SOLVED: Windows 10 Won’t Use Full RAM

RAM is a volatile storage device that your computer uses to store data and also use it simultaneously but it is used to store the type of data that is being frequently used by the operating system or an application running on it. Once your computer shuts down all the data in it is lost as it is a temporary but fast storage device. The more amount of RAM you have, more smoothly your computer will multitask by enabling the applications to store more files they need frequently. Having more RAM never hurts, but not able to use the whole of it can be unacceptable to a user.

Many of the users, when started using Windows 10, reported that when they open the Windows property window or the Task Manager, they noticed that only a part of the total amount of RAM is currently usable by Windows. In some cases, they would see an unusually large amount of RAM been “Hardware Reserved” by the Windows in the Task manager. It could be in fact due to reason that amount of memory has been reserved for the internal graphics adapter installed on your computer but if you have dedicated graphics card installed on your computer then this shouldn’t be the problem. And for some, the amount was from 1024 MB to 4181 MB which is not normal.

There are some configurations in Windows 10 and your motherboard’s BIOS that can reserve some amount of RAM making them unusable. They can be easily changed and are listed in the solutions below. But In some cases, the hardware was also found to be the culprit causing this issue. Below listed are the best solutions that have worked for users. But before you start with the solutions, you should know that if you have a 32 bit Windows 10 operating system installed, you can only use 3.5GB RAM no matter how much RAM is physically installed on your computer. You will need to install a 64 bit Windows 10 operating system to use more than 3.5GB RAM.

1. To know which type of operating system you have, simply Press and Hold the Windows key and Press R.
2. In the Run dialog box type msinfo32 and Press Enter.
3. In the SystemInformationwindow that opens, look for System type in the right pane.
4. If next to System type the value is x86 then you have a 32 bit Windows 10 installed. If it is x64 then you have a 64 bit Windows 10 installed.
5. Now let’s start with the solutions.

Solution 1: Modify RAM used on Boot

This option in Windows is used to reserve RAM that is used during the boot procedure when your system is turning on. By default, it may permanently and unnecessarily reserve a significantly large amount of RAM for it.

1. To set that right, Press and Hold the Windows key and Press R. Type msconfig in the Run dialog box and Press Enter.
2. The System Configuration window will open. Go to the Boot tab in it.
3. Select your Operating system from the list below if you have more than one. Now Click on the Advanced Options button.
4. On the upper right corner, Clear the checkbox next to Maximum memory. Click Ok.
5. Now restart your computer. Check of the issue resolved. If not, move on to the next solution.

Solution 2: BIOS Settings

There are a few configurations on BIOS that can limit the Windows from using the full amount of RAM installed. Firstly, if you have a separate dedicated video card installed, then you have to make sure the internal graphic processing unit (iGPU) is off which is is used in case you don’t have any external one. If it is On, Windows can be reserving the memory for it.

To make sure it is off, Restart your computer and enter its BIOS/UEFI setup. You will have to tap a specific key to Enter BIOS and it differs by your system’s model. It can be F1, F2, F12 or the Esc key. You can easily google the model of your system to see which key to use to enter the BIOS setup.

In the BIOS setup, search for iGPU, Internal Graphics or Onboard Graphics. The name and location of this setting can once again vary according to your system’s manufacturer so you will have to search for it. Once you find it, make sure it is Disabled or turned Off.

Also in BIOS, there is a Memory Map Feature that can give Windows full access to the RAM installed. Search for it and make sure it is Enabled or turned On.

In addition to the feature mentioned above, if you can find the below features, make sure they are in their respective states as mentioned next to them.

Feature State

Render Standby Enabled
iGPU Memory Auto
Multimonitor Disabled

Save changes and Restart your computer. Check if can now use the whole RAM. If still an amount of RAM is unusable, move on to the next solution.

Solution 3: Physical Inspect RAMs

In some cases, the reason Windows 10 showed less amount of RAM usable was due to a physical defect. So we will check the RAMs physically, and will also rule out the possibility if the slots on which the RAMs are installed are faulty. Only proceed if you’re comfortable opening your CPU.

Unplug all wires and remove the cover of your computer. Here, you will be able to see Rectangular sticks (RAMs) installed on your motherboard. They will be next to a big heat sink with a fan on it. There will be either 2 or 4 slots on which RAMs can be installed.

There will be clips at the sides of the slots. Toggle them and Unplug All the RAMs installed and make sure there contacts are clean. Also, remove any dust that may be inside the slots.

If you have more than 1 stick of RAM installed it is possible one may be faulty so remove any one them and start up your computer. Do the same with the other stick of RAM. If the system fails to run with any one of the RAM installed, then that stick of RAM is faulty.

Similarly, check the slots in use by inserting a known working stick of RAM in it and running your computer. If it fails to run on any one slot, then the slot in question is faulty rendering the RAM inserted in it unusable by Windows.

If all the slots and stick of RAM are working, inserting them back but in different slots as they were originally in before. This is also known to work for some users. Make sure they are properly placed and locked in.

Solution 4: Update BIOS

In some cases, an outdated BIOS version has been known to cause this memory bug to appear in Windows 10.

The procedure to update BIOS varies by system manufacturers and models. Access your system manufacturer’s website to download and install the latest BIOS version on your system.

Before moving with the solutions to make your RAM fully usable in Windows 10, check if booting the system with the bare minimum (make sure to empty the PCI slots e.g., removing a PCI network card) resolves the issue. Moreover, make sure your system supports the RAM you are trying to use with it i.e., no hardware limit is in place, for example, Intel 945 chipset motherboard has a hardware limit of 4 GB of RAM, and more than that cannot be used with it.

