4 GB of Physical Memory but 1.74 GB Usable

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  1. Posts : 7,683
    Windows 10 Pro
       #11

    Sorry I missed that you'd already checked MSCONFIG.

    Can you show us what your SPD tab in CPU-Z says?
    4 GB of Physical Memory but 1.74 GB Usable-cpuz-memory-tab.jpg

    What does the Memory tab say?
    4 GB of Physical Memory but 1.74 GB Usable-cpuz-memory-1.jpg

    And I'm thinking that if your system is showing that you have 4gig of memory installed, which resource manager does show, then the memory sticks are being read. The question then is why is the system reserving so much RAM?
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  2. Posts : 37
    Windows 7 64 bit
    Thread Starter
       #12

    Alright just pulled both out switched them up. Same thing. 1.74 GB usable.

    I thought maybe you had been onto something since I had just recently taken it in to a repair for some maintenance. No avail
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 4 GB of Physical Memory but 1.74 GB Usable-memory-slot-2.png   4 GB of Physical Memory but 1.74 GB Usable-memory-slot-1.png   4 GB of Physical Memory but 1.74 GB Usable-memory.png  
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  3. Posts : 37
    Windows 7 64 bit
    Thread Starter
       #13

    I will have to go here soon, be available maybe by 2 PM Eastern
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 7,683
    Windows 10 Pro
       #14

    deepeyes said:
    I thought maybe you had been onto something since I had just recently taken it in to a repair for some maintenance. No avail
    Did you have "RAM" issues before taking it in for maintenance? In other words did the repair shop do something to change your memory values?

    And yeah all your installed memory is being detected as shown by Resource Manager, and now CPU-Z. So we know the motherboard is at least seeing all the memory.

    Yeah, find out if the shop did something to cause your system to reserve so much RAM.

    Let us know.

    BTW do you have all Windows updates installed, including SP1?
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  5. Posts : 4,161
    Windows 7 Pro-x64
       #15

    The next thing to do is see what's running at start-up. Could be the shop loaded tracing or diagnostic software and there's some big hog driver loading.
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  6. Posts : 7,683
    Windows 10 Pro
       #16

    carwiz said:
    The next thing to do is see what's running at start-up. Could be the shop loaded tracing or diagnostic software and there's some big hog driver loading.
    Yeah but that's probably not going to account for why nearly 2gig of memory is being held in Hardware Reserved.

    Hardware Reserved (gray) This is physical memory that is set aside by the BIOS and other hardware drivers (especially graphics adapters). This memory cannot be used for processes or system functions.
    Here's a good article explaining Windows 7 memory usage: What's the best way to measure? | ZDNet

    Doesn't hurt to check though :)
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  7. Posts : 37
    Windows 7 64 bit
    Thread Starter
       #17

    Did you have "RAM" issues before taking it in for maintenance? In other words did the repair shop do something to change your memory values?

    If you mean the 1.74 GB as a problem then yes I have always had this problem since purchasing, its just now becoming a bit of a problem because there are programs that are requiring 2 GB or more of RAM than my system is willing to give up.'

    Yeah, find out if the shop did something to cause your system to reserve so much RAM.

    So I called the guy up who had actually done the work on my computer. He stated that he had not done anything with the memory except do a routine diagnostic on it. He stated that the amount of paging that my system has allocated to it could be a problem. He stated that I could set the paging to what I felt the computer would need.

    Do you guys think that would work?


    BTW do you have all Windows updates installed, including SP1?

    Yes my computer is up to date. This was sort of the reason that I took my computer in because I was getting Blue Screens due to drivers that were incompatible with the system. So this guy went in and took care of the drivers that were causing problems and I would assume updating the ones that need it.


    Good article by the way!
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 4,161
    Windows 7 Pro-x64
       #18

    I'm aware of the "old" definition of hardware reserved but perhaps you've forgotten about EFI/UEFI and how it can run outside of the OS and use the RAM for anything it wants to. It's part of the Bootstrap procedure and occurs before the OS begins to run. The Reserved RAM has been blocked out by the BIOS for some reason. I'm only suggesting the OP look for unusual start programs (when Windows starts) that may be interfacing with the BIOS. This could also be a root virus. It's just a suggestion as to keep all options for diagnostics open.

    Booting

    UEFI does not rely on a working boot sector only, but needs a special partition table referring to a special partition containing a specially located file with a standardized name depending on the actual architecture to boot.
    Boot loaders are a class of UEFI applications. As such, they are stored as files on a file system that can be accessed by the firmware. Boot variables, stored in NVRAM, indicate the paths to the loaders. Boot loaders can also be auto-detected by firmware, for instance to enable booting on removable devices.
    It is common for UEFI firmware to include a boot manager, to allow the user to select and load the operating system among the possible options.

    The EFI shell

    EFI provides a shell environment The shell can be used to execute other EFI applications.
    Extensions to EFI can be loaded from virtually any storage device attached to the computer. For example, an original equipment manufacturer can distribute systems with an EFI partition on the hard drive, which would add additional functions to the standard EFI firmware stored on the motherboard's ROM.
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  9. Posts : 644
    Windows 7 home premium x64
       #19

    Win 7 is exceptional at memory management, if\when you start an application or game, much of the now assigned memory will be freed to use for the app. I'ts not a problem and it doesn't need fixing.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 4,161
    Windows 7 Pro-x64
       #20

    cyclic said:
    Win 7 is exceptional at memory management, if\when you start an application or game, much of the now assigned memory will be freed to use for the app. I'ts not a problem and it doesn't need fixing.
    You're right but I don't think this includes the BIOS "hardware reserved" memory. It's sitting at over 2GB.

    Without seeing the BIOS settings or finding any documentation, it's going to be tough finding it.

    Perhaps the OP could photograph the BIOS screens?
      My Computer


 
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