2 Issues Ram And Freezing

[NevoraskiA]

Problem 1: For as long as I can remember. My windows 7 64-bit operating system will say that I have 8 GB of RAM installed, but that I only have 4 GB of usable ram. I have reseated the ram and messed around in the bios and still can't figure it out.

Problem 2: For a short while now (I tend to leave my computer on all the time) I will be on my computer for a few days with no issues. I come back to my computer after a few days and the computer is locked up. Like I can click things and ctrl alt del but nothing happens other than the start menu opening. If I'm in a program and it's running from when I first turned on the computer I can keep using it til I close out of it, but then I can't reopen it. I have to restart the computer to fix it. Now as of today it happens after I've been on the computer for a short time like 5-15 minutes (every time without fail). Have ran noadware, malwarebytes, ccleaner, advanced system care, and panda global protection. Nothing is seeming to solve this issue. I'd like to avoid reinstalling windows if possible, but I'm wondering if that's not an option anymore... I may have to. Any thoughts?
(and yes the computer works fine in safe mode with networking)

Build info below in case it might be needed before anybody asks.

PSU: EVGA Supernova 1300 G2
CPU: Intel I7 Quadcore Lynnfield
GPU: XFX Radeon R9 Double Dissipation Black/Black Edition
SSD: Samsung Evo 840
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint
RAM: 4 (2 GB) sticks of Ripjaw G-Skill Series
Mobo: Asus P7P55D-E Pro
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit

 

[1etherer]

Problem 1,

What is bios showing on RAM?

Try 1 RAM stick at a time, to check both are functioning correctly.

If not, replace damaged one and I'd advised doing a memory test on RAM.

If they are both working and your a comfortable with IT troubleshooting / tweaking - check for a firmware update. I had this issue before and a firmware update fixed it.



Problem 2, you said it works fine in safe mode with networking, so that kinda points to driver issue.

Have you installed any new drivers recently?

 

[NevoraskiA]

Problem 1,

What is bios showing on RAM?

Try 1 RAM stick at a time, to check both are functioning correctly.

If not, replace damaged one and I'd advised doing a memory test on RAM.

If they are both working and your a comfortable with IT troubleshooting / tweaking - check for a firmware update. I had this issue before and a firmware update fixed it.

Problem 2, you said it works fine in safe mode with networking, so that kinda points to driver issue.

Have you installed any new drivers recently?

Well bios is show 4 GB... but windows shows 8 but 4 usable. Haven't tried 1 stick at a time yet. IDK what the voltages say in bios I haven't messed with those.

I haven't installed any drivers for months. So that doesn't seem to be the issue. I actually just used DriverNavigator to update my drivers to try and solve this issue... with no success.

 

[Joe C]

Try checking your windows update history to see if Microsoft slipped a driver in when you were not looking

also, how old is the bios on that board? There's quite a few updates and several of those updates involve stability and memory compatibility
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/P7P55DE_PRO/HelpDesk_Download/

 

[NevoraskiA]

Try checking your windows update history to see if Microsoft slipped a driver in when you were not looking

also, how old is the bios on that board? There's quite a few updates and several of those updates involve stability and memory compatibility
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/P7P55DE_PRO/HelpDesk_Download/

Yeah not sure how old the bios is... I'll just download the newest one and install it. LOL

Ok I just checked the bios and I'm confused... bios version is 2.61
On the bios update website it says newest version is v.1703

I may just wipe the system this Sunday and start from scratch to fix the freezing issue... not sure I'll be able to fix it. Gotta backup my itunes though... and make note of all the songs on my Spotify as it's probably going to get screwed up (and my itunes isn't up to date so I can't compare spotify to it to see if spotify isn't screwed up)... which it's gonna be a pain to do... but meh >.<... I still need to wipe my hdd also it still has my old install on it... just been using my ssd for everything because I don't feel like backing everything up... may just wipe everything and say screw it and start over fresh.

UPDATE: ok I'm starting to wonder if this might somehow be a hardware issue now.
The computer was running fine in safe mode the first 2-3 times that I was in it, but now this last time it wasn't. It didn't freeze like it does it normal mode, but it was lagging horribly.

UPDATE 2: OK then, well this is freakin weird. When I got my new motherboard to replace my old one, my old ram would not work with the new motherboard for some reason. My brother said it wasn't compatible and we bought 4 new sticks of ram. Well I just tested all my current sticks 2 at a time and checked bios and it said 4 GB of ram every time. For the heck of it I put in 1 of my new sticks and it worked to my surprise. I then put in the 2nd stick also (both in slots 1 and 2)... then put in the newest sticks in slots 3 and 4... now it says 8 GB of RAM in windows. Not sure if I have a bad stick of ram or what's going on. Bios sees all the sticks no matter what configuration... whatever... I have that issue solved now at least. Now let's just hope the freezing issue can be resolved or that it already is.

UPDATE 3: Nope, didn't solve the freezing issue. The computer is still freezing. The RAM issue is fixed, but not the freezing issue. Not sure which way this is going to go, but I'm leaning either towards CPU, GPU, or Operating System right now... and seeing as how it was lagging the one time in Safe Mode... Operating System is highly unlikely unless it was a fluke one time thing or it was related to RAM. I have no clue... I'm at a loss as to what to do right now.

UPDATE 4: I may have solved the freezing issue. Not sure what's causing it though.
I went into resource monitor under the CPU tab and suspended PSANHost.exe which apparently is a file associated with Panda Antivirus... and after the process winds down the computer goes back to normal. I guess I'll try uninstalling and reinstalling the antivirus program and see what happens.

 

[1etherer]

RAM has to be placed in color coded order of the board. it should state in your manual, so thats why it must be working now.

Uninstall panda AV its crap. install Avira or Avast.

 

[carnageX]

I haven't installed any drivers for months. So that doesn't seem to be the issue. I actually just used DriverNavigator to update my drivers to try and solve this issue... with no success.

Get rid of any Driver Downloader applications you have - they're all pretty much junk and do more harm than good 90% of the time.

 

[MidnightShadow]

Get rid of any Driver Downloader applications you have - they're all pretty much junk and do more harm than good 99% of the time.

FTFY, but yeah, those things suck.

 

[NevoraskiA]

RAM has to be placed in color coded order of the board. it should state in your manual, so thats why it must be working now.

Uninstall panda AV its crap. install Avira or Avast.

Nah... I had 4 ram slots and had all 4 full... that wasn't the issue. I've been working on computers for like 3 years now... know what i'm doing when it comes to that.

 

[1etherer]

Nah... I had 4 ram slots and had all 4 full... that wasn't the issue. I've been working on computers for like 3 years now... know what i'm doing when it comes to that.

If you worked on computers for 3 years now, then you'd KNOW if you have 4 slots and 2 RAM sticks or even 1 RAM stick! they cannot be placed in any slot you like... they have to be set a certain way.

So was just making sure

And yes, panda is not as good as Avast or avira and given you find it crashes, why are you rejecting troubleshooting advise?