Unusable RAM issue

[Willir]

I currently have 24gb HyperX Fury Red Series 1866Mhz DDR3 ram.

• x2 4gb sticks
  
• x2 8gb sticks

I am studying Computer Games Development so I work with Unreal Engine and 3D software a lot, reason why I have the 24gb before anybody says its overkill haha.

My computer boots with the x2 4gb sticks installed but if I throw the other x2 8gb sticks in I get no post or bios.

I managed to mess around and get it to show 15.9gb usuable out of the 24gb about 2 days ago, but now it will only recognise 8gb installed. At that time Windows was showing 24gb installed but only 15.9gb usable, but in bios it was showing that only 8gb was instaleld. Very confusing.

I have tried disabling maximum memory in msconfig but no luck, also tried switching ram config around a few times and still wont recognise.

My specs are in my signature below.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Willir]

Is the memory compatible with your motherboard and can your motherboard take more than 16gb RAM ?

My mobo (ASUS 970 Pro Gaming/Aura) can support upto 4 x DIMM, Max. 32GB, DDR3 2133(O.C.)/1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory.

And I am pretty sure it is compatible with the mobo.

 

[Willir]

what slots are you putting them in?

I had mine alternating as i would expect for dual channel but would not work....mixed speeds didnt help either

out of desperation i put the 2 slow stick of 2x4gb in 1st 2 slots then the 8gb stick in next two slots ...and it worked...and dual channel too...which confused me...

Different mb but worth a shot

I have tried switching sticks around and had no effect. Atm the x2 4gb sticks work and post in slots A1/A2. Also the speed of all 4 sticks is 1866Mhz so can't see how its a speed issue.

First thing to question is if you have a bad stick. It's worth running memtest to make sure you don't have a rogue stick of bad RAM. If it isn't even POSTing, that suggests that something is wrong with the RAM.

Try booting with just the 2x8GB kit installed. If it POSTs, then it's possibly a conflict between the 2 kits.

I'm also wondering if the board is having an issue working with DIMMs of different capacities/having all 4 slots filled. If the memory timings of the two kits are slightly different, that could cause it to fail. It might be worth trying to set the RAM to stock DDR3 speed (1333MHz) if you can get it to POST.

The RAM should be working fine as I have tested them in my brothers mobo and he had no problems with either of the sticks.

It does seem like it is a conflict between the 2 kits tbh. Can memory timings of the same brand RAM, at the same stock speed (1866Mhz) be different? I'm pretty sure HyperX Fury dimms can be overclocked, so could it be that they are setting custom speeds automatically?

I will try settings the RAM to stock DDR3 speed when I get home from work and see if it posts with all 4 sticks installed.

Thanks for the tips, will let you know how it goes. Urgent to get this isssue fixed because atm I have x2 8gb sticks sitting there worth just over £130 haha

 

[Willir]

2 different 1866MHz kits might have different timings. Kingston do two versions of the HyperX Fury Red @ 1866MHz.

These 2 kits have timings of 10-10-10-28:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/king...ual-channel-kit-hx318c10frk2-8-my-170-ks.html
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/king...al-channel-kit-hx318c10frk2-16-my-169-ks.html

These 2 kits have timings of 9-9-9-24
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/king...dual-channel-kit-hx318c9srk2-8-my-208-ks.html
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/king...ual-channel-kit-hx318c9srk2-16-my-207-ks.html

The DIMMs in your system will have a label on them stating what the timings are, so will the packaging. Normally, I'd expect the system to run at the slower timings, but it may be getting conflicted. Might also be that it just doesn't like two different kits of different capacities. I would write down/save all your overclock settings and try resetting the CMOS to defaults as well. This should make everything run at stock, including the RAM.

Right okay, I will check the timings and labels on all sticks and give it ago later today.

Thanks for help.

 

[Willir]

Update
Tried lowering the speeds to 1333Mhz with x2 8gb sticks and Windows shown 16gb installed but only 8gb usable.

I then tried lowering the speeds lower and still only 8gb was usable.

With x2 4gb sticks and x2 8gb sticks installed at once in all 4 dimm slots, I get no post/bios, just blackness.

Currently back to using x2 4gb sticks at 1866Mhz atm (stock set to auto in bios).

Has anybody had this problem before with the same motherboard or RAM?

ASUS 970 Pro Gaming Aura Motherboard
HyperX Fury Red @1866Mhz

 

[Willir]

It's got me confused to be honest. If it was a bad RAM slot, I'd expect it to just not pick up a DIMM, so it would show 8GB installed, 8GB usable. It does make me wonder if there's a board issue here. I would try installing the 2x8GB kit again and running memtest on it. Even though it behaved fine in your brother's board, there could be a bad sector of that RAM that wasn't being accessed at the time. If memtest doesn't pick up the full 16GB, it points towards a bad DIMM or bad DIMM slot as memtest runs off a bootable CD/usb stick and is therefore run outside of Windows.

I will try out memtest and report back with the results. I will try Prime95 also.

I have a feeling its a timing issue, need to fix this problem.

 

[Willir]

Make sure you're running the latest bios for your board.

Check the pins on your CPU socket for damage.

