You have half your RAM allocated for hardware, excluding the iGPU.
You have half your RAM allocated for hardware, excluding the iGPU.
This build feels quite old now. The RAM slots A2 and B2 match the manual instructions exactly. Here are the details: When I check Task Manager, it shows both sticks are installed and reports 16GB total, but it says only 8.1GB is available—hardware seems restricted and performance is slow. I've tried several fixes: removed the CMOS battery to reset BIOS, applied optimized defaults, updated BIOS to the latest stable version, verified msconfig isn't limiting memory, ensured UEFI is enabled, and tested enabling/disabling settings. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I performed some online research and opened the Windows configuration utility. In the main view, the "boot" tab should appear at the top. Click it to proceed. If the initial line isn't selected, choose it and then select "Advanced options." A new window will show a checkbox labeled "Maximum memory." I wondered if that option was enabled.
I observed increased memory consumption following recent Windows updates. Changing my network and internet settings to a limited plan restored normal usage. Keep in mind you'll need to verify updates yourself. I can't guarantee it will help on your system, as another machine I own wasn't impacted. Some users reported issues after the updates, though it's unclear if new features caused the problem.
Turn off the dual channel mode, perform extended tests without any specific purpose (no crashes or errors), and then switch to another operating system to investigate further. If it fails to allocate sufficient RAM, consider adjusting settings or checking resource limits.
I never really understood the real reason behind it. I enabled metered connection and disabled delivery optimization so my PC wouldn’t download updates from online or local devices. The Service Host Network was consuming a lot of resources. Yet it still didn’t clarify why usage dropped to 50% as observed in searches. Many also reported increased activity after applying updates.
Delivery Optimization by itself isn't enough to solve the problem.