Windows 7: Windows 7 Ultimate x64 RAM issue

Hey everyone,



I've had my rig for 2 years and haven't had any hardware issues until recently. I had to re install windows the other day and after I did they install I updated my BIOs and everything else like normal. The problem I am encountering is that my windows is saying I have 12gb of ram but only 5.99gb is usable. I have searched the forums on here and seen quite a few people with the same problem but none of the answers in their posts have helped fix my problem. Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do to correct this issue? If you need more specific information please just ask and I will be more then happy to elaborate the needed details!

Thanks!

Hello Sicabaddon, welcome to Seven Forums!


As a very basic first step, I would suggest you test each stick of RAM individually for at least a single pass and over-night would be best and be sure to post back here with any questions or comments.

RAM - Test with Memtest86+

Thank you for the hasty reply, and for the info. I am going to dl that fast and give it a shot. I will post my results when it's all done. Is it common for corsair's ram to go bad after just 2 years?

Corsair generally has a fine reputation.

You could also try to boot with individual sticks or particular pairs or slots to try to ID which are bad.

Just watch how you handle the sticks.

   Information

PC RAM is extremely susceptible to stray, static electric charges generated by being physically handled; be sure to unplug/power-down the PC and bleed off any residual charge using the PC power button before you remove it.

Your updated BIOS is probably the culprit as that 'unusable' memory is probably hardware reserved (look it up in Resource Monitor).

Does your BIOS have any memory-related settings?

I'm running the me test right now. After that I'll try pulling sticks carefully. As for the BIOS yes there is a memory setting I can be more specific about what's in the menu after me test is done running. In BIOS its reading all 6 sticks.

Of course it is reading them all - but the chipset (expertly led by BIOS) is reserving some of that memory for itself.

There are lots of those hardware reserved memory problems loitering around on the internet (search that term) - and there were, I think, 3 proven methods of resolving (or getting to the bottom of them) - 1) messin' with the BIOS settings, 2) shufflin' memory sticks between available slots, and 3) RTFM.

Just took a pic of my screen.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-R...823_171938.jpg

On the bottom it lists all 6 sticks but on the top it says memory is 6135mb and same for cached. Should it say that?

First stick just passed. I will update you guys later