Check Computer RAM

Your computer uses RAM to store information for running programs. If your computer is running slowly, a possible culprit is too little RAM. You can check how much RAM you have installed, as well as how much is currently being used. If your RAM is not appearing correctly, there may be a few things you can do.

Steps

Windows

  1. Open the System window. There are several ways that you can quickly open this window.
    • Press ⊞ Win+Pause. This will open the System window.
    • Open the Start menu and right-click on "Computer." Select "Properties" to open the System window.
    • Open the Start menu, select "Settings," then "System," and then click "About" (Windows 10).
  2. Find the "Installed memory (RAM)" entry. This will tell you how much memory is installed and recognized by Windows.
    • Note that the "Usable" amount of memory will be lower than the "Installed" amount. This is because memory manufacturers report size differently than Windows. For example, 8 GB of installed memory may be reported as 7.88 GB of usable memory.
  3. Use the Command Prompt for a detailed report. If you need more information about the RAM that you have installed, such as the speed or the capacity of each individual module, you can use the Command Prompt.
    • Open the Command Prompt from the Start menu. You can also press ⊞ Win+R and type cmd to start it.[1]
    • Type wmic MEMORYCHIP get BankLabel,DeviceLocator,Capacity,Speed and press ↵ Enter. This will display a few columns.
    • The BankLabel column will tell you which slots the RAM chips are installed in. The Capacity column will show how large each module is, expressed in bytes. The DeviceLocator column is another expression of the slot the RAM is installed in. The Speed column will tell you what speed each module is.
  4. Check your current RAM usage. You can use the Task Manager to check how much RAM your computer is currently using.
    • Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+Esc to open the Task Manager.
    • Click the "Performance" tab. If you don't see this tab, click the "More details" option at the bottom of the window.
    • Select the "Memory" option (Windows 8 and later). This will allow you to see your RAM usage.
    • Find how much RAM is used and available. In Windows 7, it is referred to as "Physical Memory." RAM is designed to be used, so there's no cause for alarm is the vast majority of it is currently in use.
  5. Determine why Windows may be underreporting RAM. There may be several different reasons why Windows is not showing all of the RAM that you have installed on your computer:
    • If you are running a 32-bit version of Windows, you can only make use of up to 4 GB of RAM. Any RAM over this amount will not be recognized by 32-bit Windows. You can see which version you have at the top of the System window. Upgrading to a 64-bit version of Windows will allow you to access more RAM.
    • If your RAM modules are different speeds, they may not be functioning together properly. Use the Command Prompt command in the previous step to determine if all of your RAM is the same speed.
    • If one of your RAM modules is failing, it may not be registering in Windows. You can use the free MemTest program to scan your memory modules and check for errors. See How to Test PC RAM with MemTEst86 for detailed instructions.
    • If the RAM modules are not supported by your motherboard, they will not be recognized or used by Windows. Check your motherboard's documentation to ensure that any RAM you've added is supported.

Mac

  1. Click the Apple menu and select "About This Mac." This will open a small window with some basic information about your system.
  2. Find the "Memory" entry. This will tell you how much memory you have installed, as well as the type and speed.
  3. Click "More Info" and then "Memory" tab to see the layout. Most Macs have two or more RAM slots, but you may not have sticks installed in all of them. The "Memory" tab will show how many slots you have on your computer and which slots are currently in use.
  4. Click the "Memory upgrade Instructions" for details on upgrading your RAM. This link will take you to Apple's guide to upgrading your Mac's memory. you can upgrade the memory on most Mac computers, except the Air line.
  5. Check your current RAM usage. The Activity Monitor will allow you to see how much RAM is being used and how much is available.[2]
    • Open the Applications folder and then open the Utilities folder.
    • Launch Activity Monitor and then click the "System Memory" tab.
    • "Memory Used" is how much RAM is currently being used. You'll need to subtract this from "Physical Memory" to see your available. As long as you're not experiencing performance problems, there's nothing to be concerned about all your memory being used.
  6. Determine why your RAM is not appearing. Sometimes your installed RAM may not be recognized by OS X. There are several things you can try to diagnose the problem:
    • Reseat your RAM. It's possible that a RAM stick has come loose and is no longer connected. Open up the RAM bay on your Mac and check the connections for all of the RAM sticks.
    • Run MemTest to test your installed RAM. If your RAM is failing it may not be reporting correctly in OS X. You can download MemTest for free from memtestosx.org.

Ubuntu Linux

  1. Open the Terminal. While you can check the installed RAM using the System Info window, it can be faster to work in the Terminal. You can quickly open the Terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T.
    • This process is for Ubuntu, but should work in other Debian distributions.
  2. Type .free -m and press ↵ Enter. This will display a small readout about your installed memory.
  3. Find your installed, used, and available RAM. The free -m command will display information about your RAM usage:[3]
    • The Total column will show how much RAM you have installed, in MB. This will be slightly different than the advertised amount on your RAM sticks. For example, 8 GB may be reported as 7997 MB.
    • The Used column will show how much of your RAM is currently in use, and the Free column will show how much is available. RAM is meant to be used, so don't be alarmed if the majority of your RAM is in use.
  4. Determine why Ubuntu is not displaying all of your RAM. There are several reasons that Ubuntu is not displaying all of the RAM that you have installed:
    • If your operating system is 32-bits, Ubuntu will only recognize 4 GB of RAM, even if more is installed.
    • Check that your RAM is all the same speed. Mismatched RAM can cause problems.
    • Ensure that your RAM is properly seated. If the RAM is not inserted correctly, it won't be recognized by Linux.


Tips

  • RAM, also called memory, is not the same as hard disk space. Hard disk space is more properly known by the term "storage."

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://superuser.com/questions/650208/how-to-check-my-ram-configuration-windows-7
  2. ↑ http://www.macinstruct.com/node/423
  3. ↑ http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/check-ram-in-ubuntu/
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