[SOLVED] 8GB of Physical RAM but only 3.46GB is USABLE.

[Slash2067]

I have a problem, My PC can detect the other 4GB of RAM out of the 8GB but on the BIOS it only detect 4096 of RAM instead of 8192 of RAM.

My motherboard is dual channel and only has 2 DIMM Slots, I used the two slots but it only counts as a single channel memory on CPU-Z App. 4.5GB of Hardware Reserved. Please help me. I'm currently running the latest Windows 10 and msconfig won't do anything upon fixing it.

 

[Slash2067]

Here are my PC specs:

CPU: AMD A8-7600
Motherboard: MSI A88XM-E35 V2
Ram: 2x4GB Kingston 1600Mhz
SSD/HDD: 200GB SSD and 1TB HDD
GPU: Integrated GPU
PSU: 500+ Power Supply
Chassis: I don't know what Case this is. It's old.
OS: Windows 10 latest version

 

[Bob.B]

Here are my PC specs:

CPU: AMD A8-7600
Motherboard: MSI A88XM-E35 V2
Ram: 2x4GB Kingston 1600Mhz
SSD/HDD: 200GB SSD and 1TB HDD
GPU: Integrated GPU
PSU: 500+ Power Supply
Chassis: I don't know what Case this is. It's old.
OS: Windows 10 latest version

Reseat the ram sticks....test.
Swap the ram slots ....test.
Use one ram stick test in each slot.
Repeat with the other stick of ram.
Replace the bios battery.

 

[Slash2067]

Reseat the ram sticks....test.
Swap the ram slots ....test.
Use one ram stick test in each slot.
Repeat with the other stick of ram.
Replace the bios battery.

Thank you so much for answering, Sir. Those are the only things I haven't done.
How do you replace the BIOS Battery, Sir?

 

[Bob.B]

Thank you so much for answering, Sir. Those are the only things I haven't done.
How do you replace the BIOS Battery, Sir?

Power down.
Unplug the pc.
Look at the mobo for a small round shiny item about the size of a nickel.
It sits in a little cup.
Remove the battery and take it to the store and buy an exact replacement.
Fit the new battery into the mobo and power up.
Enter the bios and set the date and time.
Exit the bios.

 

[Slash2067]

Power down.
Unplug the pc.
Look at the mobo for a small round shiny item about the size of a nickel.
It sits in a little cup.
Remove the battery and take it to the store and buy an exact replacement.
Fit the new battery into the mobo and power up.
Enter the bios and set the date and time.
Exit the bios.

Oh okay thanks for this, But I don't think it's the bios battery that is causing this problem. But thank you though, maybe it will come to use to me some other time.😀

 

[Slash2067]

Power down.
Unplug the pc.
Look at the mobo for a small round shiny item about the size of a nickel.
It sits in a little cup.
Remove the battery and take it to the store and buy an exact replacement.
Fit the new battery into the mobo and power up.
Enter the bios and set the date and time.
Exit the bios.

So just earlier,

Reseat the ram sticks....test.
Swap the ram slots ....test.
Use one ram stick test in each slot.
Repeat with the other stick of ram.
Replace the bios battery.

So earlier today, I did what you said that could fix my problem. I realized that it isn't the about the ram being faulty, it turns out to be the DIMM Slot 2 cannot detect if there is a RAM or not. I guess that's GG for me since I cannot afford a new motherboard yet. Thank you for your time sir!

 

[Slash2067]

This has been bugging me for a week now, I tried reseating, inter-changing the RAM, and even cleaning the RAMS. I use 2x4GB RAM kit but only 3.5GB is usable.

CPU: AMD A8-7600 3.1GHz
Mobo: MSI A88XM-E35V2
Memory: Kingston 2x4GB 1600MHz
GPU: Integrated GPU
Windows Version: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

Also, the BIOS cannot detect the other 4GB stick of RAM as it only shows 4096MB on Memory Size but Windows can somehow detect it as 8GB but the rest of the 4GB is placed on "Hardware Reserved". Should I reset my CMOS battery?

Please comment if you can help me how to make the rest of the RAM usable.

 

[white.a.drew]

This has been bugging me for a week now, I tried reseating, inter-changing the RAM, and even cleaning the RAMS. I use 2x4GB RAM kit but only 3.5GB is usable.

