Question Half of my RAM is Hardware Reserved ?

[techydecky]

Hello, this is my first time posting in this forum. I’ve read other posts with the same issue, but none of the solutions have worked for me. I’ve tried almost everything suggested in this forum, but nothing seems to work. So, I decided to create my own post.

This PC was a gift from my relative. Before this, I used an older PC. Everything in this setup is second-hand, except for the motherboard. I tried asking my relative if they had the same issue with 'Hardware Reserved' RAM before, but they said they didn’t experience it.

These are my PC specs:
Mobo: B450M-A PRO MAX (recently bought)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600
GPU: GTX 1050 Ti
RAM: 2x4GB Viper 3200Mhz
PSU: Lux Aerocool 550W

The first time I noticed something was wrong was when I opened Photoshop, and it said 'memory full,' preventing me from saving my work. This was strange because I have 8GB of RAM, and I also felt my PC was running slower than my old PC when using Photoshop. When I checked the Task Manager, I saw that 3.9GB of memory was in use, while 4.1GB was 'Hardware Reserved.'

So, I did some research and tried various solutions, but nothing worked.

Thinking it might be a RAM issue, I decided to buy new RAM today—2x8GB Kingston Fury Beast 3200MHz. Unfortunately, the problem persists, and now I have 8.1GB of 'Hardware Reserved.' Man, that's a lot.

https://imgur.com/KsB8r4I

So far, here’s what I’ve tried and what I know:

1. Ensured that 'Maximum memory' is unchecked.
2. My motherboard has only two RAM slots: DIMMA1 and DIMMB1.
   • If I install just one RAM stick in DIMMA1, the hardware reserved memory is only 74MB.
   • I tested this with both RAM sticks individually, and the results were the same.
   • However, when I install both RAM sticks, the hardware reserved memory shoots up to 8.1GB.
3. Using XMP settings:
   • With a single RAM stick installed, XMP works fine.
   • But when both RAM sticks are installed and XMP is enabled, the PC enters a boot loop. It powers on, then turns off, and repeats this cycle until it finally boots up, but XMP is disabled.
4. BIOS readings:
   • The BIOS detects both RAM sticks in their respective slots, but the total memory displayed in the header is only 8GB.
5. I’ve tried restarting/resetting the BIOS.
6. When I check in CPU-Z, under the Memory tab, it shows as 2x64-bit channels.
7. I tried looking for settings related to integrated graphics in the BIOS, but I couldn’t find any—likely because the Ryzen 5 2600 doesn’t have integrated graphics. There is a setting called 'Auto Detect VGA,' which I’ve already changed to 'Ignore.'

Honestly, this is frustrating and exhausting, and I’m unsure what to do next. The one thing I haven’t tried is updating the BIOS version because it seems outdated. However, I’m hesitant to do so since I’ve heard that an improper BIOS update can brick the motherboard.

Thank you! I really hope someone can help me fix this problem so I can finally sleep peacefully at night

 

[Colif]

BIOS update could help. I wouldn't grab the Beta (top one) but the next should be safe
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B450M-A-PRO-MAX/support

Only 2 slots on board does make it difficult.

Did you make PC? I think bent pins on CPU can cause this?

 

[techydecky]

BIOS update could help. I wouldn't grab the Beta (top one) but the next should be safe
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B450M-A-PRO-MAX/support

Only 2 slots on board does make it difficult.

Did you make PC? I think bent pins on CPU can cause this?

Yeah, I assembled the PC myself.

Could this issue be caused by the CPU? Is it possible that the problem is causing half of the RAM to be allocated as hardware reserved? Because when I only install one RAM stick, it doesn’t reserve half the memory.

 

[Colif]

Yeah its the 2nd slot to blame since both sticks show up as right amount in the 1st slot.

Check the CPU pins.

 

[techydecky]

Yeah its the 2nd slot to blame since both sticks show up as right amount in the 1st slot.

Check the CPU pins.

So, I just disassembled the CPU and recorded a video to show that there are no bent pins. After that, I reassembled it. While it was disassembled, I thought, 'Might as well test the RAM one by one again.'

I removed both RAM sticks, installed one stick, and checked the BIOS. Everything looked fine as usual—it detected one RAM stick with 8GB. I powered off the PC, installed the second RAM stick, and turned it back on to post the CPU pin video here.

To my surprise, the hardware reserved memory is now only 74MB, and 15.9GB is usable. This is... amazing, really. I've reseated the RAM countless times before, but now it finally worked. I don’t know what solved the issue—whether it was reseating the CPU or the RAM—but I’m just happy that it’s fixed and hope it stays this way.

Thank you so much for your help! Because you mentioned bent CPU pins, I decided to disassemble the CPU and RAM, and voilà! Now the hardware reserved memory is only 74MB. Truly, thank you. I’m so happy!

 

[Colif]

No problem, I am glad it helped. Seems just taking it apart and reconstructing was all you needed.

Now you really doubled your memory