Question Windows 10 Doesn't Recognized Installed RAM

doberschelp

Honorable
Feb 13, 2019
3
0
10,510
I'm building a new Windows 10 system and it seems to have an issue that I can't figure out. The problem is that BIOS shows 49,152Gb of installed RAM (2 x 24 in A2/B2). Windows 10 shows installed RAM to be 24Gb, exactly half of actual installed memory.

System specs:

OS: Window 10 Home 64
MB: Gigabyte Z790 AORUS Pro X Ver 1.0
CPU: Intel Core I7-14700K
RAM: TeamGroup T-Force Delta RGB DDR5 48GB (2x24GB) 7200MHz in A2/B2
NVME M2: Two Crucial T500 2Tb Gen4 NVMe M.2 Internal Gaming SSDs
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER White OC Edition Gaming Graphics Card
PS: Corsair RM850X

I initially installed the TeamGroup RAM with XMP 1.0 settings at 7200MHz. Thinking this might be the problem I later changed it to 5600MHz, each time resetting CMOS and powering the system off and on. No change. I should note that this RAM is not in the Qualified Vendor List. I researched the QVL before buying RAM but I could not find any white color RAM anywhere in the QVL.

So, thinking maybe it might have something to do with the RAM, I tried two other types of RAM, Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5 32GB (2x16GB) 5600MHz and G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB Series DDR5 RAM 32GB (2x16GB) 6400MHz. Neither of these are in the QVL and neither were able to boot. Constant DRAM light on. So, I've gone back to the TeamData RAM in A2/B2 at 5600MHz, although it makes me wonder if the Z790 is a little picky on the RAM. I've tried using two RAM slots, A2 and B2, and I've tried using all four RAM slots with two kits of the G.Skill Trident memory. No change.

I also upgraded BIOS from F3 to the latest F6E just to see if anything changes. It didn't.

I went up on the Microsoft Community site to research RAM problems but found nothing that would help.

So, at this point I'm confused and left guessing. BIOS sees both sticks of RAM and Windows doesn't. Does it have something to do with Windows holding back RAM for Integrated Graphics? I wondered about this but holding back 24Gb of RAM for integrated graphics just doesn't seem likely, nor can I find any setting in BIOS to turn off integrated graphics.

Can anybody help me out with trying to figure this out?

UPDATE:
The SPD portion of CPUID helped identify that there no signal coming from Slot #4 (B2) where I had the second RAM stick. I swapped the RAM in B2 back to A2 and found the problem moved with the RAM. I had always thought that if BIOS recognized both sticks of RAM that the RAM was good. Not true in this case.

And as Lutfij suggested below, I had to pull the CMOS battery instead of just pushing the reset button. When I did this the other RAM I purchased was recognized in all four slots.

Lutfij, thanks for the help!
 
Last edited:
Solution
I also upgraded BIOS from F3 to the latest F6E just to see if anything changes.
Did you clear the CMOS after you'd verified that the BIOS was flashed successfully? You should disconnect from the wall and display(after powering down), then remove the CMOS battery from the board, press and hold down the power button for 30secs to drain any residual power then replace the battery after 30mins.

See if that helps.

If the rams show up as intended in BIOS, then the issue isn't your board, it's your OS. No, the iGPU will never assign 24GB's of ram to itself, it's a glitch with your OS.

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
I also upgraded BIOS from F3 to the latest F6E just to see if anything changes.
Did you clear the CMOS after you'd verified that the BIOS was flashed successfully? You should disconnect from the wall and display(after powering down), then remove the CMOS battery from the board, press and hold down the power button for 30secs to drain any residual power then replace the battery after 30mins.

See if that helps.

If the rams show up as intended in BIOS, then the issue isn't your board, it's your OS. No, the iGPU will never assign 24GB's of ram to itself, it's a glitch with your OS.
 
Solution

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
@doberschelp I came in here since I was doing my patrolling. I'm glad you were able to resolve your issue but please find it in your heart to make a followup post instead of editing the post. It helps those who have helped to learn the issue was resolved.

Hopefully it's smooth sailing for your build henceforth! ;)
 

doberschelp

Honorable
Feb 13, 2019
3
0
10,510
Follow-up post: A couple of lessons learned from my troubleshooting. BIOS is not a a true indicator of whether RAM is good or not. A simple program like CPUID or MemTest86 would have shown me that I had a bad stick of RAM without any further troubleshooting. Second, simply pushing the CMOS reset button may not completely clear CMOS. Removing the battery and depressing the reset for a period of time is a much more reliable method of clearing CMOS.