Windows 7 keeps losing my RAM

[laura]

I've read a few of the posts here and can't seem to find one that directly relates to my problem. I'm running Windows7 64, 16 G of OCZ Triple Channel DDR3 and NVidia Quadro FX 4800. Sometimes I have 8 G of RAM, sometimes I have 4 G of RAM. VERY RARELY does all 16 G show up. I think maybe 3 times since I built this beast. It's messing with my work. Can anyone PLEASE tell me once and for all, what can I do to make this go away and have all 16 G of RAM I paid dearly for??

Windows7 64
16 G OCZ Triple Channel DDR3
ASUS Rampage III
NVidia Quadro FX 4800

Thanks for any help.

Laura

 

[fseal]

Does the ram /always/ show up as 16 gig in your bios?

Also 16 gig and "triple channel" don't really sound right togeather. (Or did you mean 18gig of triple channel?) If 16, gig probably should be dual channel, though that I believe is a function entirely of the MB itself, except that dual/triple channel ram is generaly sold in matched modules packs in sets of 2 or 3 and are best installed in those groupings.

Are you sure the ram you got was vetted by ASUS? (ASUS lists compatible modules in their manuals).

Edit, also are your computer specs up to date? Still using the core 2 quad?

 

[Prof Kerfuffle]

Hi,
You have not told us what windows version your running. Here are the limits for the windows versions.
'

• Windows 7 Starter: 8GB
• Windows 7 Home Basic: 8GB
• Windows 7 Home Premium: 16GB
• Windows 7 Professional: 192GB
• Windows 7 Enterprise: 192GB
• Windows 7 Ultimate: 192GB'

 

[brianzion]

hi there i check my ram in resmon and check with rammon by passmark> link here :ar: PassMark RAMMon - Identify RAM type, speed & memory timings (be sure to use the right version for 32/64 Bit)

RAMMon is an easy to use Windows based application that allows users to quickly retrieve the Serial Presence Detect (SPD) data from their RAM modules. It will allow users to identify a multitude of attributes, of which, includes the manufacturer, the clockspeed and other data of their DDR2, DDR3, XMP and EPP memory devices and even some older memory types. It uses SysInfo DLL SDK to gather the SPD attributes from RAM devices. This information provides a snapshot of the available data for each RAM module installed on the system.

 

[brianzion]

also check that windows has allocated all the ram

1. type msconfig in windows start menu search box
2. click on result in left result pane
3. in the window that pops up click boot
4. click advanced options
5. next check the MAXIMUM MEMORY box is UN-TICKED in box that pops up
6. click ok
7. click ok again
8. reboot if required

 

[laura]

OK---here's the specs right off CPU-Z


I am running Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate. Intel iCore7 Extreme 980X

I will try that. It's driving me crazy. Thank you Brianzion!!!

Yes, my RAM is compatible with the motherboard.

 

[laura]

It would appear that I'm losing my C Drive. Right after I last posted, it started clicking and being difficult. I'll post if I have more trouble after getting this ironed out. Thanks to all that offered help and suggestions! Now to go rescue my Drive 0. It's actually two terabytes. Thankfully most of the stuff is backed up, but I need to rescue the stuff that isn't.

 

[laura]

OK, that wasn't the problem. That box wasn't checked.
My CDrive didn't die, and until it does something that Seagate recognizes as a problem, they won't give me a new one.
So, moving on.
The reason the RAM is the way it is with 16 G is because it's two matched sets of 4G sticks---they came in pairs, I bought two pair.

Now, it's showing that I have 16G installed, but it says I only have 6.9 G usable? What's all that about??
This RAM issue is driving me crazy.

Any help?

Thanks!
Laura

 

[fseal]

Well, the first thing is that you have a tripple channel motherboard and processor. The sticks should go in in sets of 3. As I said before some motherboards will take them in pairs but I don't know how well that functions in reality.

Try sticking in just three of the 4 gig sticks in "Bank 0" (closely check your manual for exactly where to put in three sticks, could be slot 1, 3 and 5 for example in a 6 slot motherboard) and see if you get a consistant and solid 12 gig of ram showing up.

 

[Packet]

i've seen this happen due to BIOS issues.
do you have the latest version?

 

[laura]

Well, the first thing is that you have a tripple channel motherboard and processor. The sticks should go in in sets of 3. As I said before some motherboards will take them in pairs but I don't know how well that functions in reality.

Try sticking in just three of the 4 gig sticks in "Bank 0" (closely check your manual for exactly where to put in three sticks, could be slot 1, 3 and 5 for example in a 6 slot motherboard) and see if you get a consistant and solid 12 gig of ram showing up.

Well, I hate losing that much, so if I can't fix it another way, I'll go with that. They did have the specs in the mobo manual about how to stick four sticks in, which is why it's spread the way it is in the available slots, but I'll go back and see what needs to be done to take it down to 12 or 3 slots. 12 will certainly be better than 4 and 8 which is what ends up usually posting after boot.


