Solved Missing 4GB of Physical and Virtual Memory

[soratoyuki]

Hello.

I run Rainmeter on my desktop to keep track of system performance, and I noticed that my total physical memory has dropped. I have 8GB of RAM installed, and my physical memory used to read 7.96 GB, whereas recently it has only been showing as 3.96 GB. If I check System properties, it confirms that I have 8.0 GB installed, but only 3.96 useable, and task manager reads total physical memory as being 4055. The same is true for virtual memory--Rainmeter used to read 15.92 GB whereas now it only reads 7.92. I don't know when this change happened, but only that I noticed the changed number today when my computer froze which it's almost never done.

Any ideas?

ETA: I haven't opened the case in the last year, so, I don't think its an issue of the RAM being improperly installed (unless they can simply slowly loosen themselves?). And maximum memory on the boot screen of msconfig is deselected.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Have you made any significant changes in hardware or software configuration recently?

I assume you have 2 sticks of RAM?

The first thing I would do is test the RAM.

You could make a boot disk with memtest86 on it and run the test for 6 or 8 passes on each stick individually.

Or see if the PC will boot from just a single stick of RAM. If it boots from stick A, try stick B. Does it show as about 4 GB in both cases in the BIOS, system properties, and Resource Monitor?

 

[karlsnooks]

soratoyuki,
Welcome to SevenForums.

This is Win 7. You do not need Rainmeter which can only slow down your system.
Take a look at:
WIN | type RESMON | ENTER

Take a look at:
WIN | type PERFMON | ENTER

Uninstall Rainmeter.

Use the memory tab of Resmon to keep an eye on your memory.

Actually, one possible source of your problem is some nasty malware.

Run WDO, Windows Defender Offline. Link in my signature.
Here is the procedure I use:
HOW TO USE WINDOWS DEFENDER OFFLINE ON A USB STICK
Windows Defender Offline
· is a free standalone, bootable malware and virus remover from Microsoft.
· performs an offline scan of an infected PC to remove viruses, rootkits and other advanced malware.

Download Windows Defender Offline (about 764 kB)

You will have the choice of downloading the 32bit version (x86) or the 64 bit version (x64).
The link will help you determine whether you are running a 32 bit version or 64 bit version of Windows

NOTE!! You can download and prepare a 32 bit version using a 64 bit version of Windows
NOTE!! You can download and prepare a 64 bit version using a 32bit version of Windows.

You run the 32 bit version on a 32 bit version of Windows.
You run the 64 bit version on a 64 bit version of Windows.

The 32 bit download file name is: mssstool32.exe
The 64 bit download file name is: mssstool64.exe

For the curious, this program was originally name Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper.


INSTALLATION:
You will need an Internet Connection.
Insert 512 mB (Microsoft’s 256 mB is no longer accurate) or larger USB stick into a usb port.
Run the downloaded program--mssstool64.exe or mssstool32.exe
NEXT button
Choose the option On a USB flash drive that is not password protected
NEXT button
NEXT button
.
The install program will format the usb stick using the NTFS format.
The install program will download about 210 mB.
The install program will name the USB stick WDO_Media32 or WDO_Media64
The WDO_Media32 usb stick will have used space of 255 mB (268,140,544 bytes)
The WDO_Media64 usb stick will have used space of 282 mB (296,165,376 bytes)
You can expect the number of mB to increase as more malware appears.

UPDATE Windows Defender Offline USB stick:
· reinsert the usb stick
· run the installation program, mssstool64.exe or mssstool32.exe, again.
· the update will download about 66 mB (mssstool32.exe) and 68 mB (mssstool64.exe).

Since the malware database is sometimes updated several times in a day, always update before running.

PERFORM AN OFFLINE SCAN
Bootup your computer from the USB stick
Windows Defender Offline will automatically perform a quick scan.
After the quick scan finishes, Choose Full Scan
Select all of your drives

The initial, full scan can easily take several hours, but
Remember, your computer is being very thoroughly checked for all types of malware.


RESULTS OF THE SCAN
The results will be in:
\Windows\Windows Defender Offline\Support,
file name format is MPLOG- as one or more files with a TXT extension which can be viewed with Notepad.

