8GB of RAM available, only 3.98GB usable.

joshparrish95 · Mar 18, 2017

Hello,

I have an older PC System which is set up for my younger brother as a starter system.

However he has 8GB of RAM (2 x 4GB), windows recognises the 8GB but only 4GB is usable.

Specs are:
Windows 10 Professional 64Bit
AMD Phenom II x4 960T @ 3.0Ghz
Hyper X 1600Mhz DDR3 8GB
Gigabyte GA-990X-Gaming SLI MoBo
Radeon HD 5770 1GB
650Watt PSU Gold series

I've tried, reseating, memtest, one stick at a time (both work), Updating the BIOS, trying different slots.

In the BIOS it says 8GB. in CPU-Z it says 8GB.

In task manager it says 4GB usable and 4GB reserved.

In System Informaton it says Installed Memory: 8.0GB (3.98GB Usable).

I'm literally out of ideas.

Any help?

Endre555 · Mar 18, 2017

Are you TOTALLY sure it's not a 32bit Windows instead of a 64bit?

joshparrish95 · Mar 18, 2017

100% I'm using the exact same iso in my own rig and it's reading 16GB and using 16GB like it should on mine.

gdmaclew · Mar 18, 2017

Which memory slots are you putting them in?

joshparrish95 · Mar 18, 2017

I put them in 1 & 2 at first and when that didn't work i tried 3 & 4. I've even tried 1 & 3 and 2 & 4 but literally nothing.

gdmaclew · Mar 18, 2017

You really should follow the instructions in the manual, not just randomly try different combinations of slots.
The correct configuration for 2 DIMMs is 1 & 2 OR 3 & 4.

joshparrish95 · Mar 18, 2017

gdmaclew :

That's what I did, it's currently 1&2. But i thought maybe it would work, random thought. The worst part is, I've built so many PCs in the past and this issue has never happened so I'm stumped.

gdmaclew · Mar 18, 2017

joshparrish95 :

Task Manager in the Physical Memory Box in the Performance Tab?

joshparrish95 · Mar 18, 2017

It says 2 of 4 slots used, 4.0GB hardware reserved and 4.0GB in use.

gdmaclew · Mar 18, 2017

Where does it show 2 of 4 slots used?

joshparrish95 · Mar 18, 2017

gdmaclew :

Bottom right hand side of the window.

gdmaclew · Mar 18, 2017

Nevermind.
Mine says 2.0 GB used. that's all I'm using right now.
What does it say in the upper right corner of the Memory box?
What makes you think that only 4GB is usable?
What does it show in the left hand margin? X/XGB.

joshparrish95 · Mar 18, 2017

gdmaclew :

Sorry for the bad quality as it was a quick photo off my phone but this is what it shows.

Edit: image isn't displaying by the looks of things, the link his here: http://imgur.com/a/57Ffs

gdmaclew · Mar 18, 2017

Can't you do a screen capture?

gdmaclew · Mar 18, 2017

Which memory slots are you using right now?

joshparrish95 · Mar 18, 2017

I'm using slots 1 & 2 currently, also a screenshot of task manager to make it more legible: http://imgur.com/a/jRW9v

gdmaclew · Mar 18, 2017

1 & 2 as per the manual? Read it carefully. 1 & 2 are NOT next to each other.

joshparrish95 · Mar 18, 2017

Yeah as in the manual, red and red together (1&2) and black and black together (3&4).

gdmaclew · Mar 18, 2017

Identical RAM sticks?

joshparrish95 · Mar 18, 2017

Yep, it came as a pack of two, 2x4GB Hyper X 1600Mhz.

gdmaclew · Mar 18, 2017

What does the Resource Monitor Page show under Memory?

joshparrish95 · Mar 18, 2017

Resource monitor pretty much states the same as task manager.

Screenshot: http://imgur.com/a/AYzBB

gdmaclew · Mar 18, 2017

Not that I don't believe you but can you do a screen capture of This PC|Properties?

joshparrish95 · Mar 18, 2017

Here you go: http://imgur.com/a/1RSwa

gdmaclew · Mar 18, 2017

Thanks for that.
Check out this thread and its resolution...

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1694156/hardware-reserved-ram-8gb.html

8GB of RAM available, only 3.98GB usable.

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