Why do Windows only show 3.74GB of Usable RAM when the is 8GB installed on Pavilion 15-n278sa.

[EmrysMorgan]

Why do Windows only show 3.74GB of Usable RAM when the is 8GB installed on Pavilion 15-n278sa. i checked the bios and it is telling me 4 gig memory is installed. please help because the machines is always freezing.

[IT_WinSec]

Hello,

Thank you for posting in the HP Support forum. Welcome onboard 🙂

With regards to your RAM issues:  If you had total of 4 GB RAM but Windows shows usable 3.74, this would be due to these reasons (this is OK) > https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/978610/the-usable-memory-may-be-less-than-the-installed-mem...

However, your computer has 2x4 GB RAM (8 GB total). And if the PC freezes from time to time and detects about 4, not 8, this means there may be RAM issue with one of the RAM chips OR there may be some other issue (BIOS, etc...)

 Please, perform some basic hardware checks

1. Please, shutdown the computer using the power button

2. Power it on.

2.1 As soon as you press the power-on button, immediately begin hitting the Esc button (like tap-tap-tap).

This should open a HP Startup Menu which may look similar to this one

3. Choose F2 to open System Diagnostics. Follow the on-screen instructions to perform System Test >> Quick test.

This will check major hardware componets for issue (do it just in case) . Here is more info >> http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03467259#AbT1

If there are no system checks/no quick tests, perform HDD and RAM check.

 Enter BIOS and let me know how much RAM does it detect

Repeat the steps above, but in step 3, instead of pressing F2, please press F10 to enter BIOS.

On the main screen it should list basic PC specifications including RAM.

Tell me how much RAM do you see there.

Looking forward to your reply.

[EmrysMorgan]

The solution you gave couldn't solve my problem. The machine is still showing 4gig (3.74gig usable) whilst 8gig is installed.

[Anshu204]

Can u tell me your windows bits

[EmrysMorgan]

Windows 10. 64bit

[IT_WinSec]

Hi @EmrysMorgan

Thank you for the update. I didn't give you a solution - I asked for a follow up (clarification) questions and gave you some ideas.

What I asked you to do cannot automatically fix your problem.

As mentioned before if the PC freezes from time to time and if it detects about 4 GB RAM, not 8, this means there may be RAM issue with one of the RAM chips OR there may be some other issue (e.g BIOS, etc...). 

So, did you test your RAM (memory) chips from the BIOS/UEFI tests ?

How much RAM does the BIOS detect ?

[Anshu204]

Yes you should try ram diagnostics and test the ram . . . . . . . . As much as i know you will have to replace it in future

[Anshu204]

Or try using puppy linux . . . . . . In the system information u can see ur ram

[EmrysMorgan]

The BIOS detects only 4G and I have done series of tests.

[IT_WinSec]

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@EmrysMorgan wrote:
The BIOS detects only 4G and I have done series of tests.

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OK, so the problem is not Windows.

Did you test the memory (RAM) using the BIOS tests ?

Try reseating the memory chips (how to - video example >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B369ALhFGR4 ).

Try one RAM stick in one slot and then move it to the next until you have tried that stick in all slots by itself, if you never get a post, try a different stick in each slot alone. You might just have a bad stick.

Try updating the BIOS - please follow these instructions in the official article >>> http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00042629

Follow the method "when Windows does not start" >> http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00042629#AbT1

HP servers/web site for drivers/BIOS update >> http://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers