My PC is not working :(

[Mbbest]

Some time ago (several months) my PC wouldnt start at all, just blank screen, I would just turn it off and on and everything would be ok. It happened just few times and it was not big deal.

But before few days things got different. It wont start at all even after 10+ turn off/on, so I started mission to find whats wrong.

Problem details: Power ON - nothing happens - blank screen - not even BIOS info. Nothing.

1. I remove HDD (Sata and power cable) - nothing happens, so its not HDD.
2. I remove HDMI cable from GPU and still nothing
3. I disconnect SS2 PCI card and gamepad wireless receiver but again nothing.

Then i go to memory, remove 3 sticks (4x1GB) and PC working, then i put 2nd stick and ok, then third and again ok, and last one..again ok? wtf?

Then i use PC few times, play games, power off/on..everything great, and after 2-4 days again same problem, blank screen and pc doesnt boot. Now i have removed just 1 stick and its working..for now..but i am not sure it is memory because when i put all 4 sticks back everything works. I play games (NFS Shift, Tropico 3..) for several hours and its all fine, Windows report 4GB RAM. (Win7 64-bit)

Can CPU or motherboard be problem? I think system just doesnt accept sometimes 4 sticks. (motherbord support 4x2GB)

How can i be sure that memory is ok?

NOTE: before 1 month I upgraded memory, from 2x1GB to 4x1GB, memory is from same manufacturer, same speed, maybe different chips. Now when PC working it use 2X1GB old sticks and 1GB new stick.

Sorry for bad writing, i dont know English.

Please help.

 

[thefabe]

I would suggest downloading and running memtest. run it with 1 stick of ram at a time run at least 5 times per stick. You may find you have a bad stick of ram or possibly since they weren't purchased at the same time some incompatibility. memtst download here |MG| Meatiest 3.5 Download. I would then also suggest you run GPU-z this will tell you the memory manufacturer and the speed as well as the timings. Make sure they are the same or at least the timings and speed. Usually if they are different but compatible they will run at the lowest speed .CPUID

 

[Night Hawk]

Along with memtest the SIW tool or System Info for Windows will show what dimm is in what dimm slot. SIW | System Information for Windows by Gabriel Topala

With some boards however problems are seen when all slots are populated for some reason even when all dimms are matched and good!

 

[ickymay]

If this was me I would make sure my motherboard had the latest BIOS and I would have a look around in the BIOS menu to ensure there wasn't any acceleration set ?

problems with ram timings with slightly different ram sticks can cause issues.

for sure by your description this is a motherboard / BIOS / ram problem

 

[Night Hawk]

That's an excellent point! Another would be If the dimms were mixed at all the individual voltages could easily vary as well as the difference in timings. These are both things to consider.

 

[Mbbest]

Ok, here are first tests:

Configuration of memory were like this:
Row1: 1GB old stick
Row2: 1GB new stick
Row3: 1GB old stick
Row4: 1GB new stick
(1-3, 2-4 because of dual channel)

I didnt have time to do 5x test on all sticks.

Stick 1 (from row1) : memtest: DDR2 400MHz (DDR800) CAS 5-5-5-18 - 2873MB/s - 3 TESTS OK

Stick 2 (from row2) : memtest: DDR2 400MHz (DDR800) CAS 5-5-5-18 - 2664MB/s - 1 TEST OK

Stick 3 (from row3): memtest: DDR2 400MHz (DDR800) CAS 5-5-5-18 - 2873MB/s - 1 TEST OK

Stick 4 (from row4): memtest: DDR2 400Mhz (DDR800) CAS 5-5-5-18 - 2664MB/s - 5 TEST OK
Last one i check 5 times because PC started working when i pull out it and leave 3 sticks. Its seams that everything is OK with memory..only thing which is not clear to me why are old sticks 2873MB/s and new one 2664MB/s? It should be other way by logic

Here is picture from CPU-z when all sticks are in PC (now):
http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/3605/cpuz.jpg

Just one weird thing, with all 4 sticks in PC when i run memtest, after few seconds (2-3) PC restarts. Memtest 3.4 (old version didnt crush but i left it just 1-2 min to work..)

Before returning all sticks i changed its position, now its 1-3 new sticks, and 2-4 old sticks. Here are what CPU-z say for every stick:
Stick 1 (new one) : http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/4162/cpuzmem1.jpg
Stick 2 (old one) : http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/4117/cpuzmem2.jpg
Stick 3 (new one) : http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/8029/cpuzmem3.jpg
Stick 4 (old one) : http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/213/cpuzmem4.jpg

I will now try with BIOS update, it cant hurt

EDIT: Bios is now up-to-date (F4..it was F3), but only change in new one is some irrelevant function so i dont think Bios will help.

Now i will wait, if it happens again it means my motherboard dont like 4 sticks.

 

[Maxman]

There are two different sets of RAM modules installed inside your Rig i.e of Kingmax Semiconductor as well as of Nanya Technology. You may better consult your local hardware technician and ask him to test / replace four alternate RAM modules of similar nature and class and see if they work resourcefully.

