I think the title says most of it. I have an 8 GB dual channel kit and a single 2 GB stick, all of them at 1333 MHz. I recently got a new MOBO (Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3) and reinstalled Windows 7. Windows is showing that I have 10 GB installed but it says I only have about 6 GB available. Why is this and how can I fix it? I don't want to have to buy new RAM. My first thought is that it is a problem with using a single stick in a dual channel motherboard.
Have you tried simply reseating all the sticks? I recently had a similar issue where i had 6gb installed but only 4gb available. The problem was literally just that one side of a 2gb stick wasn't fully seated. I just pulled it out and popped it back in, fixed everything.
sometimes what can happen is windows will reserve some of your ram for your gpu. theres a way you can change this in control panel and it might be worth giving it a shot.
your ram might also be in the wrong slots as most mobos are picky when it comes down to placement. may be worth it to skim through your motherboard manual.
Thanks, I had the dual channel kit installed in slots 1 and 2 and it wants them installed in slots 2 and 4. >_> Logic, amirite?