• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Boot problem

Gus

New Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2014
Messages
10 (0.00/day)
Mother board, memory or ?
I was using a Asus Motherboard M4A7BLT-M LE (AMD). It according to the manual can use two memory sticks of 4 GB each. It has two DDR3 slots. I was running a single 2 GB stick in slot DIMM-A1 and everything was working.

Any way I decided to upgrade the memory to 4 GB total so I purchased 2 by 2GB sticks DDR3 1600 at a kit from Kingston KHX1600C9D3B1K2/4G . Plugged them in and powered on the computer. NOTHING happened. The fans started but no beeps, no video. Pulled the "B stick out from slot DIMM-B1 and tried again. This time it worked. Swapped the sticks and it still worked with a stick in slot DIMM-A1 The memory sticks I brought were specifically indicated by the same parts numbers in the mother board handbook. Kingston KHX1600C9D3B1K2/4G. So on this basis I would have assumed that they would work.

Brought another set of memory sticks Patriot PG234G1600ELKA tried again and got the same result. Could only get the computer to start with one stick in slot DIMM-A1


I had a friend check both sets on memory in his computer. Bot sets worked fine with no problem starting his computer in any combination.

Thinking I had a mother board problem I purchased a ASUS H81M-PLUS (Intel) mother board.
Low an behold I have the same problem. I can not get any of the sets on Memory sticks to allow the computer to start when I have a 2 GB stick in each of the two Memory slots DIMM-A1 and DIMM-B1
But if I remove the memory from Slot B the computer will start and boot normally.

When I have the computer running with 1 stick only and using the ASUS H81M-Plusmotherboard I have noticed that the BIOS recognises the single RAM stick as 2 GB DDR3 but at 1333 not the 1600. I have not made any changes to the BIOS settings of either motherboard, everything appears to be on Auto.

The power supply checks out ok and has a capacity much greater than needed. Indeed I have purchased a Shaw Evo 975 power supply and tried that with no effect.

There is talk of a "Memok" switch on what I think is only some ASUS motherboards. can not see such a switch on either of the motherboards I have.

Looked at trying to post a message to support at ASUS but after indicating the mother board model there was so much information to be filled in it was a joke. Especially as the "must have" fields should have been filled in by the motherboard specification any way. I gave up. Could not find the serial number on either of the motherboards to start with. A bit difficult to pull the machine apart while you are using it (be it with on memory stick).

I have checked he seating of the sticks. there is no foreign mater in the slots and no damage in slot two on either motherboard and for it to happen on two different mother boards one would have to say is unlikely. The mother boards were brought months apart.

Any ideas please.
 
Joined
Feb 12, 2008
Messages
693 (0.12/day)
Processor AMD 8350
Motherboard Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0
Cooling Xigmatek Dark Night Night Hawk Edition
Memory 4x4GB DDR3 1600 GSkill Ripjaws CL7
Video Card(s) Gigabyte 980 Ti Xtreme Gaming OC Ed
Storage Samsung 850 Evo 500gb + WD Black 5Tb
Display(s) ASUS VG248QE 144Hz
Case White Corsair 500r
Audio Device(s) onboard
Power Supply Corsair AX860i 860W
Software Win 10 Pro 64bit
Get Memtest86 Free Version (http://www.memtest86.com/download.htm). Mount the .iso file onto a CD & boot to CD drive. Test one stick at a time just to ensure it is not faulty memory, let it run for several passes. Even though you were able to boot with them in another PC it could still be the problem.
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
12,280 (2.37/day)
Location
Oregon
System Name Juliette // HTPC
Processor Intel i7 9700K // AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Motherboard ASUS Prime Z390X-A // ASRock B550 ITX-AC
Cooling Noctua NH-U12 Black // Stock
Memory Corsair DDR4 3600 32gb //G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3600
Video Card(s) ASUS RTX4070 OC// GTX 1650
Storage Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 1Tb, Intel 665p Series M.2 2280 1TB // Samsung 1Tb SSD
Display(s) ASUS VP348QGL 34" Quad HD 3440 x 1440 // 55" LG 4K SK8000 Series
Case Seasonic SYNCRO Q7// Silverstone Granada GD05
Audio Device(s) Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 // HDMI to Samsung HW-R650 sound bar
Power Supply Seasonic SYNCRO 750 W // CORSAIR Vengeance 650M
Mouse Cooler Master MM710 53G
Keyboard Logitech 920-009300 G512 SE
Software Windows 10 Pro // Windows 10 Pro
The new memtest86 5.0 has a USB version that's pretty slick

Motherboard can be picky sometimes with ram just return them and get another type
 
Joined
Nov 19, 2012
Messages
753 (0.18/day)
System Name Chaos
Processor Intel Core i5 4590K @ 4.0 GHz
Motherboard MSI Z97 MPower MAX AC
Cooling Arctic Cooling Freezer i30 + MX4
Memory 4x4 GB Kingston HyperX Beast 2400 GT/s CL11
Video Card(s) Palit GTX 1070 Dual @ stock
Storage 256GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD + 1 TB WD Green (Idle timer off) + 320 GB WD Blue
Display(s) Dell U2515H
Case Fractal Design Define R3
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsair HX750 Platinum
Mouse CM Storm Recon
Keyboard CM Storm Quickfire Pro (MX Red)
You could try flashing the latest BIOS, even if it's a beta one. If you already have the latest one, try hard resetting it by pulling the battery out for 10 seconds (with the system powered down AND the PSU disconnected). Sometimes some of the memory settings carry over even after hitting MemOK! and your new modules don't like what your old one does.
 
