Windows 10 Hardware Reserves Half of Installed RAM

[jangisbangis]

So I put together a PC. It works just fine, except that Windows 10 will show half of the installed RAM as hardware reserved. I have gone through every forum I could find of this issue without any luck so far. The specs for the PC are as follows:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 2700X
MOBO: Gigabyte X470 Aorus Ultra Gaming
GPU: AMD Vega 64 ROG STRIX
RAM: 4x8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX
Cooler: Corsair H110i Liquid Cooler

Things I have done:

I have unchecked the Maximum Memory setting
I have changed the ClearPageFileAtShutdown to 1 in the registry
I have reseated the CPU
I have reseated all four RAM sticks many different times to ensure neither the slots nor the sticks were defective
I have verified compatibility between the Mobo and the RAM
I have updated the BIOS to the newest version
I have tried to find any memory remapping feature or integrated graphics feature to turn off in the UEFI, but there are no options for either of those things.
When I would reseat the RAM, Windows 10 would still only give me half my actual installed RAM. For example, I would use 2 of the 8GB sticks, and it would reserve 8GB out of 16GB. I am completely out of ideas, at this point. I am in contact with Gigabyte, but at this point they want me to try swapping the CPU out to test if the memory controller is to blame, but I don't have spare CPUs lying around to test with. I would appreciate any help anyone can offer

 

[DRagor]

What happens if you use just one stick?

 

[jangisbangis]

What happens if you use just one stick?

It won't boot from a single stick. It will only boot if I have both sticks inserted (they came in pairs, 2x8GB x2 pairs)

 

[DRagor]

What happens if you use just one stick?

It won't boot from a single stick. It will only boot if I have both sticks inserted (they came in pairs, 2x8GB x2 pairs)

Then you have a problem with motherboard or CPU. Motherboard HAS to boot with single stick - although it may require using only certain slot in this case if the motherboard manual states so. Even if you are using stick from a kit it should make no difference.
Take one stick, and try each slot one at a time. It has to boot at least once. When it does, how much RAM it reads?

 

[rgd1101]

2 different kit 2x8GB?
return them and get 4x8GB kit

 

[jangisbangis]

What happens if you use just one stick?

It won't boot from a single stick. It will only boot if I have both sticks inserted (they came in pairs, 2x8GB x2 pairs)

Then you have a problem with motherboard or CPU. Motherboard HAS to boot with single stick - although it may require using only certain slot in this case if the motherboard manual states so. Even if you are using stick from a kit it should make no difference.
Take one stick, and try each slot one at a time. It has to boot at least once. When it does, how much RAM it reads?

Sorry it took so long to reply. I had memtest running and had to leave it overnight. I tried each individual slot until eventually it booted from one 8GB stick. When it did so, Windows detected all 8GB. I then tried to put the other stick of the pair in the corresponding slot, and 8 out of the now 16GB became hardware reserved. I swapped slots and sticks to make sure it wasn't either of those, and it seemed to reserve half of the RAM regardless of which sticks were in which slots. I'm thinking that there must be a problem with running the RAM in dual channel mode. I've looked through the BIOS, but I can't find an option for Dual Channel, which makes sense. It's a newer model board, so I figured it would probably handle Dual Channel recognition on its own. Am I right in thinking this is the issue and that I should keep pushing with Gigabyte support on this? They really want me to try swapping the CPU out, but again, I don't have a spare one lying around, and if it's Dual Channel that's the problem, swapping CPUs wouldn't tell me anything, right?

 

[DRagor]

Am I right in thinking this is the issue and that I should keep pushing with Gigabyte support on this?

Yes, this is definitely hardware problem with either motherboard or CPU.

They really want me to try swapping the CPU out, but again, I don't have a spare one lying around, and if it's Dual Channel that's the problem, swapping CPUs wouldn't tell me anything, right?

Actually, this problem COULD be caused by faulty CPU. I'm afraid their request makes sense, as it is the quickest way to confirm which part is faulty. But in the end, if you can't find a way to do it yourself, they should accept board RMA - but the problem is, it will take time and may fix nothing (if the CPU is faulty). If I were in your position, I would take a trip to nearby comp shop and ask them to try another CPU with your board.

 

[jangisbangis]

Am I right in thinking this is the issue and that I should keep pushing with Gigabyte support on this?

Yes, this is definitely hardware problem with either motherboard or CPU.

They really want me to try swapping the CPU out, but again, I don't have a spare one lying around, and if it's Dual Channel that's the problem, swapping CPUs wouldn't tell me anything, right?

Actually, this problem COULD be caused by faulty CPU. I'm afraid their request makes sense, as it is the quickest way to confirm which part is faulty. But in the end, if you can't find a way to do it yourself, they should accept board RMA - but the problem is, it will take time and may fix nothing (if the CPU is faulty). If I were in your position, I would take a trip to nearby comp shop and ask them to try another CPU with your board.

Gotcha. I'm sure there's a shop nearby that will do that. Now that we've got it narrowed to either the board or the CPU, I think I should be good from here. Thanks for your help!