Ram Issues

[creedism]

I currently have a x64-bit Operating System and I have 16 Gigs of 1600 Mhz ram. I have 4x4 installed in all my DIMM slots and it is showing 16 gigs in my "System" on my settings. BUT only 3.98 is "Usable" I have gone into my msconfig and changed it to where it uses all 16,384 and press ok and restart my PC. Then i go back to msconfig and it says 0 and my "System" still says - 16.0 GB (3.98 Usable) -

 

I NEED HELP

[AresKrieger]

So what does the bios say, does it show all 16 or is there something odd when you look at it there. Also what OS are you using, I'm going to assume windows 10 (because it is so often an issue) but for clarity it would be useful info, potentially.

[Vandorlot]

Are you sure you aren’t on 32 but. 32 bit has a limit to 4gb of ram.

[creedism]

Yes, I have x64 bit. and I have Windows 10 Pro. and when im in my bios is says i have a total of 16,384 (4096 for each stick)

[creedism]

IF IT ALSO HELPS ANY*** I previously took apart my PC and put it back together and i did have 7.98 usable. But now i have 3.98

[creedism]

1 hour ago, AresKrieger said:

So what does the bios say, does it show all 16 or is there something odd when you look at it there. Also what OS are you using, I'm going to assume windows 10 (because it is so often an issue) but for clarity it would be useful info, potentially.

 

1 hour ago, Vandorlot said:

Are you sure you aren’t on 32 but. 32 bit has a limit to 4gb of ram.

Guys have any ideas?

 

[AresKrieger]

8 hours ago, creedism said:

IF IT ALSO HELPS ANY*** I previously took apart my PC and put it back together and i did have 7.98 usable. But now i have 3.98

That sounds like an issue of ram seating, I would take the ram sticks out and reinstall them, it could also be an issue with the sticks or the slots themselves but installing ram is one of the things most new builders (my self included in the past) screw up.

 

So what I would reccommend is go into the bios and check which slots are populated correctly according to it the system (consult your motherboard's manual if unsure which is which), then take the other sticks an pop them out then back in, also maybe spray the slots with some canned air in case some dust got into them.

(oh and the reason it took me a while to respond again was sleep)

[Vandorlot]

When you install ram you should get 2 clicks. My friend only got one and all of his ram didn’t show. If you look at the ram from the side there should be no gold pins visible. Try reseating it . Also try different slots

[creedism]

4 hours ago, Vandorlot said:

When you install ram you should get 2 clicks. My friend only got one and all of his ram didn’t show. If you look at the ram from the side there should be no gold pins visible. Try reseating it . Also try different slots

It tells me I have 16 installed. I know it is properly seated. And i have already seated them differently.

 

10 hours ago, AresKrieger said:

That sounds like an issue of ram seating, I would take the ram sticks out and reinstall them, it could also be an issue with the sticks or the slots themselves but installing ram is one of the things most new builders (my self included in the past) screw up.

 

So what I would reccommend is go into the bios and check which slots are populated correctly according to it the system (consult your motherboard's manual if unsure which is which), then take the other sticks an pop them out then back in, also maybe spray the slots with some canned air in case some dust got into them.

(oh and the reason it took me a while to respond again was sleep)

Ill try and go back at it again. Last night i kept doing the msconfig and it got me to 12 Gigs usable but not 16 and now im back to 8 gigs usable. I think my motherboard is having a issue reading them. That or my OS. Tells me i have 16 gigs installed and it just is weird 

[Spyder1384]

Perhaps you might try booting to a USB stick to check it on a different OS. ZorinOS, while it may be linux is relatively simple to understand for most windows users and can be run entirely from USB without installing. If you can validate that it's finding and utilizing your RAM correctly the problem is most likely something in windows. While it may not solve your problem, it might at least help you to narrow it down. Also, have you tried running memtest from a bootable USB at all? This would help you to determine if you have a bad stick of RAM,

[Kosenator]

On 4/1/2018 at 3:37 AM, creedism said:

I currently have a x64-bit Operating System and I have 16 Gigs of 1600 Mhz ram. I have 4x4 installed in all my DIMM slots and it is showing 16 gigs in my "System" on my settings. BUT only 3.98 is "Usable" I have gone into my msconfig and changed it to where it uses all 16,384 and press ok and restart my PC. Then i go back to msconfig and it says 0 and my "System" still says - 16.0 GB (3.98 Usable) -

 

I NEED HELP

I am late to the party, I know, but after reading your system specs and looking up the timeframe that the AMD fx-series chips came out, I think there are two questions that were left out of the discussion:

 

1. What is the maximum RAM that the chip itself can handle? was it 8GB (which would then make sense, the 3GB available) or more?

 

2. What is the max amount of RAM that your motherboard can handle? I believe that the board would not recognise any more RAM than the max it was built for (if it was 8GB max), but who knows?

 

If I am correct here, then this will explain why your RAM shows 0 when you hacked MSConfig to use the entire 16GB - the board and/ or CPU, passes over the first 8GB it can see, and then has to go with 8GB that it cannot see, hence it gives you 0GB RAM.

 

I say not that I am right, I am throwing lines hoping some fish worth keeping bites, but this is the only 2 reasons that I can think of, why Windows 10 can see all of the RAM, but the motherboard and/ or CPU have a hit-and-miss affair with it.

Edited October 22, 2018 by Kosenator