Why does Windows show LESS RAM than what is installed

Welcome back to The Windows Club. Here’s why does Windows show LESS RAM than what is installed. The reduction in available system memory depends on the configuration of the following: The devices installed in the computer and the memory reserved by those devices. This is called Hardware Reserved Memory. The ability of the motherboard to handle memory. The System BIOS/UEFI version and settings. Certain BIOS settings - like memory remapping can affect how much RAM is available to the OS. Mismatched RAM Modules. If one stick of RAM isn’t seated properly or is incompatible, Windows may detect it but not use it fully. The version of Windows OS that is installed. In MSCONFIG, under Boot, there’s a setting for maximum memory. If this is checked and set incorrectly, it can artificially limit usable RAM. For more details, check out our complete guide.