4gb installed only 2gb usable

[leonkennedy_7]

hi. i recently installed windows 7 on my pc again. however is shows only 2gb RAM usable out of 4gb installed. i changed the ram slots but still same issue. please suggest a solution coz i m unable to play games on my pc.

 

[gaborbarla]

Hi Leon,

I see you say that you use win 7 64 bit, which means that you probably have a hardware related issue. Please check in the bios if you can see 4 gigs of RAM and sometimes you have to update the BIOS to fix this problem.

Gabor

 

[smackers_12]

If you are using windows 7 32 bit you can only have 4gb total ram. If you have a 2gb graphics card you can only have 2gb of ram

 

[leonkennedy_7]

Hi Leon,

I see you say that you use win 7 64 bit, which means that you probably have a hardware related issue. Please check in the bios if you can see 4 gigs of RAM and sometimes you have to update the BIOS to fix this problem.

Gabor

thanks for reply. i have checked the bios and it does show 2 ram sticks installed 2048mb each. i am using windows 7 home premium 64bit. can it be issue with the OS?

 

[leonkennedy_7]

If you are using windows 7 32 bit you can only have 4gb total ram. If you have a 2gb graphics card you can only have 2gb of ram

hey, my video card is gtx560ti with 1gb VRAM.

 

[leonkennedy_7]

under resource monitor it shows that 2053mb is hardware reserverd. what could this be reserved for and how can i release it.

 

[gaborbarla]

I would update my BIOS to the latest. It fixed a similar problem for me.

This thread showed that the second RAM wasn't 100% compatible with the motherboard:
http://superuser.com/questions/56157/why-is-all-my-extra-ram-marked-as-hardware-reserved-in-windows-7

This thread the person had to update the bios, which solves often solves these problems:
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2239735/ram-problem.html

Is both of your sticks of RAM the same Akill dual channel RAM? Have you tried different slots and moving the RAM stick around between the slots?

 

[leonkennedy_7]

I would update my BIOS to the latest. It fixed a similar problem for me.

This thread showed that the second RAM wasn't 100% compatible with the motherboard:
http://superuser.com/questions/56157/why-is-all-my-extra-ram-marked-as-hardware-reserved-in-windows-7

This thread the person had to update the bios, which solves often solves these problems:
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2239735/ram-problem.html

Is both of your sticks of RAM the same Akill dual channel RAM? Have you tried different slots and moving the RAM stick around between the slots?

both sticks were bought as a pack of dual channel memory, i have changed the slots on the mobo but issue is stil the same. worried about the bios flash..last time had to RMA my board.

 

[gaborbarla]

Hi, I read a few threads about your motherboard. The only thing that came up was that Gigabyte recommends "non ecc un-buffered memory" and then it should support up to 16GB of RAM. Do you have a friend that you can borrow some RAM from to test it out?

On the Gigabyte website, check if you already have the latest BIOS. Often if you don't you can check in the firmware notes something like "Improved Memory compatibility" or something and then you know that it will probably fix your problem.

Normally you only have to install new firmware when you have issues, but since you do, you might want to take the risk. But the risk isn't big if you do it correctly. I myself have flashed countless firmware without problems. Avoid power failures and make sure you download the correct firmware for exactly the right revision of your mainboard. Was it this same type of motherboard you had to RMA?

 

[leonkennedy_7]

Hi, I read a few threads about your motherboard. The only thing that came up was that Gigabyte recommends "non ecc un-buffered memory" and then it should support up to 16GB of RAM. Do you have a friend that you can borrow some RAM from to test it out?

On the Gigabyte website, check if you already have the latest BIOS. Often if you don't you can check in the firmware notes something like "Improved Memory compatibility" or something and then you know that it will probably fix your problem.

Normally you only have to install new firmware when you have issues, but since you do, you might want to take the risk. But the risk isn't big if you do it correctly. I myself have flashed countless firmware without problems. Avoid power failures and make sure you download the correct firmware for exactly the right revision of your mainboard. Was it this same type of motherboard you had to RMA?

hey sorry but the specs u saw in signature are old...apologies. didnt notice the specs were not updated
i currently have asrock 970 extreme board. i did have to rma the same board within first 2 mths as the bios flash bricked the board. can this be an issue with the os cause i installed the windows 7 home premium 64bits whereas i was running ultimate version before.

 

[gaborbarla]

It cannot be your OS, Premium 64 bit supports up to 16gigs of RAM.

Home Basic: 8GB
Home Premium: 16GB
Professional: 192GB
Enterprise: 192GB
Ultimate: 192GB

Did you have this same problem with the previous motherboard? I still think you need to consider testing out other RAM or finding a way to upgrade your BIOS. Also, try each RAM seperately and see if they each work.

 

[leonkennedy_7]

It cannot be your OS, Premium 64 bit supports up to 16gigs of RAM.

Home Basic: 8GB
Home Premium: 16GB
Professional: 192GB
Enterprise: 192GB
Ultimate: 192GB

Did you have this same problem with the previous motherboard? I still think you need to consider testing out other RAM or finding a way to upgrade your BIOS. Also, try each RAM seperately and see if they each work.

hey thanks, i switchd to my old gigabyte board and the issue is not recurring. i tried to flash the bios on ASRock board but the usb stick wasnt detected even though i formatted in fat as advised by ASRock and the bios was latest anywau. guess my gigabyte board is way better built than ASRock