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Messages
9,762 (1.91/day)
Location
Jakarta, Indonesia
System Name micropage7
Processor Intel Xeon X3470
Motherboard Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. P55A-UD3R (Socket 1156)
Cooling Enermax ETS-T40F
Memory Samsung 8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3
Video Card(s) NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800
Storage V-GEN03AS18EU120GB, Seagate 2 x 1TB and Seagate 4TB
Display(s) Samsung 21 inch LCD Wide Screen
Case Icute Super 18
Audio Device(s) Auzentech X-Fi Forte
Power Supply Silverstone 600 Watt
Mouse Logitech G502
Keyboard Sades Excalibur + Taihao keycaps
Software Win 7 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Classified
The new memtest86 5.0 has a USB version that's pretty slick

Motherboard can be picky sometimes with ram just return them and get another type
yep, i bought local brand ddr3 and it looks my board doesnt like if i pair the old one with the new one.
i dunno it looks between compability and cant get paired each other :p so i bought another ddr
btw what brand your friend memory?
have you tried to run it with his memory
 

brandonwh64

Addicted to Bacon and StarCrunches!!!
Joined
Sep 6, 2009
Messages
19,542 (3.67/day)
I know this may sound off the wall but put one stick in and go into the bios and set the stick to the specs off the sticker of the ram then save and shut down. Then add the extra stick to see if they will both boot at the static specs you have set in the bios
 
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Messages
620 (0.16/day)
System Name Headshot
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 3800X
Motherboard ASUS Crosshair VI Hero ROG
Cooling Phanteks Glacier One 360 MPH
Memory 2x16GB Corsair Vengence LPX DDR4 @ 3200 16-18-18-18-36
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon Vega64 (Linux)/Gigabyte RX 6600 (Windows VM)
Storage Cruscial P5 1TB nVME, Samsung 850 EVO 250GB, Seagate 1TBx2 (Home/Data), 2TB Seagate (Games)
Display(s) 2x Acer 1080P 144HZ
Case Phanteks Enthoo Luxe White
Audio Device(s) Schiit Stack (Schiit Audio Modi 2 DAC + Magni 3 AMP + Loki)
Power Supply eVGA Supernova 1000 G2
Mouse Razer DeathAdder V2
Keyboard Logitech G710+
Software Arch Linux with Windows 10 Gaming VM
Pull CMOS battery, remove everything from the case, like on a cardboard box, say the motherboard box if you have, something not electrically conductive. Assemble computer out side of the case put CMOS battery back in and try again.
 
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Messages
9,762 (1.91/day)
Location
Jakarta, Indonesia
System Name micropage7
Processor Intel Xeon X3470
Motherboard Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. P55A-UD3R (Socket 1156)
Cooling Enermax ETS-T40F
Memory Samsung 8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3
Video Card(s) NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800
Storage V-GEN03AS18EU120GB, Seagate 2 x 1TB and Seagate 4TB
Display(s) Samsung 21 inch LCD Wide Screen
Case Icute Super 18
Audio Device(s) Auzentech X-Fi Forte
Power Supply Silverstone 600 Watt
Mouse Logitech G502
Keyboard Sades Excalibur + Taihao keycaps
Software Win 7 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Classified
I know this may sound off the wall but put one stick in and go into the bios and set the stick to the specs off the sticker of the ram then save and shut down. Then add the extra stick to see if they will both boot at the static specs you have set in the bios
could be like that or your motherboard couldnt accept a pair of the ram
 

Gus

New Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2014
Messages
10 (0.00/day)
could be like that or your motherboard couldnt accept a pair of the ram

Done basically all of the above. sorry to say same result in all cases. Power on and nothing with both DIMM slots occupied. Power on with the first slot with memory in and all it fine, except that I only have half the memory I want.

What I did notice and I have not been able to duplicate it again yet was that in one case I have the memory stick in the first DIMM slot powered the computer up and the boot process worked fine. Ran Fedora 20 64 bit with no issues. Powered down and then inserted the other memory stick in the second DIM slot. turn the power on. Fans start but then just nothing. no video light on the monitor nothing. I have tried both the "Normal" and "Performance" setting in the BIOS for the H*1M-Plus mother board but get the same results each time.

I then used the computer for a while with only 1 memory stick in the first DIMM slot. When I had finished I powered the computer down inserted the second memory stick and tried to boot. Not doing anything powered down and pulled the memory in the second DIMM Slot and powered back up. This time the BIOS halted to say there was a problem with over clocking. Reset the BIOS and all works fine again but only with 1 Memory stick. I have not been able to repeat it since so I do not know what happened.

