Question Removed 8GB Hardware Reserved Memory: Resulted in loud PC fans.

May 8, 2023
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TLDR: Fixed an issue with Hardware Reserved Memory and afterwards it made my fans loud and annoying to listen to. Did the fan sound change for a normal reason or did we mess something up? If it's normal, what can I do to lower the sound of them (if possible).

I was on my PC after owning it for a few years and my friend noticed in my Task Manager that I had 8GB of my RAM as "Hardware Reserved." I never noticed this but thought it was an issue so I went to someone on Discord for help and they walked me through the following (AFAIR):
1. Started by updating BIOS menu with USB and flashing
2. Accessed BIOS menu and tried to understand which setting reserved ram but ended up not figuring it out at first.
3. Opened case and unplugged and replugged RAM sticks into different slots then back into the same spots as before (as it didn't change anything).
4. Opened BIOS again and disabled VGA detection (it was auto and we changed to ignore)
5. Found the Hardware Reserved changed from 8GB>74MB so it seems to have been fixed from the VGA setting.
6. Overclocked by changing DRAM Frequency in BIOS to 2400MHz (from default of 2133MHz).
7. Went into "msconfig" and to Advanced Boot Settings and changed processors utilized (from auto/unchecked) to 16.

This interchange went on 3 months ago. Ever since then my fans have been annoying and have been getting on my nerves while playing so I tried to fix it by doing the following (AFAIR):
1. Changing "msconfig" processor setting back to auto (unchecked it)
2. Opened BIOS and changed DRAM frequency back to 2133MHz (from 2400)
3. Opened BIOS and re-enabled VGA detection
Nothing changed noticeably and fans are still loud.

How can I make my fans quiet as before I dealt with the Hardware Reserved Memory issue? I am playing the same games and notice little to no significant improvement and haven't had RAM issues in at least a year or two. I'm just annoyed that the fixes had little effect besides to ruin my patience. The temperatures seem to be fine when playing games that use a lot of CPU/GPU (70~C).

Before-After Pictures of my Task Manager view of my RAM/GPU I posted on imgur:
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Specs
GPU: NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 SuperTM Gaming x Trio
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X Eight-Core Processor
RAM: G.SKILL Aegis 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000) Desktop Memory Model F4-3000C16D-16GISB
CASE: BeQuiet! Case
 
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Solution
updating bios might have been what changed fan speeds.

try running this and see if you can make the fans quieter


I use it to control my case fans. It can control all the fans in your system, before updating my GPU it was running the fans on my 2070 Super.

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
updating bios might have been what changed fan speeds.

try running this and see if you can make the fans quieter


I use it to control my case fans. It can control all the fans in your system, before updating my GPU it was running the fans on my 2070 Super.
 
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Solution
May 8, 2023
12
0
10
updating bios might have been what changed fan speeds.

try running this and see if you can make the fans quieter


I use it to control my case fans. It can control all the fans in your system, before updating my GPU it was running the fans on my 2070 Super.
I followed Jay and took some liberty on my own throughout the video and tried to quiet the fans by lowering speeds and it does work a bit but when I run heavy games as before I still manage to hear the fans as compared to before where it was deathly silent. The continued sound is likely due to my inexperience in fan control so I don't know what to set values at while minimizing sound, but I was wondering if you or anyone else knows a way to find the fan settings from my old BIOS or possibly revert or even a better guide to follow to find out what settings to set?
 
Last edited:
May 8, 2023
12
0
10
I followed Jay and took some liberty on my own throughout the video and tried to quiet the fans by lowering speeds and it does work a bit but when I run heavy games as before I still manage to hear the fans as compared to before where it was deathly silent. The continued sound is likely due to my inexperience in fan control so I don't know what to set values at while minimizing sound, but I was wondering if you or anyone else knows a way to find the fan settings from my old BIOS or possibly revert or even a better guide to follow to find out what settings to set?
I found someone with an identical motherboard who had a very similar problem to me. Does anyone know if reverting the BIOS will revert the fan changes?
 

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
Do you use any MSI motherboard programs? its possible they are changing fan speeds in games, based on some profile? As windows shouldn't be changing fan speeds otherwise. Something like MSI Centre could be changing settings. Did you update it after getting new BIOS?

Try a clean boot and see if it changes anything - make sure to read instructions and make sure NOT to disable any microsoft services or windows won't load right - https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows

It doesn’t delete anything, it just stops non Microsoft programs running with start. Easy to reverse.

if clean boot fixes it, it shows its likely a startup program. You should, over a number of startups. restart the programs you stopped to isolate the one that is to blame.

I did find this but the answer offered was the same as I did - https://linustechtips.com/topic/1260486-cpu-fans-crazy-after-bios-update/
 
May 8, 2023
12
0
10
Do you use any MSI motherboard programs? its possible they are changing fan speeds in games, based on some profile? As windows shouldn't be changing fan speeds otherwise. Something like MSI Centre could be changing settings. Did you update it after getting new BIOS?

Try a clean boot and see if it changes anything - make sure to read instructions and make sure NOT to disable any microsoft services or windows won't load right - https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows

It doesn’t delete anything, it just stops non Microsoft programs running with start. Easy to reverse.

if clean boot fixes it, it shows its likely a startup program. You should, over a number of startups. restart the programs you stopped to isolate the one that is to blame.

I did find this but the answer offered was the same as I did - https://linustechtips.com/topic/1260486-cpu-fans-crazy-after-bios-update/
I have never used any motherboard programs. I installed Afterburner when I first got my PC years ago but never touched it and it never starts with windows. I have never installed Dragon Center nor MSI Control Center. I believe this is most likely due to the BIOS like you guessed; however, MSI support said there is no way to rollback my BIOS to the version I was on previously. I doubt its any specific program causing this as I did not alter my PC at all, software wise, between the BIOS update. I'm not sure what else I can do to fix this but do you know anyone/guides able to assist me with my personal fan software?