   Tip

If you're planning to replace entire RAM modules, you may better re-install Windows 7 operating system so that the platform configures it's primary registry in conjunction with virtual memory efficiently.

ICKYMAY is right... distinguished ram modules having different parity information is the actual cause of problem...

 

[Mbbest]

On every modul there is label: "Kingmax DDR2 800" so i had hopes it will work

1 more question, why sometimes they work and sometimes dont? Like now, i turned of/on pc several times and every time it works. Why PC just sometimes dont want to start??

 

[Maxman]

On every modul there is label: "Kingmax DDR2 800" so i had hopes it will work

1 more question, why sometimes they work and sometimes dont? Like now, i turned of/on pc several times and every time it works. Why PC just sometimes dont want to start??

Click here to visit Microsoft Online Crash Analysis Website and follow the instructions...

 

[Night Hawk]

The 4 dimms are all labeled Kingston. But if you look at just the transfer per second rate you obviously have two different pairs not the identical across.

The timings are identical which is good. But the two pairs were made for Kingston by two separate companies. Kingmax Nanya as Maxman was pointing out there. I suspect if you installed the 4th dimm in the first slot with the other 3 and ran memtest on it for several hours you might find a few errors.

The SIW tool mentioned before would list all 4 dimms on one main screen showing far more detail about each one by itself.

 

[Mbbest]

The 4 dimms are all labeled Kingston. But if you look at just the transfer per second rate you obviously have two different pairs not the identical across.

The timings are identical which is good. But the two pairs were made for Kingston by two separate companies. Kingmax Nanya as Maxman was pointing out there. I suspect if you installed the 4th dimm in the first slot with the other 3 and ran memtest on it for several hours you might find a few errors.

The SIW tool mentioned before would list all 4 dimms on one main screen showing far more detail about each one by itself.

As for mem test, last version 3.5 (or 2.5..nevermind ) just crush pc (restart) when i run it with all 4 dimms.

I discover new fact about my problem. PC wont start after "long" time being turned off, if you turn off/on lets say every 5 min it will always start. Which leads me to believe that it has something to do with power (and 4dimms and diff.memory type )

Now i left 3 dimms (2 old in dual ch. and 1 new) and turn off in bios "power on on 2 clicks" so it dont spend power (wireless mouse and keyboard receiver) on anything when its in turn off state.

If problem still be there i will go for 2 100% identical dimms with 2GB each.

Thanks everyone for help.

 

[Night Hawk]

I have four dimm slots here for upto 8gb and simply went for 2gb dimms in order to replace the original pair of 1gb at the time when the prices finally were coming down. You should be able to pick up at this for a real bargain! Hope that works out for you.

 

[eralper]

I had a similar case. My new WinUltimate was working successfully but later updating new Windows Update package, in the morning I could not open even the bios
I had to change the board on the service.

 

[Mbbest]

I have four dimm slots here for upto 8gb and simply went for 2gb dimms in order to replace the original pair of 1gb at the time when the prices finally were coming down. You should be able to pick up at this for a real bargain! Hope that works out for you.

Yes if you live in USA

2x 2GB DDR2 800 in my country is 100$+ and monthly paycheck is 500-800$

 

[Night Hawk]

I have four dimm slots here for upto 8gb and simply went for 2gb dimms in order to replace the original pair of 1gb at the time when the prices finally were coming down. You should be able to pick up at this for a real bargain! Hope that works out for you.

Yes if you live in USA

2x 2GB DDR2 800 in my country is 100$+ and monthly paycheck is 500-800$

OUCH!

The pair of 2gb dimms in now were first seen priced about $300US when the 2gb size dimms were first coming available I waited until the price fell down enough right before the 7 betas were released to give the system a boost in preparation for the 64bit 7 as well as the extra ram needed when working with video.

Eventually the prices will come down where you are once you start seeing the prices on DDR3 memory dropping there. Since memory prices typically remain higher then other hardwares which tend to see prices fall faster the slow economy is one likely reason prices fell here a bit faster.

 

[Mbbest]

OK, just a small update on this problem.

PC is working perfectly with all 4 dimms inserted, it looks like memory isn't problem at all, it has something to do with power supply or motherboard and bios.

I changed 2 settings (bios):
1. Turned off - Power on by mouse
2. HPET mode changed from 32-bit to 64-bit.

First one must be the guilty one. Why? I don't know. In manual says that my power supply must have "at least 1A on the +5VSB" (and i don't have a clue did my power supply can do that), anyway, because of that 1A when i have 4 dimms installed, my PC -sometimes- show just blank screen.

If anyone knows where to see info about that 1A on my power supply it would be great. Here is link to my mini tower case with pre-installed power supply.
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MTE1NQ==

As for HEPT mode..according to manual its some irrelevant function so i think its not it.
My English is bad. Sorry.

 

[Night Hawk]

Your case came with the supply?! I can tell you from experience never buy a case with a supply included! The companies use the lowest end models they can find to dump in as a combo deal when those are often bottom shelf!

If your changes in the bios allowed all 4 dimms to be set at the same voltage and timings that would be part of the correction and better results you are seeing now however. Glad to see you made some real progress with that!