If you notice a significant portion of your RAM is unusable, leading to slow performance, it might be due to a high hardware reserved RAM. You should consider reducing the hardware reserved memory to increase and maintain the system performance by following the methods listed in this guide. This issue often occurs when BIOS allocates more memory than necessary for hardware components such as integrated GPU, network adapter, and other peripherals. While this is one of the primary causes, it may not be the only one, as other factors, such as incorrect system configurations and outdated drivers, can also lead to this issue.
1. Change Maximum Memory in Boot Options
You can resolve high hardware reserved memory by making the correct changes in the boot options. There is an option called Maximum Memory in the boot options that restricts the system to use only the specified memory. By unchecking this option, you will ensure that the system utilizes all the physical memory and does not reserve any unnecessary memory for the hardware, which could lead to decreased performance.
2. Adjust UMA (Unified Memory Architecture) Frame Buffer Size
UMA (Unified Memory Architecture) determines how much RAM the system allocates to the integrated graphics card for processing purposes. If you reduce the UMA, more RAM will be available to use for the operating system and applications installed on your PC. Some motherboards don’t call this option UMA. Instead, they referred to this option as memory allocation. So, if you are unable to find UMA in the motherboard bios settings, look for the Memory Allocation option.
3. Check your system type
If you are using a 32-bit operating system, you need to upgrade it to 64-bit because a 32-bit operating system can only address up to 4GB of RAM, meaning above this limit won’t be available to the operating system. A 64-bit operating system assigns less RAM to the hardware reserved than a 32-bit operating system. Therefore, you should consider upgrading if you have a 32-bit operating system.
4. Configure Virtual Memory
Virtual memory can be allocated from the storage devices such as hard drives. It is a memory management technique that allows users to extend the RAM available to operating systems by allocating from the hard drives. By configuring the virtual memory, you can run larger applications simultaneously. Plus, it can also reduce the hardware-reserved RAM by optimizing memory allocation. If none of the solutions help reduce the hardware-reserved memory, try resetting the motherboard BIOS settings to default, as misconfigured BIOS settings might be causing the issue. If this also fails, consider upgrading your RAM for a permanent solution.