CPU: AMD A8-7600 3.1GHz
Mobo: MSI A88XM-E35V2
Memory: Kingston 2x4GB 1600MHz
GPU: Integrated GPU
Windows Version: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

Also, the BIOS cannot detect the other 4GB stick of RAM as it only shows 4096MB on Memory Size but Windows can somehow detect it as 8GB but the rest of the 4GB is placed on "Hardware Reserved". Should I reset my CMOS battery?

Please comment if you can help me how to make the rest of the RAM usable.

Go to run
Type "msconfig"
Goto boot tab
Advanced
Check memory
Set to 1gb

 

[DSzymborski]

The threads have been merged.

Please do not start an multiple threads for your problem. The choices are one thread or zero threads.

 

[Slash2067]

Go to run
Type "msconfig"
Goto boot tab
Advanced
Check memory
Set to 1gb

How does it help sir? It just goes back to 0 every time I click OK. msconfig isn't working for me, But i'll try your tip.

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

The A8 is an APU meaning it is a CPU and GPU combined.

To provide video memory for the graphics portion of the chip, system memory is reserved.

It would appear that you are reserving 4.5GB of system memory for integrated graphics.

The amount of memory being reserved for graphics is configurable in the system BIOS.

2GB seems more reasonable.

 

[Slash2067]

The A8 is an APU meaning it is a CPU and GPU combined.

To provide video memory for the graphics portion of the chip, system memory is reserved.

It would appear that you are reserving 4.5GB of system memory for integrated graphics.

The amount of memory being reserved for graphics is configurable in the system BIOS.

2GB seems more reasonable.

My BIOS from MSI unfortunately does not have a configuration of that sort (Not that I know of since this Motherboard is outdated), Sir.

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

My BIOS from MSI unfortunately does not have a configuration of that sort (Not that I know of since this Motherboard is outdated), Sir.

It must do. There’s no way it would automatically reserve 4.5GB.

 

[Slash2067]

It must do. There’s no way it would automatically reserve 4.5GB.

In my BIOS, it says that there is only 4096MB on Memory Size instead the whole 8192MB of Physical RAM. I don't why my BIOS cannot detect the exact Memory Size whereas Task Manager and Windows can. But it's put as Hardware Reserved. Could it be that the RAM Slot is faulty? If so, what should I do?

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

In my BIOS, it says that there is only 4096MB on Memory Size instead the whole 8192MB of Physical RAM. I don't why my BIOS cannot detect the exact Memory Size whereas Task Manager and Windows can. But it's put as Hardware Reserved. Could it be that the RAM Slot is faulty? If so, what should I do?

If a ram slot is faulty, replace the motherboard.

you might try updating the BIOS as well

 

[Slash2067]

If a ram slot is faulty, replace the motherboard.

you might try updating the BIOS as well

My BIOS is running on it's latest version, Sir. Also, is it possible that the BIOS cannot detect the memory but Windows can?

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

Nope. Your BIOS is what controls the memory. If it’s not being detected in BIOS then it is not going to be usable in Windows.

just to verify you have a dead memory slot, try the PC with only 1 RAM module installed.

Try both modules in both slots, one at a time.

 

[Slash2067]

Nope. Your BIOS is what controls the memory. If it’s not being detected in BIOS then it is not going to be usable in Windows.

just to verify you have a dead memory slot, try the PC with only 1 RAM module installed.

Try both modules in both slots, one at a time.

Already tried it, Sir. Both RAMS are healthy and working. But if I only put one ram on the "faulty ram slot" it does not give output to the monitor.

 

[Slash2067]

Nope. Your BIOS is what controls the memory. If it’s not being detected in BIOS then it is not going to be usable in Windows.

just to verify you have a dead memory slot, try the PC with only 1 RAM module installed.

Try both modules in both slots, one at a time.

You see that's what's happening to my PC. The BIOS only says 4096MB but on Windows such as CPU-Z and Task Manager, it says it's 8GB of Memory.

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

Already tried it, Sir. Both RAMS are healthy and working. But if I only put one ram on the "faulty ram slot" it does not give output to the monitor.

ok, so you have a faulty RAM slot. These cannot be repaired. You will need to purchase a new motherboard.