3.95GB Usable Memory

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Solution
stdragon
You might want to clear CMOS settings on the MB too if all else fails.

BTW, are both DIMMs the same from a kit, or are they different part numbers. Single and double-sided DIMMs might not mix; hence why I ask.
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What happens if you remove 1 stick?
When you say the BIOS shows 4gb is that total or per slot?
Are you using a 32 bit version of windows? (which has a 4gb limit)

If it's a hardware issue then maybe the RAM isn't fullt compatible with your motherboard.
 
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My windows is 64bit
its really weird with the bios as at the top it says its 4gb total but just below it says 2x4gb 1333hz
 
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My motherboard is an a55bm-e with a AMD athlon x4 845 carrizo cpu
also two dimms each 4gb and both kingston
 
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Sounds like a possibly faulty DIMM or slot. Best test is to take one out and leave the other in and power it on. If it POTS and boots then power down, swap it out with the other DIMM and do the same thing. Also a good idea to test each DIMM in each slot (you have 2) to make sure its not a faulyt slot issue.

Then if both POST and boot try both again, making sure they are properly seated. If they still only show a max of 4GB then I would assume a faulty slot on the board. If one of them alone does not POST then it would be a faulty DIMM.
 
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You might want to clear CMOS settings on the MB too if all else fails.

BTW, are both DIMMs the same from a kit, or are they different part numbers. Single and double-sided DIMMs might not mix; hence why I ask.
 
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Solution

They are both from the same kit yes
How would i go about clearing the cmos?
 
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I think its a faulty slot as the second one doesnt work with any ram stick in it.

 
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a set of three pins called CLRTC at the bottom of the motherboard. It's currenly on pins 1 and 2. Turn off the PC, unplug it, then move the jumper temporarily to pins 2 and 3 for about 15 seconds. Then move back to 1 and 2, reconnect and power back on. Now set your BIOS settings as they will have been cleared out including the system time.
 
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Yes, it's faulty if you move a known working stick into it and still does nothing.
 
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would this clear the time on windows?

 
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I would agree it probably is. Check the board for any damage and also make sure there are no standoffs in areas other than required to mount the motherboard. I have seen systems where people forget to remove a standoff and it causes a short.



Windows should be fine as it normally calls out to a server to get the proper time.
 
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Right, Windows will update the RTC (Real Time Clock) once it connects to an atomic clock pool online. Besides, the quartz clock used by the BIOS is horribly imprecise! My 30+ year old Casio wrist watch holds time better. The amount of "drift" in every RTC on a MB is just awful and shouldn't be classified as being clock-worthy.
 
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Thanks Man , resetting cmos or something I did along the way fixed my issue , thank you

 
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It's possible just unplugging the RAM and reseating it fixed your issues. Sometimes the connectors don't make good contact and reseating them scrapes them a little amd ipmroves it.

I recently fixed a pc for a friend that was showing 8gb out of 12 on a triple channel board with 6 RAM sticks that had that exact issue. One RAM stick was not connecting properly and despite showing up in the BIOS none of the RAM from that stick onwards was actually working. Just experimenting with different combinations fixed the issue without doing anything other than plugging RAM in and out and swapping it around.

Of course I didn't even think of this until after your issue was fixed and it reminded me of that one :)
 
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