Really strange problem, hard reboots on Windows 7 with 8gb of ram

[Mikav84]

Like the topic says. This is a problem i have been wrestling with ever since i built this newest computer. In a nutshell: everything run great with 4 GB of ram, but if i put the last two sticks is, i'll get random hard restarts. It doesn't matter which sticks i remove or which slots are in use. I've had this problem for months now, and still haven't figured out any correlation to the crashes. They can happen while bios is loading, while ram check is going on, while system is loading, while idling, while sleeping, or while doing something heavy like video editing or playing games.

I'm pretty well versed with computers, but this one leaves me just flabbergasted. I have no idea what to do next. I've exhausted all the common stuff:

- Ran memtests & others, no issues, and downgraded mem speed to 1066 via a suggestion from Corsair. No help. Got new modules via RMA, still the same issues.

- Contacted gigabyte, explained the problem, got a new main board via RMA. Still the same issues.

- Tried a fresh install of the OS on a different HD, and quite unsurprisingly, the same issues remain.



I'm really at my wits end. I have to work on this computer on images and video, and the extra 4GB would really make a difference for me. Right now i cant use them while working, because i'm risking data loss.

There's nothing in the sys/minidump folder, and I've set it on "don't restart automatically on crash". There are no blue screens or errors, just a hard restart.

Last night i left the computer idling, with all 8gb installed, to see what happens. I woke up in the night with the main board giving some continuous strange noises, and the screens were black. The noise pattern wasn't in the reference manual, so i don't really know what it is. This is the only time this has happened.



All in all, i have no idea what to try next. Any help and suggestion will be greatly appreciated, since this problem is one that chips away at my productivity.

 

[zigzag3143]

Like the topic says. This is a problem i have been wrestling with ever since i built this newest computer. In a nutshell: everything run great with 4 GB of ram, but if i put the last two sticks is, i'll get random hard restarts. It doesn't matter which sticks i remove or which slots are in use. I've had this problem for months now, and still haven't figured out any correlation to the crashes. They can happen while bios is loading, while ram check is going on, while system is loading, while idling, while sleeping, or while doing something heavy like video editing or playing games.

I'm pretty well versed with computers, but this one leaves me just flabbergasted. I have no idea what to do next. I've exhausted all the common stuff:

- Ran memtests & others, no issues, and downgraded mem speed to 1066 via a suggestion from Corsair. No help. Got new modules via RMA, still the same issues.

- Contacted gigabyte, explained the problem, got a new main board via RMA. Still the same issues.

- Tried a fresh install of the OS on a different HD, and quite unsurprisingly, the same issues remain.



I'm really at my wits end. I have to work on this computer on images and video, and the extra 4GB would really make a difference for me. Right now i cant use them while working, because i'm risking data loss.

There's nothing in the sys/minidump folder, and I've set it on "don't restart automatically on crash". There are no blue screens or errors, just a hard restart.

Last night i left the computer idling, with all 8gb installed, to see what happens. I woke up in the night with the main board giving some continuous strange noises, and the screens were black. The noise pattern wasn't in the reference manual, so i don't really know what it is. This is the only time this has happened.



All in all, i have no idea what to try next. Any help and suggestion will be greatly appreciated, since this problem is one that chips away at my productivity.

I m thinking mobo problem. Does your board support 8 gigs? Have you tried the known good pair in the first two, then the last to slots?

Does it do the same in safe mode (F8)?

 

[Mikav84]

Like the topic says. This is a problem i have been wrestling with ever since i built this newest computer. In a nutshell: everything run great with 4 GB of ram, but if i put the last two sticks is, i'll get random hard restarts. It doesn't matter which sticks i remove or which slots are in use. I've had this problem for months now, and still haven't figured out any correlation to the crashes. They can happen while bios is loading, while ram check is going on, while system is loading, while idling, while sleeping, or while doing something heavy like video editing or playing games.

I'm pretty well versed with computers, but this one leaves me just flabbergasted. I have no idea what to do next. I've exhausted all the common stuff:

- Ran memtests & others, no issues, and downgraded mem speed to 1066 via a suggestion from Corsair. No help. Got new modules via RMA, still the same issues.

- Contacted gigabyte, explained the problem, got a new main board via RMA. Still the same issues.

- Tried a fresh install of the OS on a different HD, and quite unsurprisingly, the same issues remain.



I'm really at my wits end. I have to work on this computer on images and video, and the extra 4GB would really make a difference for me. Right now i cant use them while working, because i'm risking data loss.

There's nothing in the sys/minidump folder, and I've set it on "don't restart automatically on crash". There are no blue screens or errors, just a hard restart.

Last night i left the computer idling, with all 8gb installed, to see what happens. I woke up in the night with the main board giving some continuous strange noises, and the screens were black. The noise pattern wasn't in the reference manual, so i don't really know what it is. This is the only time this has happened.



All in all, i have no idea what to try next. Any help and suggestion will be greatly appreciated, since this problem is one that chips away at my productivity.

I m thinking mobo problem. Does your board support 8 gigs? Have you tried the known good pair in the first two, then the last to slots?

Does it do the same in safe mode (F8)?

Thanks for the quick reply!

And yes, the board does support 8gb of ram. The memory im using is on their own supported memory list.

And like i stated in the post, the motherboard has already been replaced once, so a faulty board is almost certainly out of the question. Also, like stated in the first post, i can mix & match the ram stick however i want, and it always works on 4gb, never on 8gb. I've already replaced the ram sticks once too, as stated, so a mechanical problem there is also extremely unlikely.

Thanks for taking the time to try & help me out!

 

[Mikav84]

Just spitballing here - tested cpu core temps on load. I feel they are a tad high, but shouldnt cause trouble. I started seti@home where the temps go up, idle beforehand.