HUGE problem with Memory Detection

[xxking]

I have a HUGE problem that I only now took seriously. A couple of months back I added another set of 6gb ram to my computer.. everything worked perfectly fine up until about 2 months ago when I noticed how windows shows that I have 12 gigs of ram but only 8 are usable, I put everything in stock settings and just left it be.. today - I finally got enough time and formatted my windows in hopes that this thing will go away.. yet it hasnt gone away and is the same.. I decided to overclock a bit and overclocked my CPU to 3.0Ghz and memory up to 1645Mhz (thats the advertised speed of the RAM).. its still the same.. so I decided to take out one set of RAM and see if it helps.. and now it says I have 6 gigs but only 4 usable.. I have no idea what to do anymore.. I am running windows 7 ultimate 64bit..

spec is as follows:
EVGA X58 FTW3
Intel Core i7 930
Corsair H50
Corsair Dominator 12gb DDR3 1600Mhz tr3x6g1600c8d
Enermax Revolution 85+ 1050W
1x WD velociraptor 300GB (Main boot drive)
1x Seagate Barracude 2TB SATA III (Storage)

Any help is appreciated..

(NOTE, computer boots up perfectly fine with one beep I can't see how this is a hardware issue)..
Computer is a year and 2 months old

if any bios pictures are required or if anyone thinks that something in the bios isnt right just let me know

 

[Sardonicus]

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/66482-memory-set-maximum-amount-used-windows-7-a.html

 

[Darryl Licht]

4 of the 12 GB are being reserved for other hardware devices... its normal, no need to worry!

When you had 6GB, windows only reserved 2...

 

[Layback Bear]

Been their and done that. You have just joined a very large club of x58 board owners. I have been fighting the same problem with my mother board. Been searching for a fix for months, no luck. Their are many sites with things to do but in my case none work. Their is good info on Overclockers.com, Overclocker.net and I 4 memory.com, none of them worked for me. They might work for you. We have different set ups.

 

[Darryl Licht]

Been their and done that. You have just joined a very large club of x58 board owners. I have been fighting the same problem with my mother board. Been searching for a fix for months, no luck. Their are many sites with things to do but in my case none work. Their is good info on Overclockers.com, Overclocker.net and I 4 memory.com, none of them worked for me. They might work for you. We have different set ups.

I agree, and honestly for the OP... it isnt a HUGE problem. Windows and your system is seeing all of the 12GB, but reserving 4 of them for reserved system use (drivers, etc)... You are probably wasting your time trying to resolve this as many here have already.

What are you trying to achieve, besides showing more of it as useable? Is there some issue with your system or its performance? You say boot time is fine... and the "one beep" simply means that your system has successfully passed the POST (power on self test).

BTW... instead of listing your system specs in the post please fill out your specs via the User CP... thanks!

 

[Layback Bear]

I don't think it is the Windows operating system. It's a thing like I bought (A) and I want to use (A) whether or not I need (A). I want to get what I PAID for, 12 gigs. I don't need 12 gigs is not the point. My system works quiet well on 8 gigs useable with 12 gigs installed. I have never ever needed 8 gigs of ram is not the point. The point is I bought a Corvette to go to Wallmart whether or not I need a Corvette to go to Wallmart is not the point.

 

[Darryl Licht]

I don't think it is the Windows operating system. It's a thing like I bought (A) and I want to use (A) whether or not I need (A). I want to get what I PAID for, 12 gigs. I don't need 12 gigs is not the point. My system works quiet well on 8 gigs useable with 12 gigs installed. I have never ever needed 8 gigs of ram is not the point. The point is I bought a Corvette to go to Wallmart whether or not I need a Corvette to go to Wallmart is not the point.

Lets see what the OP has to say...

 

[Layback Bear]

Okay

 

[xxking]

its just that I payed for 12 gigs of RAM and i am not receiving what I payed for.. any chance you guys can provide me with a link to a post where someone had a similar issue to mine? so I can be sure to let it be.

 

[stormy13]

4 of the 12 GB are being reserved for other hardware devices... its normal, no need to worry!

Not sure what gave you that idea, but no it is not normal at all.

xxking, you and Layback may want to have a look at this if you haven't seen it yet,

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

Lots of things to try when this problem occurs with that chipset.

