8GB installed - 4GB utilized

[goodbusiness92]

As stated in title,

Last month I finished a build for a friend and all went well except for this: I have never seen this issue before with the several PCs i have built. The RAM is dual channel DDR4 (2x4GB) but although 8GB is recognized, only 4GB are being used.

The most common reason for this used to be that any 32bit OS had a max of 4GB that it could use.
However, this build is running Windows 10 64bit. As a side note, do they even make 32bit versions anymore?

I did reseat the sticks and confirmed they are slotted properly. I have not tried swapping for new sticks yet...i am hoping the issue just lies in the BIOS somewhere. In other threads regarding this issue, finding a memory setting in the BIOS has been the key. If anyone has experience with tweaking this particular MSI mobo or thoughts about the recognition vs utilization of memory i would greatly appreciate it!

Memory
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220961

Motherboard
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813144197

Screenshot of Memory Recognized vs Utilized
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YClixobvYb8-PC_8RKlgZbusqSlGVbe7/view?usp=sharing

*UPDATE* 01/17/19

After trying the method suggested by SR-71 the computer began to boot into windows repair mode. One OS reinstall later and just like that - now both sticks are being recognized by the system! I'm glad the problem was fixed but at the same time a little disappointed i didn't get to find out the reason behind it. I will continue to monitor the performance of the PC and update this thread if any other memory issues appear.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

This problem SOMETIMES OCCURS because the Maximum memory option is set wrong.

Try this first:

Click Start:

Type msconfig in the Search programs and files box, and then click msconfig in the Programs list.
In the System Configuration window, click Advanced options on the Boot tab.
Click to clear the Maximum memory check box, and then click OK.
Restart the computer.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

To start off, Microsoft does still make windows 10 32 bit, however even my netbook with 2gb of ram has a 64bit version of windows 10 from the factory. I have actually experienced the same issue with my ryzen based pc. It would be nice to know the full system specs of the problematic computer. I had 2x4gb kit of dual channel ddr4 that showed up as 8gb (4gb usable) and in the bios it showed a 2 4gb sticks that totaled to 4gb ram (that makes sense) I tested the sticks for errors by using windows memory testing utility and memtest x86, both free programs. They said the ram was ok. Even after messing with ram speeds in your bios the ram didnt work. I had to swap my cheap b350 pc mate motherboard to a b450 gaming plus. This solved the problem
Heres how i would go about solving this
See if all of the memory shows up in bios. If so, check windows msconfig settings.
If it isnt showing up in yiur bios i would use memtest x86 for free to make sure both modules are recognised and functioning properly. (An MSI service rep reccomended this to me)
I would reccomend slowing your memory to 2133mhz even if your modules fail or pass and seeing if the problem was solved.
Next you should update your bios and see if the problem is fixed.
If your ram passes but still doesnt show up correctly i would replace the motherboard.
If the ram fails i would rma the board if the above fixes dont resold the ram failing.