Question Motherboard says I have 4 x 8GB sticks of RAM, but Windows says I only have 2 x 8GB sticks ?

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epro911

epro911

Aug 10, 2025
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0
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I upgraded my motherboard and now my RAM doesn't want to show up correctly. I made sure the RAM
is compatible with the mobo. the only thing that doesn't know i have 32GB is Windows, it seems because Driver Easy, CPU-Z, Hardware Monitor, and I'm assuming games, know that I have 32GB, but Windows does not, so it crashes games saying memory ran out. Any help is appreciated.
 
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Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

I upgraded my motherboard and now my RAM doesn't want to show up correctly.
If you didn't reinstall your OS, that's your issue. Users are advised to reinstall their OS after a motherboard swap.

For context, please list the specs to your build like so:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model. BIOS version for your motherboard at this moment of time.

Considering you swapped out your motherboard, please mention the make and model of your older motherboard as well as the new motherboard.
 
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Lutfij said:
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

I upgraded my motherboard and now my ram doesnt want to show up correctly.
If you didn't reinstall your OS, that's your issue. Users are advised to reinstall their OS after a motherboard swap.

For context, please list the specs to your build like so:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model. BIOS version for your motherboard at this moment of time.

Considering you swapped out your motherboard, please mention the make and model of your older motherboard as well as the new motherboard.
Click to expand...
CPU: Intel Core I5-13600KF
CPU cooler: Arctic Freezer 3
Motherboard: BIOSTAR Z690A VALKYRIE
RAM: G.SKILL Trident z 4x8GB (F4-3200C16-8GTZR)
SSD: WD BLACK SN850X 1000GB
GPU: GIGABITE RTX 4060
PSU: BE QUIET Dark Power 13 1000W 80+ Titanium I bought the PSU at most 2 years ago
Chassis: I assume this means case? Be Quiet pure base 500DX
OS: Windows 10 Pro
Monitor: 2x KTC H27T22 27.0"

Old Motherboard: ASRock B760 Pro

I'd prefer not to have to reinstall the OS if at all possible
 
Last edited:
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Old Motherboard: ASRock B760 Pro
+
New Motherboard: BIOSTAR Z690A VALKYRIE
Not the same chipset, thus not the same platform.

I'd prefer not to have to reinstall the OS if at all possible
That decision is up to you, not me, since you're the one living with the PC. I'm merely stating what needs to be done to resolve the issue. You can try as many work arounds as possible but you'll end up wasting resources trying to resolve it(in the long run) outside of an OS reinstall.
 
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Lutfij said:
Old Motherboard: ASRock B760 Pro
+
New Motherboard: BIOSTAR Z690A VALKYRIE
Not the same chipset, thus not the same platform.

I'd prefer not to have to reinstall the OS if at all possible
That decision is up to you, not me, since you're the one living with the PC. I'm merely stating what needs to be done to resolve the issue. You can try as many work arounds as possible but you'll end up wasting resources trying to resolve it(in the long run) outside of an OS reinstall.
Click to expand...
thanks for the assistance. ill reinstall windows and see if that resolves the issue. if it doesn't is there anything else that can cause an issue like this?
 
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Lutfij said:
if it doesn't is there anything else that can cause an issue like this?
Did you make sure you're on the latest BIOS version for your new motherboard? You didn't include that info when I asked for specs.
Click to expand...
yes I downloaded everything from the motherboards website and made sure to install correctly. so bios is up to date chipset is up to date and everything else they have to download as well.
 
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You can try testing your ram modules one by one.
Install single module in ram slot a1, try to boot up system.
Try same module in all other ram slots.

This will tell, if any ram slot is bad.

Then do the same thing with all other modules.

But I strongly suspect, there's a problem with cpu socket.
 
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SkyNetRising said:
You can try testing your ram modules one by one.
Install single module in ram slot a1, try to boot up system.
Try same module in all other ram slots.

This will tell, if any ram slot is bad.

Then do the same thing with all other modules.

But I strongly suspect, there's a problem with cpu socket.
Click to expand...
https://imgur.com/a/y7U9yeu
View: https://imgur.com/a/y7U9yeu
there you go. It's not bent I've already done the ram shuffle.

Lutfij said:
if it doesn't is there anything else that can cause an issue like this?
Did you make sure you're on the latest BIOS version for your new motherboard? You didn't include that info when I asked for specs.
Click to expand...
Resetting Windows didn't work
 
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epro911 said:
there you go. It's not bent I've already done the ram shuffle.
Click to expand...
Cpu socket pin misalignments can be seen only from certain angles.
In photo #3 - you can see alignment for lower part of pins. Lower part looks good. (Photo #5 shows the same region.)
But you can't see alignment for upper part. For that a photo from different angle is necessary. (Remaining photos are from bad angles or blurry.)

epro911 said:
I've already done the ram shuffle.
Click to expand...
And what were the results?
 
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SkyNetRising said:
Cpu socket pin misalignments can be seen only from certain angles.
In photo #3 - you can see alignment for lower part of pins. Lower part looks good. (Photo #5 shows the same region.)
But you can't see alignment for upper part. For that a photo from different angle is necessary. (Remaining photos are from bad angles or blurry.)
Click to expand...
I took pictures from all 4 angles plus a off angle one for good measure. Not a single one is blurry in the slightest. The issue isn't the pins like I said before. It isnt a hardware issue.

SkyNetRising said:
And what were the results?
Click to expand...
i mean all the slots work, but if i use more than 2 at a time windows doesnt detect the 3rd or 4th

epro911 said:
i mean all the slots work, but if i use more than 2 at a time windows doesnt detect the 3rd or 4th
Click to expand...
just realized I left it with only 2 sticks in and it says it only has 2 slots?
https://imgur.com/a/mG55CGi
View: https://imgur.com/a/mG55CGi
 
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epro911 said:
Resetting Windows didn't work
Click to expand...
I said reinstall your OS not reset your OS, those are two different things.

Recreate your bootable USB installer for your OS using Windows Media Creation Tools, remove all drives except for the one you wish to install the OS onto, then wipe the drive clean(removing all partitions) and then process to install the OS in offline mode(without www). Manually install all relevant drivers for your platform in an elevated command, i.e, Right click installer>Run as Administrator.
 
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I do not see any bent pins.

The ram part number is from a dual kit of 8gb.
You apparently have two different 16gb ram kits of the same part number.
They are not from a single matched kit.
Ram must be matched to operate properly.
Your two kits may have two different XMP settings embedded causing confusion.

Enter the ram bios settings yourself.
Increasing the voltage past the default 1.35v may do the trick.
Try small increments up to perhaps as much as 1.45v.

When you think you have it, run memtest to check.
A full pass with NO errors and you should be ok.
 
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