 

[Kipper]

Great read, thanks Stormy

 

[Layback Bear]

To the OP, let us know if it works for you.

 

[Darryl Licht]

4 of the 12 GB are being reserved for other hardware devices... its normal, no need to worry!

Not sure what gave you that idea, but no it is not normal at all.

xxking, you and Layback may want to have a look at this if you haven't seen it yet,

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

Lots of things to try when this problem occurs with that chipset.

It is quite normal for the x58 chipset!

And if I understood the OP correctly, the issue occurred prior to OC. He/she tried to overclock to solve this issue... not visa versa!

 

[stormy13]

Doesn't mean it's normal, means there is a problem with the chipset, bios or socket (see #8 from the link I posted).

 

[Layback Bear]

Overclockers.com
Overclockers.net
I 4 memory.com
Asus motherbord forum
A very large number of people are having this problem with x58 board. I have asked for help on several sites. So far nothing works.

 

[Layback Bear]

its just that I payed for 12 gigs of RAM and i am not receiving what I payed for.. any chance you guys can provide me with a link to a post where someone had a similar issue to mine? so I can be sure to let it be.

i4memory.com - different look at memory
Overclockers Forums - The Performance Computing Community
Just a couple with good links.
Get what you paid for, GREAT IDEA
Wish you luck, let us know how things come out and fixed it for you.

 

[xxking]

If this is a problem and intel is aware of it why aren't they recalling ? I first time heard about other people having the same thing just now.. its not like I do not have a warranty on my CPU its the fact that I need my computer daily and cant wait days possibly weeks for intel..

second thing - id be happy to do anything that would resolve this problem even if it means overclocking and all that stuff, my computer is made for that just that I do not really do it.

I tried registering in that forum to get more of an exact help where its like my own case but they require for some stupid reason an ISP provider email which is something I do not have and even if I had I would not even provide it to a forum. And as that main thread is for Asus boards it isn't much of a help

I am going to go into different forums tomorrow once I get home from work and ask there with hopes that something will help.. its not an issue that I can't use my computer its just that I payed for 12 gigs and am not getting those 12 gigs

 

[profdlp]

I don't believe it's a problem with the X58 chipset so much as a problem with the way it is implemented by various MB manufacturers.

Two years ago my housemate and I built nearly identical Core i7 systems, the major difference being that she got an Asus P6T with six RAM slots and I got a Gigabyte EX58-UD3R with four RAM slots. (My Gigabyte board allows you to use either 3 slots in triple-channel or 2 or 4 slots in dual-channel.) We each had a 3x2GB set of triple-channel Corsair XMS RAM.

I recently replaced the 3x2GB set with a 3x4GB set. No problems at all with either the BIOS, Windows, etc, seeing all 12GB. I had read about a lot of the Asus boards with six RAM slots being very finicky when filling all the slots, but on a whim I took my old 3x2GB set and dropped them in there. No problems at all for her, either.

What I had read was that the six-slot systems are very picky about the brand and type of RAM used. Many users either can't see all their RAM or have to drop speed and/or timings to get it to work. In her case, I think it was a matter of getting highly rated RAM and being lucky that it was a compatible brand.

On a side note, the X58 system has the RAM controller built into the CPU and controlled through a set of pins in one corner of the processor. I have read about cases where a very tiny imbalance in the way the CPU cooler is tightened down makes the pins in the socket not quite touch the contacts on the CPU, causing all sorts of weirdness in the way the RAM is implemented. In those cases the problem usually becomes evident in the BIOS recognition of the installed RAM, but I think there were cases where the BIOS could see all the RAM but for whatever reason it was not being fully available to Windows. It might be worth a try to shut down and reattach the CPU cooler, paying extra attention to evenly snugging it down. Some people mentioned backing off a screw in one corner (sorry, I don't remember which one) the teeniest bit and solving their problem.

 

[Layback Bear]

Backing off a screw in one corner. I haven't tried that one yet but I will. I have tried different tensions on all four screws with no results. I have reinstalled the cooler 3 times and the Intel Dealer 1 time but of course tightening all 4.
Thanks for the info.

 

[xxking]

layback if you find out which screw it exactly is id be glad if you could post it here