Nerd Central Self Help

Welcome to our self help area. It's currently under construction and in time it will be chock full of useful answers and tips. If there is a topic you would like us to cover, please let us know via the 'contact us' form. Thanks for visiting and see you next time!
KB Search

Please note that the information provided here is our advice and that we take no responsibility for any damage caused to your PC as a result of the information provided.

Only Half Ram is showing within Windows

Problem

Can only see Half the Installed Ram within Windows.

Solution

Only Half Ram is showing within Windows
All Desktop and Notebook Units

Symptoms
Can only see Half the Installed Ram within Windows.

Cause

There are Several reasons why this can occur;

Sticks are not in same colour
Motherboard may have limited ram capacity
High and Low Density Ram
Faulty RAM

Resolution
In Order to fix this issue you need to determain which type of RAM you are using.
Common Ram Types

DDR
DDR2
DDR3
SDRAM


If the ram you are using is: (DDR,DDR2 or DDR3) - Desktop RAM
Please Check ram seen in BIOS. ( Not in windows )
If you are using Windows as your operating system.When the computer is starting up press: "Delete"
This will bring up the BIOS. In here on the first page down the bottom you will see "System Memory"
Please make sure that you can see the correct ammount of RAM
If you cannot:

Make sure they have one stick in each slot of the same colour
Motherboard may have limited ram size support so please check to find out what it is capable of.

If you've already done this then one of the sticks may be faulty (or could still be installed wrong)

If the ram you are using is SDRAM - Notebook RAM
Also Check in BIOS to make sure you can see all of the RAM that is inside your notebook.
To check this please press F2 to boot into BIOS (for most computers)
In here you should see System Memory ( Make sure that this is your desired amount )
On some old computers they don't recognize high density ram and so each stick will work but only half is used. There isn't any way to fix this aside from buying new ram that's Low Density instead of High Density

Article Rating: 0 / 5
How would you rate this article? (5 being excellent and 1 being hopeless)
1 2 3 4 5

Add Comment
Name:



All comments need to be approved by and administrator before they will be made public.



© Nerd Central. All rights of the producer and the owner of the works reproduced reserved®. Unauthorised copying, hiring, lending, public performance,
and broadcasting of artwork prohibited. All the trademarks and logos are protected. 2009©