Alright folks, here's a doozy (Kept me up till 1:30 this morning and not fixed)

[Krenian]

Alright so I've got quite a peculiar problem at this time and I've googled it, I've played around with the settings but nothing seems to be working out for me:

I have 12 gigs of ram (I can have 16 but I am seriously thinking that the mem slot is actually doing shorts and is shutting down my pc anytime I game hardcore.)

The thing is that Windows and my BIOS sees the 12 gigs. However no matter what I do, no matter where I put the sticks, I always only have 4 gigs of ram with 8 gigs reserved in the "Hardware Reserved" section.

- Checked the msconfig boot advanced options and whether I have it checkmarked or not, it still gives me the same problem.

- Played with the DRAM settings: nothing. Whether I have it at 1600 DRAM like it should be or downgrade to something else, I still get the same problem.

- Newer board that doesn't have a AGP section so there is no AGP solution possible on the board right now and thus the AGP solution of switching how much MB goes to the card isn't possible.

I'm honestly stumped. I have been fiddling with this for over two days and haven't figured it out. Have at it.

[sifuedition]

Go into your bios. Motherboards now are capable of making "memory raids". Like harddrives in raid, these are redundant arrays for memory. See if you have a section of the bios that sounds like that might be what it's doing.

[prplneon]

Are you running a 64bit OS? 32Bit will not use over 4gb.

[sifuedition]

Good call. I was thinking he said it sees 12 instead of 16. After your comment I re-read that and he said 4. That sounds like the most likely issue.

[Seanjones80]

Yeah defo a 32bit os. Hence the hardware reversed crap

Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk

[Kazeyonoma]

yeah. the fact it's capped at 4 immediately jumped out at me as a 32 bit OS cap. you gonna need to upgrade to 64 if you aren't already.

[Krenian]

God damnit, I could have sworn I had written this in the first paragraph...

It's Windows 7 x64. Sorry for not clearing that up!

[Aggathon]

God damnit, I could have sworn I had written this in the first paragraph...

It's Windows 7 x64. Sorry for not clearing that up!

Are you SURE!? lol.

[Slyvar]

I would remove and reseat all RAM modules and also reset the bios to default. I've also seen this issue if you try running triple-channel memory in a dual-channel motherboard, for example. The only reason I bring this up is because the 12GB kits are usually triple-channel, and I could have swore you said you got an i5, which runs on dual-channel mobos.


EDIT: One more thing to be weary of -- If you got an Asus motherboard (which I think you said you did), they have lists of compatible memory. If the memory is incompatible (not on the list), then it is possible it will not work or will display incorrect totals in the OS. Most Asus motherboards now have a "memOK" button that you can press. You turn on the machine and then press the memOK button before the bios post screen goes away. This can have the effect of making incompatible memory, compatible by adjusting the timings automatically.

The memOK button is usually a very small button (maybe 1/2cm wide) in the upper right hand corner of the motherboard. If memOK doesn't do it, and it's not on the compatibility list, you may need to exchange for a brand/model that is on the list.

[Krenian]

Already did MemOK and no problems, still registering the same problem.

Also removed the sticks and put em back in. That's why I actually realized that one of my slots is not working properly; putting memory in there would crash my system after playing a graphic intensive game. Taking the stick out does not cause any problems.

Also set it to stock and absolutely nothing happens. BTW the mobo is a dual channel, not a triple channel board. So I'm using two 4 sticks in dual channel and one in single channel. Still getting 12 gigs active, only 4 gigs usable.

BTW the memory is compatible; the two older sticks I had of 4 gigs each were of the same company and mark so I didn't defer from them. I know ASUS to be a lil anal about that so I tried to stay in the same brand.


Like I said, I've done some research and it just doesn't seem to want to NOT put 8 gigs of ram inside Hardware Reserved mode.

[Reev]

I never really thought about how to spell "doozy" before. Funny looking word.

[Slyvar]

Can you install CPU-Z (http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html) go to the memory tab, take a screenshot and put that somewhere that we can see it?

It is possible that it is a bent CPU pin as well. Which would suck, because Asus does not cover that under their warranty.


EDIT: Have you tried putting in the memory modules one at a time? Put one in, start up, check the OS for displayed memory, then keep going until all 3 modules are installed. It might be able to tell you if one of the sticks is going bad (when you put in the bad stick it won't register fully).

[Krenian]

Yeah for sure. I'll do that when I get home. It recognizes all three no problems too.

EDIT; Yep, did all that. Inserted one at a time, let it load up into Windows, checked.

First stick: 4 gigs
Second stick: 4 gigs, 4 reserved (dual channel mode)
Third stick: 4 gigs, 8 reserved

[Aggathon]

the two older sticks I had of 4 gigs each were of the same company and mark so I didn't defer from them. I know ASUS to be a lil anal about that so I tried to stay in the same brand.

I usually don't try to mix ram types at all. CAS latency can be different, just... it all seems a bit wonky to me whenever I've mixed ram. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, even if they technically have the same ratings.

Now, I also don't know how dual channel really works, my computer supposedly has it but it's never worked quite right and my PC screams along just fine anyways so I've never worried about it, but is the ram slot you think is "bad" the "single channel" slot? It might be putting the other 2 sticks in hardware reserve if you have ram in the single channel slot. WTF is hardware reserve anyways.

[Slyvar]

CPU-Z probably won't tell us much then. Here's an article on TechNet that you may or may not have seen yet:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978610

[Krenian]

Seen it, still doesn't fix anything. Was one of the first ones. But it just started doing this; I had 16 gigs free before. Why, all of a sudden, with this ram, do I have problems.

[Leucifer]

My thoughts?

1) Which version of Windows 7 64 bit? Home? Premium? Ultimate? Each version has a different memory cap.

2) What frequency are you setting the RAM? Try 1333. There's a known issue with some Asus boards.

I think the heart of the issue is this........

BTW the mobo is a dual channel, not a triple channel board. So I'm using two 4 sticks in dual channel and one in single channel. Still getting 12 gigs active, only 4 gigs usable.

I think because it's only a dual channel board, and you're using 3 sticks, it's automatically setting up to a single channel.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/28...l-channel-mobo

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2157106

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/s...d.php?t=235719

Essentially, if it's a dual channel board, sticks need to be run in pairs.

Try running just 8GB, two sticks, and see what happens.

[Fetzie]

1) Which version of Windows 7 64 bit? Home? Premium? Ultimate? Each version has a different memory cap.

All of them, except home basic (which you cannot buy in Europe or the USA) support at least 16GB of RAM

2) What frequency are you setting the RAM? Try 1333. There's a known issue with some Asus boards.

already told Kren to try this, didn't work

I think because it's only a dual channel board, and you're using 3 sticks, it's automatically setting up to a single channel.

Doesn't dual/tri/quad channel only change the rate of access to memory, not the amount of memory used? So three sticks, two (4GB each) in dual channel and one (4GB) in single channel would be 12GB, running in single channel.

[Krenian]

Already tried with two sticks in dual channel.

Gives me 4 gbs, with 4 gbs going into the reserved.

I'm telling you, it has consistently baffled me on just how anal the PC is being in regards to ram!

[Reev]

Hmmmm.... Try hitting the motherboard with a sledgehammer, then buying one that works?