Solution 5: Update Windows and Drivers of Your PC to the Latest Build

Windows, like any OS, is prone to bugs and the RAM issue at hand could also be a result of a bug. Microsoft is trying its best to eliminate bugs from Windows and for this purpose, it uses the Windows update channel to populate the latest patches of the reported bugs. Before diving into more technical solutions, it will be a good idea to update the Windows of your system to the latest build which may solve the problem.

1. Manually update the Windows of your PC to the latest stable release. Also, make sure the system’s drivers are updated to the latest build. Check for Windows Updates
2. After updating the Windows and drivers, check if the RAM issue is resolved.
3. If not, then check if reinstalling the graphics drivers resolves the RAM issue.

Solution 6: Restore the BIOS of Your PC to Defaults

You may encounter the issue at hand if the BIOS of your system is wrongly configured. In this case, restoring the BIOS to the factory defaults may solve the problem. For illustration, we will discuss the process for a Dell system, you may follow the instructions as per your make and model of the PC.

Warning: Advance at your own risk as editing the system’s BIOS is a proficient task and if done wrong (or if a sudden power failure occurs during the process), you may brick your system and cause everlasting damage to your data.

1. Boot your system into BIOS (you may press the F2 key when powering on your system).
2. Now, near the bottom of the right pane, click on Restore Settings (or Load Defaults) and then confirm to restore the BIOS (or load defaults). Reset BIOS to Defaults
3. Then exit BIOS and boot the system into Windows to check if the RAM issue is resolved.

If the issue persists, then check if disabling/enabling the paging file resolves the issue. You can also use a utility TestLimit by Sysinternals to solve the RAM problem. If that did not do the trick, then either the RAM sticks are faulty/incompatible or the issue is caused by a failing hard drive (some users reported that a failing hard drive caused the same issue for them).

Windows 10 Home 64bit «Usable RAM» less than recognized RAM

Hello Microsoft Community 🙂

I had Windows 7 Home, and used the free upgrade to Windows 10 a long time ago. However just recently I decided to invest in more RAM, and my system recognizes it, but says that only a portion of it is Usable. Is this because I am on the free upgrade?

I have tried updating my bios, switching my ram between the different slots; neither worked.

I am currently running a total of 32 gigs of RAM, and my motherboard supports up to 32 gigs. All 4 sticks of 8 RAM each are of the same brand and model.

Am I missing something I haven’t looked into yet? Thanks for any help!

Replies (24) 

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Windows 10 Home 64 bit, regardless the free upgrade or a full retail license supports up to 128 GBs of RAM.

Have you tried resetting the BIOS defaults?

Try resetting your BIOS defaults:

If that does not work and you have a desktop computer.

Power down
Unplug it
Open the system unit

Remove the CMOS CR-2032 chip
Plug it in, start the machine, wait 10 seconds

Power down, unplug it, reinstall the CMOS CR-2032 chip
Plug it in again, power up

Does the entire 32 GB show up in the BIOS?

Just to confirm, you do have 64 bit Windows 10 installed, open Start > Settings > System > About
It actually says 64 bit operating system under System type.

If all of those check out, then there might be a fault with one of the memory modules. You can try checking either one for errors:
https://www.groovypost.com/howto/use-the-memory.

Also, press Windows key + R
Type: msconfig
Hit Enter

Go to the Boot tab > Advanced options > make sure Maximum memory is unchecked

FIX: PC uses less RAM than is physically installed

• A PC’s RAM is probably the among the first things you look at when deciding whether to buy it or not. This is understandable, since more RAM does mean more processing power.
• Unfortunately, most of the times you might notice that your PC is not using as much of the RAM as you have installed, and this guide will show you exactly what to do to fix it.
• Our library is also home to a dedicated hub for troubleshooting System Errors, so make sure to check that out as well as you may find more articles that may interest you.
• If you need more hardware-related troubleshooting guides, check out our Laptop and PC Fix page.

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2. Click Start Scan to find Windows issues that could be causing PC problems.
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Nowadays, RAM comes in abundance since the hardware needs to closely follow the software requirements. And adding more RAM is probably the best way to get your PC go the extra mile.

However, even though some Windows 10 versions support up to 512 GB of RAM (yes, you read that right), your RAM is of no use if it’s not fully employed in the system processing. Some users reported that the difference between the installed and used RAM is enormous.

This is a grave problem and we’ll make sure to help you address it with a few workarounds. In addition, we make an effort to explain the background of this peculiar issue. If your PC runs 6GB of RAM instead of the installed 8GB, make sure to check the solutions below.

How do I use my full RAM on my Windows 10 PC?

1. Explanation
2. Check boot settings
3. Check and update BIOS

Explanation

There are so many reasons why your installed and physical RAM are 2 different values in the system configuration. Some of the most common reasons for such occurrence are:

• Onboard integrated GPU takes some RAM and uses it as a VRAM.
  • Integrated GPU’s mostly come with 256 MB of VRAM or so, and therefore it’s obvious for them to take some of that RAM plenitude in order to work in a seamless manner.
• Motherboard and BIOS are optimized for a certain RAM amount.
  • If you add more RAM than it’s initially supported, your system won’t be able to ‘see’ it.
• Certain Windows versions support only limited RAM.
  • Windows 10, with the 32-bit architecture, can read only up to 4GB of RAM.

When it comes to Windows 10, these are the supported RAM values for different iterations:

• Home 64 bit: 128 GB .
• Pro 32-bit: 4 GB .
• Pro 64-bit: 512 GB.
• Enterprise 32-bit: 4 GB

In addition, make sure to check your RAM placement. Remove your RAM card from the dedicated socket, try another socket, and check for changes.

On the other hand, if you’re positive about the RAM compatibility and its physical placement on the motherboard, two steps we presented below are essential for retaining your full RAM values.