Half of ram usable, and low transfer speeds since upgrading

[alumahai]

I recently upgraded my computer by replacing my motherboard, case, and power supply. At first I figured everything was done right, and it took a while before I realized that windows finds 12GB of ram, 5.99GB usable. Besides that, I also find that my transfer speeds by usb are incredibly slow, hitting a max of 5.7MB/sec, and normally sitting around 3.8.
I cant imagine what went wrong, except for fearing the worst; a bent pin on the cpu. I don't actually have any thermal paste, and cant remove/reseat it, so does anyone have any suggestions that might be causing these issues?

 

[Richardc269]

You sure you installed Windows 7 64-Bit, and not 32-Bit?

 

[alumahai]

I didn't reinstall, I used the same hard drive I'd been running for the last year and a half. And yes, I'm sure its 64 bit. Doesn't 32 bit only use 4GB anyway?

 

[tman69]

first--a bent pin on the CPU would keep the machine from booting

second--if your listed specs are correct--mixing different Ram speeds will cause your mobo to run all the ram at the slower speed.

third--check BIOS to see how much RAM the MOBO sees.

fourth--USB problem 'may' be related to the mixed RAM

 

[alumahai]

I had seen a post not long ago on a different website where a bent pin caused the same problem with the ram that I have, which is why I am worried.
As for the mobo, it also sees the 12 gb. I'm fine with running at the slower speed, My problem is with the fact that it can only use half of it.
I already tried removing the ram, and even with just the 2 corsair sticks, my computer said 8GB (3.99 usable)
Besides that, this ram in this setup worked perfectly with the old stuff, but I guess the different motherboards might cause issues...

 

[tman69]

fifth--read documentation that came with MOBO

 

[alumahai]

On what exactly? I already read the ram installation part... It didn't really say much besides informing of where to install them for dual channel modes, and I took care to follow the first time.

 

[AddRAM]

If you had a bent pin on the MB it more then likely would not boot.

 

[alumahai]

So what do I do to fix this?

 

[DeaconFrost]

Does your BIOS have an option for enabling memory mapping, or something to that affect?

 

[alumahai]

Nothing that I can find

 

[carwiz]

A CPU might boot even with multiple bent pins if those pins were V+. And there's a pot full of them on the chip. They transfer power to different areas and circuits so it's conceivable that the CPU would sill boot but could have some circuits disabled or under powered. (Bad for the CPU in any case.)

 

[Britton30]

In Start rb:Search type msconfig and hit enter. In the Boot tab, click the Advanced Options button. In the window that opens uncheck the box for Maximum Memory, OK, Apply, then reboot and see if that helps.
If you have a new board but using your old drive you may need to update all of your drivers, USB, GPU, etc.

 

[alumahai]

Ive tried that under msconfig. It is already unchecked.

How would I go about updating all the drives for the new board?

 

[IIllytch321]

I think it's unfair for you to say you can't check the CPU pins, especially after you state that you heard it was the cause of the same problem you're having. Maybe checking the pins would be worth a bit of heatsink grease if you need it. At least then you could narrow it a bit, I suppose.

Don't know what memory mapping is.

If your motherboard is the one in your listed specs, then here for any drivers.

Yeah, maybe the different speeds are being bottlenecked due to mixing, and the North Bridge is responding somehow appropriately? If the NB is being choked, the USB speeds would dissolve, right? I remember fiddling around with my NB when I was overclocking a while ago and my RAM speed was affected (or vise versa?); maybe a NB option in your BIOS was tampered with by invisible techno gnomes?

 

[Britton30]

The new board should have come with a driver disk (CD) with drivers on it.
Your board should have pins.

 

[Comp Cmndo]

That's right, the motherboard has pins, the cpu has contact points which touch the pins.

 

[stormy13]

Might want to give this a read,

Asus X58 + 6/12GB memory overclocking - detecting less memory than installed - i4memory.com - different look at memory

It is mainly for x58 based boards, but can apply to any Intel LGA socket based board. Start with pulling the heatsink and CPU and checking the socket for any bent pins.

 

[DeaconFrost]

If I'm understanding right, it isn't as crazy as it sounds, especially if the memory controllers are now built into the procs.

 

[stormy13]

It isn't and they are. I have also seen lots of these cases where it was step #8 from that link that was the problem, especially when using an aftermarket cooler that is screwed on instead of the pushpins. And bent pins are more common than you may think,

x58 bent pins - Google Search