There are a few reasons why your computer might refuse to use all of the RAM installed on it. One reason could be that the RAM is not compatible with your computer. Another reason could be that the RAM is not installed in the correct location. If you have more than one computer, you might need to install different RAM for each one.
There is nothing quite like the awesome feeling of finally being able to perform a major upgrade on your computer, but what do you do when your system refuses to make use of the whole upgrade? Today’s SuperUser Q&A post has the answer to a frustrated reader’s question.
Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of SuperUser—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-driven grouping of Q&A web sites.
Photo courtesy of Daniel Dionne (Flickr).
The Question
SuperUser reader Chairman Meow wants to know why his Windows 7 system is not using all of the RAM available on his computer:
Why is Chairman Meow’s Windows 7 system unable to use the other 4 GB of RAM?
I have four slots on the motherboard. I installed two 8 GB sticks of RAM closest to the CPU and two 2 GB sticks of RAM in the remaining slots. I made sure that the RAM sticks are the same (DDR3, 1600 MHz). Just in case it matters, I also installed a GTX 770 GPU with 2 GB of memory. Here is a list of the specifications for my motherboard: P8P67_LE Motherboard (Asus).
What am I doing wrong? Why am I seeing this issue in my computer’s Control Panel?
The Answer
SuperUser contributor Canadian Luke has the answer for us:
Have something to add to the explanation? Sound off in the comments. Want to read more answers from other tech-savvy Stack Exchange users? Check out the full discussion thread here.
Physical Memory Limits for Windows and Windows Server Releases Note: This link is set to the Windows 7 portion of the support page.