Do the 2x8GB sticks work fine on their own?

It's not a timing issue, that would cause instability or failure to POST. Not what you're seeing.

BIOS is up to date.

CPU pins are fine.

2x8gb sticks do not work together. I did manage to get the machine to boot with the 2x8gb sticks, but only 8gb was usuable.

 

[Willir]

You have reset everything back to default ie no overclock?
try setting mem speed to fixed ie DDR3‑1333MHz then working your way up

Yeah I have never tried overclocking the system so thats not the issue. I have also tried testing different speeds and neither worked.

LOL You mean DIMM? SIMMS went out 20 years ago!

I would say that it could be an issue with single sided and double sided modules not liking to be installed together. It does also sound like a memory compatibility issue. If possible send the 16Gb kit back and sell your 8Gb Kit and get a 32Gb Kit of compatible memory from the QVL list. Unfortunately its not going to be cheap at the moment.

Surely my RAM is compatible with the motherboard otherwise it wouldn't boot at all? Don't fancy dishes out on more RAM tbh when I am convinced that its a timing issue.
Managed to get 24gb of the RAM showing as installed but only 16gb usable.

 

[Willir]

*Update*

Ran Memtest for over an hour and had no errors, done 2 passes.

Currently have 24GB installed and managed to get 15.9GB usuable by ticking number of processors (8), ticked maximum memory and loweered the Memory speed in BIOS to 1333MHz.

In task manager this is what I am getting. Hardware reserved 8.1GB?

http://imgur.com/a/qsjPe

 

[Willir]

Is there any setting in bios where you can change the amount of ram for the onboard graphics?

My mobo has no onboard graphoics

Run msconfig --> Boot --> Advanced options, make sure maximum memory isn't ticked.

Other thing to check, in your mobo BIOS do you have a Memory Remap option?

When I untick maximum memory only 8GB is usuable. When ticked it shows 16GB out of the 24GB installed.

Doesn't seem to be any Memory Remap option in BIOS, already looked.

 

[Willir]

Well that's just plain odd because unticked should remove all limitations.

It's process of elimination time. Have you tested if all your memory slots are working correctly? Take all the memory out, insert a single stick into the first slot, boot, check available memory. Repeat for all slots.

If all the slots work fine repeat the test for each stick.

It is odd, I can't get my head around it. I have tried everything, including testing all the slots, for some reason it will not show 24GB ram, atm 15.9GB is usuable out of the 24GB.

8.1GB is hardware reserved which is also odd.

http://imgur.com/a/nEsU9

 

[Willir]

Also, just had a look at the manual for your board, you want the memory in the following slots:

A1 : 4GB
A2 : 8GB
B1 : 4GB
B2 : 8GB

Right okay, I am pretty sure I have tried this config, but I will try again, thanks.

 

[Willir]

Also, just had a look at the manual for your board, you want the memory in the following slots:

A1 : 4GB
A2 : 8GB
B1 : 4GB
B2 : 8GB

Otherwise you are only running 16GB in dual channel, and the remaining 8GB will be single channel, which may be the hardware reserved portion your computer is just ignoring.

Okay so I just tested this config and now I am getting no POST or BIOS.

 

[Willir]

Sounds to me either the sticks don't like each other, or they don't like the board. Eitherway there's an incompatability somewhere as that config is how it needs to be for dual channel to work correctly. You could switch it around to 8-4-8-4, but the sticks have to alternate.

Strange, if the mobo didn't like the RAM, wouldn't it show at all?

I will try and switch to the other config, currently stuck with no post so need to clear bios again, very annoying.

 

[Willir]

Managed to get it to boot with 4-8-4-8 config. Currently in BIOS and will see if the 24gb is usable.

I found Memory Hole Remapping in BIOS and it is enabled.

Also I have an option named IOMMU which is disabled, would it help if it was enabled?

*EDIT* - Booted with 4-8-4-8 config running at 1333MHz and again only 15.9GB is usable.

 

[Willir]

Currently in CPU-Z and the channel used to state it was single, now its dual which is good, I'm guessing using the 4-8-4-8 config is correct.

Is there anything unusual here regarding my NB Freq or Timings?

http://imgur.com/a/qvAhd

 

[Willir]

Unticking maximum memory should give you all the available memory.

Is your BIOS up to date and have you updated all your device drivers including chipset drivers etc ?

Can you see the full 24GB in BIOS ?

When I tick maximum memory it automatically states that there is 24GB maximum available, its currently unticked.

BIOS is up to date and all chipset drivers have been installed, its a fresh build, used to run Windows 7 (64bit) and had the same problem, so changed to Windows 10 Pro (64bit) and still get the same issues.

In BIOS is doesn't show 24GB, only 16GB I think, but it states all 4 DIMMS are installed.

 

[Willir]

Windows just goes by what it reads from the bios. It sounds like the memory modules are not compatible together on your motherboard unfortunately. Are they on list of compatible memory for the motherboard ?

If they wasn't compatible, would they not be listed at all in BIOS?

I am pretty sure the RAM is compatible and states on the list that I can remember, as HyperX Fury RAM is a popular brand.