Well, if a new OS isn't a helpful suggestion, then I expect 'new ram' is probably not that helpful either.

Which is rough, because it really looks like some of your RAM is dead, or the motherboard/socket is messing up. Problems with hardware are difficult to resolve without replacing something. Have you updated your BIOS/Motherboard drivers?

odd thing is, i just installed 2 new RAM chips; I have 4 slots, but if i put a chip in the slot closest to the CPU, the PC won't start. but it hasn't been crashing either, so i have to take a victory where I can. I was suspect of one of the RAM chips anyway, and after its removal, my PC starting working again.

so I only have 3 8 GB chips installed for the total of 24GB, and I can't change that, otherwise the PC won't run.

never updated the BIOS, doing that give me anxiety, since i haven't done it before and knowing if i screw it up, then my PC is done.

That does narrow it down some, sounds like you're definitely having motherboard issues. Good news is FM2 socket motherboards aren't that expensive and are still in stock.

but if I going to replace the motherboard, granted they are cheap, doing that step makes me consider just going and buying a new PC altogether.

If you an afford a whole new PC, go for it. The motherboards I was looking at were 50-120 dollars, which is about 5-10% of a decent PC.

found the exact one i have for $80. think I'll get it.

Don't forget thermal paste if you don't have any on hand! Other than that, best of luck to you and hope this resolves the issue.

i got the thermal paste; i did a tear down and cleaning of the CPU fan and cooling fin when this nonsense started happening, and wiped off all the old paste from the cooling fin & the CPU. i later plan on updating the HDD to a SDD drive; I did this with my laptop and it is crazy fast now.

Just out of morbid curiosity, how old is your PC?

Edit: as a side note, be careful witch slots your putting the ram chips into. I had similar issues before i discovered that the ram had to be put into specific slots if there is more then one.

got it in 2015. it's been running fine up until about a week ago. no new hardware or software.

The best i can say is try slotting the ram chips in different ways. Try reversing the slots that they are in and try putting only one in at a time. A little trail and error might help sus things out.

I have 2 blue slots and 2 black slots.

I initially put the new chips in the blue slots, then one in between them in a black slot, as my last black slot apparently stops the PC from booting.

I agree with Eviscerator that it looks like some of your RAM is dead.

Btw, Windows 8.1 is outdated (Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows 8.1 on January 9, 2018) and therefore a security risk so upgrade to Windows 10.

I thought that they just ended support for 7?

with Windows 8.1, they are still doing extended support and security updates until 2023. Windows 7 support ended in January of 2020.

Yeah, Win8 is supported until January 2023.

actually it's available as a free download still. I upped win 7 for free (64 bit) I wish I had a link for you, but you should find it in a search. And You'll need a recordable dvd if you want to save a restore disc

Based on his followup comment, it sounds like the motherboard's ram sockets are going fucky.

Or worse, the sockets went fucky and are degrading the RAM, necessitating both be replaced.

Sadly so, that was my first thought as well. gonna need a new motherboard to fix the ram slot problem if im guessing right.

Are you using the builtin video controller? Some of it might get reserved for that in the BIOS settings.

Also when you remove sticks of RAM does the 7.18 GB usable change?

Suggestion, in case you haven't already: swap the sticks around, try all four sticks in different slots. Narrow down whether the problem is with the slot or the stick of RAM. If the problem moves to a different slot then you have a bad stick.

Long shot: If you have spare/junk hard drives around you could put one in your computer (take your good ones out) and install windows fresh, or a different version, to see if the 'usable' limit might be a software problem. Note, I see your "new OS" comment and I'm not trying to tell you to upgrade to fix the problem... I only suggest this because it's a possible troubleshooting path.

i've switched the memory sticks around several times, that's what led me to discover that putting a memory stick in the 4th slot makes the PC not boot.

i bought 2 new sticks a few days ago and those are the ones in the 1st paired slots, with one of the old ones in the slot in between them. i am going to replace the old ram with 2 more new sticks in the near future.

the video card is built into the motherboard. haven't got around to poking about the BIOS to see if changes can be made.