Invisible RAM

[Copy that]

I am running Win 10 on a reasonable PC but I have discovered a strange situation relating to the installed RAM. If I go to "Control Panel" and then on to "System", it reports 8.0 GB of RAM.

However, two installed apps, "CPU-Z" and "Speccy" both see 16.0 GB of RAM, 8 in slot 1 and 8 in slot 2 and that is indeed is what is physically installed.

My question is, does Win only see 8 of the installed 16 gigs RAM and if so, is there a quick fix?

[Saab Dastard]

What motherboard and BIOS version are you using? What version of Windows 10? 32 or 64 bit (presumably 64 if it can "see" 8)? What CPU?

Have you checked that you have the latest BIOS update for your PC? Does the motherboard manufacturer website have any details on Windows 10 support for your motherboard? What memory does the POST report - 8 or 16GB?

Have you tested the RAM with Memtest or similar, or removed one stick at a time to check it's working?

Is this a new install of Windows 10 or an upgrade from earlier Windows OS?

SD

[Mr Optimistic]

I don't have a modern machine and the bios start up screen reports the ram. Does your machine show this information?

[Copy that]

Thanks for taking time to read and respond to my query. This is a 64 bit machine around 2 years old and has only used Win 10. The BIOS is up to date using the Gigabyte motherboard built-in tool.

I am unfamiliar with a POST report other than the "beep" system from an earlier PC I had. This machine doesn't "beep" during startup, nor does it show a startup screen other than a welcome screen.

I don't have Memtest (and it looks a bit complicated for me) but I have run the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool. It shows no problems in the reports.I suppose my next task is to remove one of the two RAM sticks as suggested and see the result.

I have copied below a minimised report from the "Speccy" program showing the basics of this machine.

Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i7 3820 @ 3.60GHz 41 °C
Sandy Bridge-E 32nm Technology
RAM
16.0 GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 799MHz (11-11-11-28)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. X79-UD3 (SOCKET 0) 37 °C
Graphics
ASUS VH197 (1366x768@60Hz)
2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (Gigabyte) 42 °C
Storage
232GB Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB (SATA (SSD)) 36 °C
1863GB Seagate ST2000DM 001-1CH164 SCSI Disk Device (SATA ) 38 °C
Optical Drives
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH24NSD1
Audio
High Definition Audio Device
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Computer type: Desktop
Installation Date: 8/08/2019 12:02:14 PM

RAM
Memory slots
Total memory slots 4
Used memory slots 2
Free memory slots 2
Memory
Type DDR3
Size 16384 MBytes
Channels # Single
DRAM Frequency 799.9 MHz
CAS# Latency (CL) 11 clocks
RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRCD) 11 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 11 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) 28 clocks
Command Rate (CR) 1T
Physical Memory
Memory Usage 33 %
Total Physical 7.92 GB
Available Physical 5.28 GB
Total Virtual 11 GB
Available Virtual 7.60 GB

Generated with Speccy v1.32.740

The Windows System still only shows 8 GB of RAM.

Thanks again for your interest and advice,

Copy that.

[Asturias56]

Google - "W10 not seeing all installed RAM" there are loads of suggestions

Common ones include running only 32bit which will only see about 3.5 GB of RAM however much you have installed

[Saab Dastard]

Thanks for posting the details.

To access the BIOS Setup program, press the <Delete> key during the POST when the power is turned on, or Press the <F9> key at POST to display your system information.

How much RAM does the POST / BIOS setup report? What BIOS version is installed?

It's a pretty old system - Windows 10 support is likely to be nominal. You can try contacting Gigabyte (or their chat forums) to see if there's a solution or if it's a known limitation.

The report lists the memory as "Channels # Single" - can you confirm that the 2 RAM modules are installed in the recommended slots for your motherboard - according to the manual they should be installed in the 2 slots nearest the CPU. Are all the CPU and memory settings at default / auto? Have you tried to overclock the system?

SD

[Philoctetes]

Sounds like RAM not in correct slots as Saab Dastard suggested.

[Copy that]

OK, the problem is now fixed and Windows sees 16 GB of RAM.

I ran MemTest as suggested and it reported no errors. Consulted the m/board manual and the 2 RAM sticks were indeed installed correctly, with 1 each side of the CPU in slot #1 (left of CPU) and #2 (right of CPU). Removed and re-installed the sticks into each others slot and the situation was unchanged, still only seeing 8 GB of RAM. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I removed 1 stick from the #2 slot and installed it into the #4 slot (outboard of #1). Two sticks on the LH side of the CPU and two empty slots on the RH side.

Bingo! Problem cured, 16 GB of RAM now active and the machine is working like it should.

Many thanks for your time and advice.

[Asturias56]

and people used to say the advent of computers would mean we would have hours of spare time

[Copy that]

"hours of spare time"

Without giving away my age, I recall the Company staff meeting where the CEO told us that "We have just purchased a computer! ! !. This will mean an end to endless card inputs and paper records".

I wish I had had the sense then to gather all my assets and invest in computer paper (the old tractor printer stuff"..

[Asturias56]

or punched cards.... we ran a a whole softball league by selling used punched cards from the Computing Center. Early recycling - they were totally uniform, high quality, very little ink on them and available by the ton.............