Constant BSODS, Issues booting, erratic Video Card Fan on boot, etc.

writhziden · 24 Jun 2012

The first four (last four upside down) items that show up as AUTO in the list of your upside down image are what need to be changed. The first four (TCL, TRCD, TRP, TRAS) should be 9-9-9-25

Dave76 · 25 Jun 2012

aquitas said:

I decided to enter the bios to see if anything had changed and something had. As you can see in the second attached picture, the bus frequency was set to 200 and the PCIE was set to 100. The time prior to this they were both set to auto. I was not given an option to change them back to auto, they were restricted specifically to a range (200-600 for the first one, cant remember the second one).

These will show when you set the AI Overclocking Tuner to Manual.
They are at the standard stock settings.
Don't worry about them.

As writhziden mentioned, change the first four RAM timings.
Just select them and you can enter the numbers.
Change the first four and leave the rest on 'Auto'.

aquitas · 27 Jun 2012

3 days ago, after reading writh's post I set those four settings to specified 9 9 9 25, crashed today while playing a game. DMP file attached. "Memory Management".

//edited.

aquitas · 15 Jul 2012

So I assume you guys have given up. For the record i found something very strange. I was looking through my order history on newegg and noticed that he ram i purchased was ddr3 1600 but you suggest i run my ram at 1333 which I assumed at the time was because you thought my ram was 1333. So that must mean that either you are wrong and my ram is really 1600 or newegg gave me the wrong ram. Assuming you were right and the build is still crashing (i have the timings still set to what you requested) or I should try the timings at 1600. The board specs on newegg says 1600 (o.c.)/1333 so I'm assuming either would work.

This is all interesting for me because i'm thinking of getting more ram and a new motherboard and I figured i would try to get ram of the same speed and timings as my current ram to save a little money and to possibly replicate these crashes with separate but identical hardware.

writhziden · 15 Jul 2012

Sorry you fell through the cracks. Dave probably thought I would analyze it and I probably thought he would or maybe we both missed that you uploaded an attachment. Whatever the reason, my apologies.

You were asked to run at 1333 because 1600 RAM is not compatible with your processor. Your processor can only reliably support 1333 RAM. AMD Phenom :

Integrated DRAM Controller with AMD Memory Optimizer Technology[*]A high-bandwidth, low-latency integrated memory controller

Supports PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066); PC2-6400 (DDR2-800), PC2-5300 (DDR2-667), PC2-4200 (DDR2-533) or PC2-3200 (DDR2-400) SDRAM unbuffered DIMMs – AM2+
Support for unregistered DIMMs up to PC2 8500(DDR2-1066MHz) and PC3 10600 (DDR3-1333MHz) – AM3
Up to 17.1GB/s memory bandwidth for DDR2 and up to 21GB/s memory bandwidth for DDR3
Benefit: Quick access to system memory for better performance.

Running 1600 RAM at 1600 MHz may damage your processor, your RAM, the motherboard, and/or the power supply over time since it is essentially overclocking the processor to run at that speed.

System Building and Compatibility

The crash report you uploaded indicated memory_corruption, so it was probably still memory related.

aquitas · 15 Jul 2012

Ah it was the processor limiting the speed. So.... based on the BSOD, could be the ram, could be the ram slots?

writhziden · 15 Jul 2012

Have you changed your BIOS settings as requested by Dave and I? Timings, voltages, etc.?

Have you tried a different PSU?

Are you able to start with any configuration other than slots 2 and 4?

Dave is very good with these problems, and his suspects were the CPU and PSU. You have not yet stated whether you addressed those concerns.

aquitas · 15 Jul 2012

I have changed the settings and it has crashed since (see previous posts). I am not able to start in any other ram configuration. I'll try a different PSU soon.

writhziden · 15 Jul 2012

Try to borrow a PSU from a friend, or if you do buy one, make sure you but it from a store that will allow you to return it for a full refund if it does not solve the problem.

The fact that you cannot start in any other RAM configuration is worrisome. I would recommend contacting both the motherboard manufacturer and the processor manufacturer for troubleshooting steps.

Dave76 · 15 Jul 2012

aquitas said:

I have changed the settings and it has crashed since (see previous posts). I am not able to start in any other ram configuration. I'll try a different PSU soon.

Can you please confirm the settings you have changed?
It will help us to know exactly what has been done, so we will know what to try next.

I have just re-read the entire thread, there are several suggestions that have been asked and there is no clear answer what the procedure/results were.

Your biggest issue is the RAM channel A being dead, this can be a settings issue (not likely in this case), CPU or motherboard issue. Remotely possible damage caused by bad PSU.

As mentioned previously, your PSU is suspect, test with other known good PSU if possible.

Are these the settings you changed?
Can you confirm each step?

Dave76 said:

Do you have 'Driver Verifier' enabled?

What PSU do you have?

Did you seat your CPU in the new motherboard?
Bent CPU pins can cause these type of issues.

Agree with writhziden, set your RAM to 1333MHz to see if it will boot.
If writhziden's post above is your CPUZ snips, then you are at 668.9 MHz which is close enough to 1333 MHz.

@meepster, what are/were the exact settings you manually entered?

Download your motherboard manual if you don't already have it: ASUSTeK Computer INC. M4A78T-E

If one RAM card won't post in slots 1 or 3, this is indicating a CPU IMC (Integrated Memory Controller) memory channel issue as that is channel A.
RAM slots 2 and 4 are channel B.
Normal position for your motherboard with two RAM cards is slots 1&2 (counting from the CPU outwards), the orange slots. When running two RAM cards you need to have one in channel A and one in channel B. Slots 1&2 (preferred) or slots 3&4.
Attachment 216856 Attachment 216857
Your motherboard is listed as compatible on the G Skill site: F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ (2Gx2)
That doesn't mean you don't need to adjust some settings to get it to work correctly.

In your BIOS:
Go to 'DRAM Frequency Control' manually set it to 1333 MHz.
Go to 'CPU/NB Voltage' manually set it to 1.20v.
Go to 'DRAM Voltage' manually set it to 1.60v.
Set your first four RAM timings manually to 9-9-9-25.
Set the 'DRAM Command Rate' manually to 2T.
Save and exit your BIOS.

First have only one RAM card installed in slot #2, this is to ensure the system will still boot, as it did before.
If it boots, then shut down, install one RAM card in slot #1, re-boot.
If it fails then I would say you CPU IMC (Integrated Memory Controller) is damaged or not able to function.
This could be due to a bent CPU pin.

Let us know the results, or if you have any questions.

Have you checked the CMOS battery?
Download HWiNFO64
Click on the 'Sensors' button, scroll down and post the 'VBAT' voltage.
Should be above 3.0v.

Do you have any Asus utilities installed?
Un-install them for testing.
They are known to cause system instability.

In response to previous posts:
Re-placing hardware doesn't mean the new hardware is guaranteed to work correctly, it is rare to get two bad components in a row but, it has happened and will happen again.
With new hardware, if the issue isn't resolved, the same tests need to be repeated.

As mentioned previously, you may need to install older graphics drivers, some new drivers are just not stable, others will have issues with certain hardware, so you may need to test several.

aquitas said:

I didn't see anywhere in the test where it allows you to change the amount of times the test run passes, i must have missed it?

Memtest86+ will run until you stop it, if it stops on it's own, that is a failed test.
You need to run a minimum of seven full passes, this will take up to 8 hours, best to run overnight.

In conclusion:
I will research for further information, please reply with full details of what you have and have not tried.
It is your computer and you are the one that ultimately decides what you will do, just keep us informed.

Let us know if you have any questions.