As far as the BIOS...eeeeh... I get really nervous about messing with BIOS, so no, I haven't updated it. I guess I'll have to see how I do that. I did read that this motherboard had a way to restore if it didn't work, so I guess that's where I go next.

Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like no matter what it's not going to be an easy or desirable fix.

Laura

 

[fseal]

Well if three sticks is stable, you could always opt for buying two more sticks and going with 24 Gig

 

[Packet]

actually, the bios update is a lot simpler now - especially with the ASUS boards.
compared to the old way of doing it anyway...

just copy it on a usb stick - boot up with usb stick plugged in and follow the prompts (can't recall offhand if it's an auto-detect or if you have to hit a key...)

i see the latest bios for your system as 1102 instead of the 0602 you're currently running (so you're 5 revisions behind).

i had similar issues with my ASUS board until i did the bios upgrade.

while your mileage may vary, it's worth a shot.

 

[Packet]

bugger. lost the entire edit.
whoever thought up of the alt left arrow / right arrow combinations isnt very high on my christmas card list at the moment.

like i was saying - just went through your board's manual - your bios has 2 roms, so you're golden. even if one goes to hell completely due to the upgrade, you can still boot up and restore it.

i would recommend doing the ASUS EZ Flash 2 - download the bios file, unzip it to a usb stick (needs to be fat32/fat16)

reboot the system, either press alt f2 or go into the bios setup and choose update.
choose to backup the existing rom just in case.
then do the update.

should you decide i would recommend writing down / taking photographs of your current bios settings before you begin - because after you do it, you want to reboot => enter the bios setup => load setup / bios defaults => save => reboot and go back into the bios and make the specific settings.

do all this before you let windows boot.
for instance, when you load defaults, i believe it will set your bootup config to IDE which means windows wont boot. so you have to set it back to RAID.

also, since this is a core i7, go into the memory settings and set your RAM speed to DDR3-1600 (the default is 1066)

 

[laura]

Well, after a frustrating week of trying both solutions, it's doing the same damn thing. The good news is my BIOS is updated. Taking one stick of RAM out did nothing, so I put it back. It's mostly bouncing between 4 & 8---doesn't show as 12 very often at all, and occasionally, it shows up at 16. I LIVE for the times it boots at 16.

Any other suggestions? I'm about to tear my hair out. Which would hurt because I have a lot of long hair...

 

[logicearth]

Does your BIOS have a memory remap feature?

 

[fseal]

I guess the last question is, is the amount of ram showing different in the BIOS every time, or is the BIOS always correct but Windows itself showing different amounts?

If it's the BIOS, there may simply be something wrong with the motherboard or the power supply. I recently built a machine because my old one stopped working. I bought all new parts, new power supply included. Nothing worked, replaced almost every part, CPU, ram, video card... all no go. Tried the old power supply, still no go. I had replaced EVERYTHING one by one and it never worked. Well it turned out that the new power supply was bad out of the box and the old power supply had died which is what went wrong with the old one...

Hardware problems can be hard to find Need to replace virtually every piece one by one with alternates till it starts working, and to be sure, KNOWN GOOD alternates. Could be the ram, motherboard or power supply. The ram itelf may be the least likely...

If it's a store bought machine you maybe looking at just having them replace or fix it.

 

[Packet]

nuts - i thought the bios would fix it.

in the bios, is your memory set to DDR3-1600 or Auto? (try forcing it to 1600 if it isnt)

the only 3 things i can think of now are:

1. replace the ram altogether (get say 12 or 24 for the triple channel)
2. replace the board
3. replace the power supply

this is a new machine, right? warranty etc?

 

[laura]

I tried putting the ram up to 1600 and it locked up. It didn't want to boot like that. I shut the machine down and let it sit for a few minutes---then I started it again and got a screen that said: "Overclocking FAILED! Would you like to reload defaults and try again?" So I did that and left the ram alone after that. I think the only thing MORE annoying than my ram flitting in and out like a schizophrenic fairy is for the computer not to boot at all....

No warranty---I built this machine myself. Ordered the parts off the internet and started building what "I" wanted and needed. I couldn't find a machine that I could afford with the stuff that I needed for work...So for this machine to be down long enough to replace everything, it's gonna choke me at far as work goes. I got the power supply from one place, the ram from Circuit City and the mobo from New Egg. Which means dealing with a ton of paperwork and massive down time...
I think I'm gonna start with bugging the OCZ people. Seriously? I spent close to 700.00 on RAM. I think maybe their IT people need to do some work for that kind of money...

Laura

 

[laura]

The BIOS is correct, the CPU-ID shows it as correct. The only place that doesn't is Windows, which blows because it's where I need it. I mean, you can REALLY feel it when it's down to 4 or 8. I can't even run anything when it's at 4. 8 is a bit choppy and things are slow. 16 is perfect, but I rarely get that.