Question windows detecting 16 gbs but only using 8

[AlexTeaFM]

Hello everyone, my friend has been having this issue with his computer where windows detects 16 gb of ram but only uses 8, we have tried re-installing windows, checking that the ram is in properly, updated the bios but not luck. It also won't let us overclock his ram past 2133mhz (you can do it in the bios but windows still reports 2133mhz) any ideas would be greatly appreciated

 

[kanewolf]

Hello everyone, my friend has been having this issue with his computer where windows detects 16 gb of ram but only uses 8, we have tried re-installing windows, checking that the ram is in properly, updated the bios but not luck. It also won't let us overclock his ram past 2133mhz (you can do it in the bios but windows still reports 2133mhz) any ideas would be greatly appreciated

Hardware reserved memory is usually a symptom of mismatched DIMMs. They sort-of work but not really.
Was this RAM all purchased as a set or is it two random DIMMs put in ?

 

[AlexTeaFM]

Hardware reserved memory is usually a symptom of mismatched DIMMs. They sort-of work but not really.
Was this RAM all purchased as a set or is it two random DIMMs put in ?

No the ram is 2x8gb sticks in one package, they're definitely not mixed up

 

[kanewolf]

No the ram is 2x8gb sticks in one package, they're definitely not mixed up

OK, I would power down, unplug the PC and reseat both DIMMs.

 

[AlexTeaFM]

OK, I would power down, unplug the PC and reseat both DIMMs.

He already tried and also tried all the dims in different combinations however he did not try each dimm on its own so there could be something there

 

[Bob.B]

Hello everyone, my friend has been having this issue with his computer where windows detects 16 gb of ram but only uses 8, we have tried re-installing windows, checking that the ram is in properly, updated the bios but not luck. It also won't let us overclock his ram past 2133mhz (you can do it in the bios but windows still reports 2133mhz) any ideas would be greatly appreciated

Show a screenshot from cpu-z/spd for each ram stick.

 

[kanewolf]

He already tried and also tried all the dims in different combinations however he did not try each dimm on its own so there could be something there

Has this PC always had this problem? Could be a CPU bent pin problem if it always has had this problem.

 

[Colif]

Try running memtest86 on each of your ram sticks, one stick at a time, up to 4 passes. Only error count you want is 0, any higher could be cause of the errors. Remove/replace ram sticks with errors. Memtest is created as a bootable USB so that you don’t need windows to run it

could be a bad stick... just a thought.

 

[Karadjgne]

Press WinKey + R, type in MSCONFIG, Boot tab, click Advanced options, uncheck boxes for Number of processors and Maximum memory.

If they are unchecked, check them, save, reboot, repeat but uncheck, save again and reboot.

If that fails, pull the ram out, wipe the little gold fingers with some isopropyl alcohol, and when dry reseat.