Windows reads 4gb out of 6gb of memory

UzielJun 9, 2011, 10:16 PM

Let's sumarize this:
Motherboard: Asus P6T Deluxe V2
RAM: Corsair Dominator DDR3 6gb (3x2) 1600MHz

According to CPU-Z, I do have all 3 memory sticks in my computer and they show as working alright.
According to Windos 7 64bit, and also a check on BIOS, I only have 4gbs installed.

I already tested all 3 dimms individually, so yes, they are not defective.
The motherboard has 6 slots for ram (going from left to right) A2, A1, B2, B1, C2, C1.
The manual says to put your 3 dimms in slots A1, B1 and C1.
After testing, it turns out that B1 is not detecting the ram.

My questions are:

1. Do I have to manually configure something in BIOS? (all is set to auto-detect)
2. In case that slot B1 is defective, can I somehow configure the slots to use any of the other 3? (A2, B2, C2)
3. What the hell do I do?

6 answers Last reply Jun 10, 2011

More about windows reads memory

eightdrunkengodsJun 10, 2011, 12:17 AM

I have no idea whether or not it's common for CPUZ to be able to read the SPD from the RAM but BIOS not detect it. What does the "Memory" tab say?

Try A2, B2, C2. It will either work or it won't.

My ASUS motherboard recommends using the 1 slots but I know for sure that it will work with memory in any two slots.

If you are sure that the B1 slot is the culprit, you should to RMA that board.
UzielJun 10, 2011, 2:31 AM

I'm gonna try the A2B2C2 trick. See what happens.
Thanks for the tip

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eightdrunkengodsJun 10, 2011, 5:34 AM

Triple channel. Well, if CPUZ sees all 3 sticks, I guess it would think you were running triple channel. It's surprising to me that BIOS and Windows disagree.

Let us know how it goes with the A2B2C2.
Leaps-from-ShadowsJun 10, 2011, 6:19 AM

Here's what I would do:
1. Buy some compressed air and make absolutely sure that the B1 slot is clear of dust and other stuff that might block the pins by blowing it away.
2. Take some rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip and clean the pins on all three RAM sticks. Make sure they get adequate time to dry before attempting to install them.
3. When installing RAM into slot B1, make sure the tabs "click" into place and wiggle the RAM stick around a bit to ensure it's making full contact.

If that doesn't work and this is a new system, I'd RMA the board. If something on the board fails this early, other stuff is bound to fail too. If it's a system you've had for a while and the A2-B2-C2 slots don't work, then it's time to buy a new board.
UzielJun 10, 2011, 10:48 PM

Well.... i ran into unexpected... difficulties...
It turns out that the cooling fan for my cpu is so big it blocks the A2 slot...
Suggestiongs?

cadderJun 10, 2011, 11:34 PM

I've installed big coolers on systems that had tall ram, in my case I was using Xigmatek coolers. On one I moved the fan up slightly to clear the top part of the ram. An a subsequent machine I put the fan on the back of the heat sink so it was pulling air through the cooler instead of pushing it. This machine was an i5-750 overclocked to 3.9GHz and it had no problems running cool.

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