Think I borked something... [Solved]

[TDMiles]

AMD Athlon X4 750K
Gigabyte GA-F2A88X-D3H
4x4GB DDR3
Gigabyte GT 1030 2GB GDDR5
Kingston SATA-II SSD
Windows 10

Recently dusted out my desktop by removing all the components from the case and separating them so I could remove the dust from them individually. After reassembling everything exactly the way it was (including DIMMs in the exact slots they were in previously) I noticed that I'm having trouble with my RAM (or motherboard). I have four DIMMs of 4GB DDR3 1333Mhz, 16GB total. My BIOS says I only have 12GB installed. Windows 10 task manager however says that I have 16GB installed but only have 11.9GB available (with 4GB hardware reserved, I don't remember it being so high prior to the dusting). I thought maybe this might have something to do with an integrated graphics setting in the BIOS and the only setting I can see for that is whether or not to enable/disable/force the IGP and I have it set to disable and I'm not sure it would matter anyway because my CPU does not have an IGP. So where did 4GB of my memory go?

What I've tried so far:
Reseated the RAM
Checking BIOS for a IGP memory allocation setting - none found as stated above
Resetting BIOS by way of clearing the CMOS
Checked each stick of RAM individually to make sure they registered the right amount and right speed
Checked each slot individually to make sure they recognized each stick at the right amount and speed
Ran the Win10 Memory test and sfc/ scannow
Reinstalled Windows 10

Where did 4GB of my memory go and what do I have to do to reclaim it?

 

[thebluebumblebee]

Welcome to TPU!

I haven't a clue, except that it's not a W10 issue. Time to contact Gigabyte tech support I think.

 

[delshay]

It looks like Dimm 4 is not enabled in the BIOS, or is not detected properly by the BIOS.

 

[Fangio1951]

Faulty memory slot - more than likely.

Had this in a Gigabyte mobo a few years ago = RMA'd replacement.

 

[TDMiles]

It looks like Dimm 4 is not enabled in the BIOS, or is not detected properly by the BIOS.

Faulty memory slot - more than likely.

Had this in a Gigabyte mobo a few years ago = RMA'd replacement.

This seems strange to me though as I tried each slot individually and always successfully booted into the BIOS.

 

[thebluebumblebee]

The BIOS shows that each DIMM is detected, but it's not allowing the OS to use one of them for some reason. My son jokingly suggested that it's one of those "undocumented features".

 

[delshay]

The BIOS shows that each DIMM is detected, but it's not allowing the OS to use one of them for some reason. My son jokingly suggested that it's one of those "undocumented features".

If you look at the OP screenshot far right it shows DIMM 4 is not Enabled, but it is detected. Perhaps OP should look what CPUZ is showing, check to see is it showing dual channel.

..& check again nothing has gotten down in DIMM 4 slot (nearest to the CPU) ..& check CPU pins are ok, ie, nothing bent.

 

[TDMiles]

Okay I have officially solved the issue. I am embarrassed and would like to delete both this thread and myself from exsistence. The solution was

Spoiler: really dumb.

a piece of dog hair in the slot.

Please leave this thread and let's all pretend nothing happened at all ever.

 

[Fangio1951]

Dog hair - what are the odds......

At least you solved it

 

[thebluebumblebee]

Dog gone.

 

[Mr Bill]

When I clean my PC’s I take them outside, place them on a table on my deck, grab my 50’ hose from my 20 gallon 175 psi air compressor, stand back about 18” and blow them out. I have never in over 20 years had a failure to boot, or any other issue when I bring them back in and hook everything back up.
Ok, before someone flips out, I’m not suggesting anyone do this, I was just posting my experiences, and I’ve surely never taken the components out of one to clean it. I usually get the most dust out of my PSU, sometimes depending on how long I’ll wait to clean it out, when I blow through it it looks like a dust storm.

 

[delshay]

Dogs hair in the slot. So I was right something had gotten down the slot.

When I clean my PC’s I take them outside, place them on a table on my deck, grab my 50’ hose from my 20 gallon 175 psi air compressor, stand back about 18” and blow them out. I have never in over 20 years had a failure to boot, or any other issue when I bring them back in and hook everything back up.
Ok, before someone flips out, I’m not suggesting anyone do this, I was just posting my experiences, and I’ve surely never taken the components out of one to clean it. I usually get the most dust out of my PSU, sometimes depending on how long I’ll wait to clean it out, when I blow through it it looks like a dust storm.

That's what I do. Put motherboard though ultrasonic cleaner then give it a good blaster of compressor air.

 

[Vya Domus]

Okay I have officially solved the issue. I am embarrassed and would like to delete both this thread and myself from exsistence. The solution was

Spoiler: really dumb.

a piece of dog hair in the slot.

Please leave this thread and let's all pretend nothing happened at all ever.

I once had really bizarre BSODs when doing random things like extracting something with winrar, it turned out somehow a hair made it's way into one of the RAM slots.

 

[delshay]

This thread problem has been solved, but I need to add something.

Human hair can also have same or similar effect. It will make your computer unstable if it gets lodge in-between CPU pins.
It has happened to me at least a couple of times where hair has found it's way onto CPU PGA.

There are users that say reseating the CPU fix issues, but are you sure you did not dislodge something by removing the CPU & replacing it back. I now have a habit of checking CPU contact area for foreign object(s) before I place it in the socket.

 

[OneMoar]

as a owner of 4 saintbermastifs I feel your pain

 

[delshay]

as a owner of 4 saintbermastifs I feel your pain

The point I was trying to put across is you don't need to own a pet. it's your own hair that can play havoc if it get lodged somewhere it should not be. That's all slots including PCI-e slots.

A good way to check is to shine a very bright light down the slot.

 

[xtreemchaos]

theres a lot worse things to get in places you dont want . well done for sorting it bud.

 

[toname]

This is an interesting thread. I recently cleaned my PC too and my GPU suddenly was not being recognized by my OS. I used a fine cleaning brush to dust off the inside. So I'm going back and check for foreign particles that might be lodged in my PCIe slot.

 

[delshay]

This is an interesting thread. I recently cleaned my PC too and my GPU suddenly was not being recognized by my OS. I used a fine cleaning brush to dust off the inside. So I'm going back and check for foreign particles that might be lodged in my PCIe slot.

Always check with bright light first. Do not try to clean anything if you can't see anything in the slot.
If you see something in any slot, I always clean the slot with the slot facing the floor. This way if you disturb anything it has a better way to fall to the floor. You want gravity to assist you wherever possible.

I sometime use tweezers to grab foreign object out of the PCI-e & ram slot. I have seven piece tweezer kit for this task

 

[OneMoar]

I lost a 9800Xt to cat urine back in the day