 

[soratoyuki]

ignatzatsonic: Hardware changes, no. I can't think of any software changes, but I have been patching and running Star Wars: The Old Republic very often.

I made a bootdisk for memtest86, and ran it for 10 passes overnight. Although, when you say 'on each stick individually,' was that a setting I was supposed to do or does memtest86 do that automatically? Regardless, this a a screenshot-esque picture of my results.

http://i46.tinypic.com/29c3z7n.jpg

Note how the memory there states 4055, much like task manager. Resource Manager states: Available: ~1790, Cached ~1790, Total, 4055, Installed 8192. On the bar chart, there is Hardware Reserver: 4137 MB. In a lot of the other solutions I've read, the problem was the video card reserving the memory, but it was never more than a gigabyte. Is it possible for it to suddenly be reserving 4 GB?

I'm actually not sure if I have 2 4GB or 4 2GB sticks of RAM. And as for 'Or see if the PC will boot from just a single stick of RAM... Does it show as about 4 GB in both cases in the BIOS,' I think I'll need a bit more instruction to figure that one out. Sorry.

---

karlsnooks: I happen to like Rainmeter.

As for WDO, I burned a bootdisk for it on another computer, ran the full system scan, and it found 3 errors--I deleted them, and the missing 4GB is still missing.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I'm actually not sure if I have 2 4GB or 4 2GB sticks of RAM. And as for 'Or see if the PC will boot from just a single stick of RAM... Does it show as about 4 GB in both cases in the BIOS,' I think I'll need a bit more instruction to figure that one out.

How many RAM sticks do you count when you look? That alone should tell you if there are 2 or 4.

Remove all but 1 stick. Does the PC then boot? How much RAM is then shown in Task Manager or Resource Monitor? 2GB? 4 GB?

Repeat with other sticks alone. Will the PC boot with each stick alone?

You need some way to determine if your sticks and slots are good or bad. Booting is one such test, though it isn't conclusive.

If the PC will boot with any of the sticks when only 1 stick is used, then add in another stick and see if the PC will still boot and recognize both sticks.

Etc. Trial and error.

Memtest can be used to test single sticks or all sticks.

Some PCs just have trouble booting with 4 sticks of RAM.

 

[soratoyuki]

I opened the case and I've been plugging and replugging in the RAM. To abbreviate: I have 4 2GB sticks, and each individual stick will not boot. If I have 3 sticks plugged in, regardless of slots (as far as I can tell)*, all I get is a loud beeping nose and no booting. I can't tell if it's from the HD or the video card.

But, an interesting note. Now that all 4 are plugged in again and my computer is booting, Resource Monitor as changed-- it used to say per my above post Total, 4055, Installed 8192. Hardware Reserved, 4137 MB. Not it reads: Total 4055, Installed 4096, Hardware Reserved, 41MB. So the 4GB of RAM that was Hardware Reserve vanished, and with it, 4 GB of installed memory.

*It may be that three slots are bad and the 4th stick that was the key to starting it was simply in the one good slot. I don't know (obviously). So we're going to keep rearranging to determine.

 

[soratoyuki]

Update. It would seem to be fixed, although I don't entirely understand how or why.

After a different arrangement, we did get the computer to boot on one stick of RAM, and from there, went slot by slot restarting the computer and checking the results in Resource Manager. Everything went fine until we tried the 3rd of 4 slots. So we skipped it, and had a stick of ram in slots 1, 2, and 4, and it correctly showed 6GB of RAM. Then, we went ahead and put a stick we knew to be good in slot 3, and the RAM that didn't work in slot three in a slot we knew to work, and... both the questionable slot and the questionable RAM worked. *shrugs*.

8 GB of physical memory, 16 GB of virtual memory, and only about 41 MB of Hardware Reserved memory. I can only assume the physical act of pulling out and plugging back RAM was inherently useful, or it was just the dusting. Hah.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

OK. Good job and good perseverance.

If you ever have to remove any RAM sticks, make a note of which slot it came from so you can return it to that specific slot. You may have some unknown idiosyncrasy or it may be a matter of re-seating the sticks as you imply.