8GB+ RAM is Hardware Reserved - Any Thoughts?

I have a system that is splayed out across my workbench that is powered by an AMD E-350 based platform.

What got me excited about this was the fact that it has two RAM slots. Rubs hands together.

I installed an old SanDisk Extreme 240GB SSD, 2x 8GB RAM modules and Windows 8.1 x64 Pro and have been playing with it the last few days. I was surprised that it still seemed so sluggish with all that RAM and when I finally got around to checking the usage (I had already verified, pre-install, that the BIOS recognized the sticks) it shows that there is 7.6GB available.

With over 8GB of the RAM shown as Hardware Reserved.

Is this normal for this platform? I was hoping to see an E-350 platform with 2x 8GB RAM installed to see how it compared to my old/similar setup which had only 1x 8GB RAM capabilities.

The only real issue I have seen is that sometimes when I reboot or try to boot up from a full shutdown, there is no display output and no activity from either the SSD/HDD light or the anything else. No BIOS access, nothing. Not even from the HDMI port.

I unplug the main power cord and when I try it again a few hours later (yeah; this is not a critical system for me) it seems to boot up normally and with no issues except for the high RAM reserved one.

Any thoughts on this, especially on how to solve it if possible, would be most welcome.


Notes:
BIOS is up to date.
All Drivers current and up to date.
All Windows Updates installed.

MSConfig settings proper (not holding back the RAM).

 

Hi ! which mobo do you use ?

 

What does it say with only one RAM stick installed? I've been trying to look up some info on E-350 motherboards, and info is a bit scarce. Some explicitly say they support up to 16GB of RAM in single channel with two memory slots.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I am still on a shoot right now. It is an Asus MB, but I didn't see any markings on it.

I'll try with a single stick in the next couple of days and see what happens.

Any have any other ideas?

This really has me stumped.

 

Chipset: AMD FCH A50 ( Hudson M1). Memory: 2 x DIMM, Max. 8 GB, DDR3 1066/800 Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory.
https://crot53avvzo.wordpress.com/2...hudson-m1-pci-express-sata-mini-itx-retail-㊩/

That's the first I could find regarding maximum memory. Even AMD chipset specs I found didn't have that info.
I suspect all E-350 use same chipset.

 

Yeah I recall that too. Max 8 gb single channel.

 

How do you know the BIOS is up to date if you don't even know what model it is? ASUS does claim only support for 8GB of RAM on any of their E-350 motherboards. However, some other manufacturers' E-350 boards list support for 16GB of RAM. Your motherboard can boot just fine with 2x8GB memory sticks and fully detects their true size, but just can't seem to use it. My guess is that the boards can actually use 16GB just fine, but they require a BIOS update, which depends entirely on the board's maker to implement. I know some early Core 2 systems had a problem similar to yours caused by the manufacturers only enabling 32-bit memory addressing, but this couldn't be something so drastic, hopefully.

On this ASUS board, if you look in the reviews, someone says they are running 2x8GB of RAM just fine: ASUS E35M1-M PRO Fusion AMD E-350 APU (1.6GHz, Dual-Core) AMD Hudson M1 Micro ATX Motherboard/CPU Combo - Newegg.com (Justin R. 1/2/2012)

 

I tried to post this yesterday, but the forum update got in the way...

Anyway, this is the gist of what I wanted to say:


Just a quick update.

I have solved this as far as I care to. The final configuration was 12GB with the best/fastest configuration being the 4GB SoDimm in slot 1 and the 8GB SoDimm is slot 2. With this combination, there is 405MB Hardware Reserved RAM and the system feels faster than it had with 2x 8GB SoDimms installed. Total 12GB allows for 11.6GB of O/S usable RAM.

Any combination of 8GB SoDimms would result in only 7.6GB being available to Windows with the rest marked as Hardware Reserved. At one point, I thought I had solved it - but, I simply switched in a 4GB stick instead of an 8GB by mistake.

While the E-350 based platform is still way to slow (vs. almost any new system) for the amount of components installed (Win8.1x64 Pro, SSD, RAM and 4 hours setup time), it is still enjoyable to use with all this hardware overkill.

The BIOS was updated by the previous owner for the last time around late 2012. He checked once in a while to see if anything new would appear, but no.

I also tried the identical sticks in my daily driver notebook. Yeah; no problems with the SoDimms.
I was surprised that with certain (same brand) sticks, the MB wouldn't boot at all (4GB to 10GB RAM tested). Even more surprising, is that the fastest combination of the spare RAM sticks I had to try last night is the one with a 8GB Hynix 1600MHz specs and a Patriot 4GB 1067MHz combo.
I won't be looking to see what other RAM (2x 8GB sticks) will be compatible - but after measuring the load on the wall at max 14 watts, this would be an ideal always on system for checking email, general browsing or whatnot in the den or kitchen area.

For completeness sake (with the sticks of RAM that wouldn't boot up at all);
I tried some of the tricks I found on the net; hold down power button for 30 to 120 seconds, remove cmos battery and reset the BIOS, I even found a video for an old IBM PC which suggested that you should rub the RAM on your pants (lol...). But, I didn't try that one (I like my spare RAM).

In the end it was just a memory capacity problem as I see it. Just not happy that it is single channel (even with matched sticks - 2x 2GB or 2x 4GB) and that a single 8GB stick works (but two don't).

Hope this helps someone in the future - the main thing I got from this little experiment was that it pays to play with the order the sticks are installed - the difference on this platform was good for at least a 10% subjective improvement in responsiveness of the system - most noticeable when it first booted and the cpu was pegged at close to 100% for a good minute or two to load all the services.