16 gb installed ( 7.96 GB usable)

[nymaeria]

I know this topic had come up quite a few times but I tried some things and I still haven't found a solution and i'm slightly getting desperate at this point.
So as you can read in the title, in properties it shows " 16 gb installed ( 7.96 GB usable) "
Worth adding might be that in the past i didn't have this issue.
I don't know why it has come now. Also I reinstalled my pc around christmas. I didn't check my memory after installation or before that.

So here are my specs at this moment:
System: HP Pavilion 500-100ED
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate (note: this is a Windows 8 pc... but I disliked it so i downgraded to 7... considering to go back to 8 and see if there are any differences, any thoughts on that? )
Processor: AMD A6-6400 APU 3.90 GHz
Motherboard: ms-7778 (jasmineR)
Memory: 2 x 8GB Corsair 1600 MHz
Videocard: Nvidia gefore GTX 650 (note: my previous GPU died recently.. this is just temporarily, but I already had this issue before that)
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper212 Evo ( Not sure if it is related, but I replaced my old one for this since it suddenly started making alot of noise, but already had the issue before I did this)
Powersupply: MS-N950 VAL, 950 Watt

What i've tried so far:
Changing slots (alot of times)
Also I used to have 4x 4GB dimms... and i now replaced them with 2x 8GB just to find out I would keep the same problem ( )

ofcourse I checked MSconfig for the maximum memory.

Also I resetted BIOS settings by removed and replacing the CMOS battery, but no results ( but with stress because it took me some time to figure out on how to adjust the settings)
Also i have not been able to find any settings concerning memory in the bios settings.
I noticed that the BIOS does recognize that I have 16GB RAM.
Task manager however shows 8130 MB

I must say i'm running out of options... is it possible that the CPU or Motherboard is corrupted?
Or are there any other things I could try?

Please help!

 

[rockie_]

[strike]Windows 7 Home Basic has a limit of 8GB usable .
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa366778(v=vs.85).aspx#physical_memory_limits_windows_8
[/strike]
Reseat the sticks .

 

[cilliers]

Sounds to me like you inadvertently installed Win 7 Home Basic. Ref: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa366778(v=vs.85).aspx#physical_memory_limits_windows_7

 

[reedo_43]

he has ultimate...

 

[jdcranke07]

If you have 4 DIMM slots, what slots are your RAM cards currently in? Check to see if it is the same DIMM slot that is consistantly not detecting. Worst case scenario, you have a bad DIMM slot if you have a 4x4GB setup before do the same issue.

 

[nymaeria]

Sounds to me like you inadvertently installed Win 7 Home Basic. Ref: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa366778(v=vs.85).aspx#physical_memory_limits_windows_7

Ye I already checked that but in properties it really does say windows 7 ultimate. Also status is activated so... it cant be limited because of the operating system can it?

 

[nymaeria]

[strike]Windows 7 Home Basic has a limit of 8GB usable .
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa366778(v=vs.85).aspx#physical_memory_limits_windows_8
[/strike]
Reseat the sticks .

Sticks? you mean the dimms right?
already done that multiple times.

 

[nymaeria]

If you have 4 DIMM slots, what slots are your RAM cards currently in? Check to see if it is the same DIMM slot that is consistantly not detecting. Worst case scenario, you have a bad DIMM slot if you have a 4x4GB setup before do the same issue.

Hi,

Theyre currently in slot 1 + 4 (suggested by a friend)
before i had it in 1 + 3 and I also had tried 1 + 2 but all options showed 16 gb installed ( 7.96 GB usable)
When I tried only slot 1 it didnt show the errors
(didnt try any other combinations yet as i dont expect any different results)

 

[jdcranke07]

If you have 4 DIMM slots, what slots are your RAM cards currently in? Check to see if it is the same DIMM slot that is consistantly not detecting. Worst case scenario, you have a bad DIMM slot if you have a 4x4GB setup before do the same issue.

Hi,

Theyre currently in slot 1 + 4 (suggested by a friend)
before i had it in 1 + 3 and I also had tried 1 + 2 but all options showed 16 gb installed ( 7.96 GB usable)
When I tried only slot 1 it didnt show the errors
(didnt try any other combinations yet as i dont expect any different results)

It typically is 1 & 3 or 2 & 4. If possible pull up HP manual on mobo and see what it says. It might be driver, but to me it sounds like a bad DIMM slot. Just see which slot is not showing up and if it is consistently that one then you have a bad slot. If moving them doesn't matter then you might have a BIOS/driver issue.

In order to test slots, take one stick and try it in each slot. If it works, then put one stick in slot 1 and try the test with the 2nd stick in slot 2, 3, & 4.

 

[Aminur Rashid]

do you have memory remap/ memory hole remapping option in your bios?

 

[nymaeria]

do you have memory remap/ memory hole remapping option in your bios?

Hi,
I have been looking for such options but I haven't found any in the bios settings.
any idea where exactly I could find it?