Envy 15 1st gen will not use 16gb ram (8gb useable)

Picked up an Envy 15 on clearance at a local computer store, its a 1050CA

i7 720
6GB DDR3 Ram
500GB 7200 RPM Drive

When I first booted up the computer, the BIOS would only see 4GB of ram no matter which slot I put the ram in (using all 4 slots reseating the memory ect)

I then purchased 4x DDR 1333 modules and installed them in the laptop. All are matched and the same brand.

Bios shows 16gb of ram, as does windows but with 8gb being system reserved......I"ve seen lots of other people with this problem and no real solution.

I'm running BIOS F2B which is current up to oct 2010.

I see many configs of the Envy 15 coming with 16gb of ram right out of the box, anything I need to do to fix this problem.

I've also messed with the msconfig and "max ram" check box, its currently unchecked.

I took the original ram modules out (ones under the keyboard) and put the 2 8gb sticks in and it works no problem, for some reason the 2 other modules (located under the battery) seem to be the culprit in some way or another.

Screen shots of the problem





Thanks in advance

 

I should also note, that I just noticed when I reboot the computer, sometimes once it boots back up, it just shows 8gb of ram installed not 16, other times i'll reboot and it goes back to showing 16gb of ram but only 8gb useable......real weird.

 

The only thing I can think of is loose connection of one of the sticks. But that is really weird ^

 

Some people have desktops that have a similar issue. It might have to do with the mobo not being able to supply enough voltage to the ram for some reason or another.

 

has anyone else had this problem, also anyone with a stock config of 16gb of ram, what is your bios version?

seems to be no real concrete answer to this issue

 

Do you need 16gb of ram?

 

I probably don't need 16gb of ram but I have it, and its slightly frustrating knowing that other configs of the exact same laptop support 16gb but some how mine doesn't, doesn't really seem to be any resolve to this problem, its a shame.

 

Are you using stock (edit: i mean, as in same brand as default) ram, or is it a third party brand of ram?

Like I said, sometimes different brands will be more picky with the voltages the mobo can supply. It ends up with less ram useable than the amount you actually have.

 

My wife and I have owned 2 different Envy 15's with 16GB RAM, but in both cases it was the 2nd gen.

 

Newegg.ca - Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model PSD38G1600SK

Using those modules, even when I had the stock modules in, with the one 2gb stick in the battery area slot (6gb total) i was getting 4gb ram 2gb hardware reserved. Might just return this.

 

Is it still under warranty? Did you try creating a service ticket?

It seems like if they designed the 1st gen with 4 DIMM slots, it should be able to handle 4 memory sticks. There must be some people out there who bought the 1st gen with 16GB RAM option.