hi - I'm not familiar with Asus boards and don't use Speccy, but something you said above might be
the answer. It was working fine before you reset BIOS. I think you may need to update your BIOS or
rollback to the version you were using before the reset.

Just remember, when updating BIOS do not do it from within Windows, either do it as your mobo manual
suggests or download it to a flash drive then update from the flash drive.

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-1833279/update-bios-windows.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-1865471/flash-motherboard-bios.html

pham0s · Apr 16, 2015

My bios is already updated to the latest one which is version 2501

toyftw · Apr 16, 2015

pham0s :

Ah, then I'm at a loss as to what's next.
Try to priv message Tradesman1 (the memory expert) & see if he can offer better assistance
than i have been able to provide.

Username0001 · Apr 16, 2015

Hey, I've actually been having the same problem, but I have a Gigabyte motherboard. Reset the CMOS when I was installing a new heatsink and now everything is all screwed up. What OS are you using?

pham0s · Apr 16, 2015

I'm using Windows 7 Ultimate edition 64 bit

miha2 · Apr 17, 2015

A-ha! You updated the BIOS. BEFORE you flashed it, did 8 gb work? If so, manufacturers recommend to flash it only in case the BIOS doesn't work the proper way. So, how about re-flashing it, probably with another (read older) BIOS?

pham0s · Apr 17, 2015

Ill try flashing it to an older version ill post back to see if it works

pham0s · Apr 18, 2015

Yeah downgrading BIOS didn't solve anything. Anyone else have any suggestions?

miha2 · Apr 18, 2015

It's a bad idea to pull the memory out and put it back in. This way the gold contacts on both memory and motherboard get loose and eventually may break them. If you have been doing that a lot, that might be the reason.

Does the memory work with other motherboard? If so, the motherboard may be damaged.

And this question is stupid, I understand, but what graphics card do you use? Maybe it's using too much of system memory?

Try disabling the page file, see how much memory BIOS says you have, and if nothing helps, I don't really know.

pham0s · Apr 19, 2015

Yeah i already tried disabling the page file and it did nothing and my graphics card is AMD radeon 7950.

8gb ram, but only 3.90 usable

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