Still looking for an answer.
 
Joined
Apr 19, 2012
Messages
12,062 (2.77/day)
Location
Gypsyland, UK
System Name HP Omen 17
Processor i7 7700HQ
Memory 16GB 2400Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s) GTX 1060
Storage Samsung SM961 256GB + HGST 1TB
Display(s) 1080p IPS G-SYNC 75Hz
Audio Device(s) Bang & Olufsen
Power Supply 230W
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD+
Software Win 10 Pro
Done basically all of the above. sorry to say same result in all cases. Power on and nothing with both DIMM slots occupied. Power on with the first slot with memory in and all it fine, except that I only have half the memory I want.

What I did notice and I have not been able to duplicate it again yet was that in one case I have the memory stick in the first DIMM slot powered the computer up and the boot process worked fine. Ran Fedora 20 64 bit with no issues. Powered down and then inserted the other memory stick in the second DIM slot. turn the power on. Fans start but then just nothing. no video light on the monitor nothing. I have tried both the "Normal" and "Performance" setting in the BIOS for the H*1M-Plus mother board but get the same results each time.

I then used the computer for a while with only 1 memory stick in the first DIMM slot. When I had finished I powered the computer down inserted the second memory stick and tried to boot. Not doing anything powered down and pulled the memory in the second DIMM Slot and powered back up. This time the BIOS halted to say there was a problem with over clocking. Reset the BIOS and all works fine again but only with 1 Memory stick. I have not been able to repeat it since so I do not know what happened.

Still looking for an answer.

What processor are you using? Is it overclocked? Check to see if any XMP is loaded in your BIOS.

The IMC is in the processor if I remember correctly. Could have nothing to do with board or RAM. The IMC in your processor could be jarate for all you know. Explains why new mobo and new RAM doesn't work, and why it works in your friends PC.

So you had the issues with an AMD processor in an AMD board, and then the same issues in an Intel board with an Intel processor?

Check for bent pins on motherboard socket, also check underside of processor for contact defects.
 
Last edited:

Gus

New Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2014
Messages
10 (0.00/day)
The processor in the H81M-Plus mother board is a Inter 1150 pin G3420. What processor is in the M4A7BLT-M LE mother board I can not remember as I have had the board for quite a while now. The BIOS in the H81M-Plus mother board has the XMP disabled. IMC? could not find any reference to that.

Yea same issue in both mother boards. When I installed the H81M-PLUs I did not change anything in the BIOS it was straight out of the box, connected up put power on in standby for a few hours. then pushed the Power on. It did not boot so pulled the memory in slit 2 and rebooted this time it can up. so it did not work with two sticks of memory out of the box. I have never investigated over clocking so I have always just used a mother board as it comes out of he box.

Will pull the procrssors and have a look for bent pins. Have looked at the memory sockets with a magnifying glass and all seems to be ok
 
Joined
Feb 11, 2012
Messages
1,486 (0.34/day)
Location
Anchorage Alaska
System Name Matter's / Helios 300 Predator
Processor Ryzen 7 2700 / i7 7700HQ
Motherboard B450 Tomahawk / Acer Helios 300 Predator
Cooling Arctic Freezer eSports Duo
Memory Patriot Viper ddr4 32gb / 32gb gskill ddr4
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 Super Ventus OC / GTX 1060 6gb
Storage Patriot Viper nvme M2, crucial MX300 275gb, Samsung 860 qvo 1tb
Display(s) Acer 24" 1080p / 15.6 1080p HD
Case Antec 300 / Acer Helios 300 Predator
Audio Device(s) On Board - Steel Series Arctis Pro Wireless Cans
Power Supply Antec 850watt high current pro
Mouse Steel series Rival 600
Keyboard Corsair K70 / Acer Helios 300 Predator
Software Win 10 Pro / Win 10 Home
Your motherboard runs 1333 and 1066 natively you have to go under bios and set the ram to 1600 or Overclock it to 1600 speeds-not just the performance setting, you have to manually set the speed higher.
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M4A78LTM_LE/specifications/ depending on what cpu you have that could be your problem as well the AM3 100 & 200 series only support 1066 speeds. The intel board supported the stock ram speeds. I would try some 1333 or 1066 ram and see if the problem persists.
 

Gus

New Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2014
Messages
10 (0.00/day)
Your motherboard runs 1333 and 1066 natively you have to go under bios and set the ram to 1600 or Overclock it to 1600 speeds-not just the performance setting, you have to manually set the speed higher.
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M4A78LTM_LE/specifications/ depending on what cpu you have that could be your problem as well the AM3 100 & 200 series only support 1066 speeds. The intel board supported the stock ram speeds. I would try some 1333 or 1066 ram and see if the problem persists.

The handbook for the ASUS H81M-PLUS mother board shows ram 2 x DIM max 16GB DDRs 1600 / 1333/1066/ MHz. So the MB should run the the 1600 RAM. I will try some 1333 1 GB ram I have.


As for the other mother board the ASUS M4A78LT-M LE the Kingston part number for the ram I am using is listed in the RAM list given in the manual so it should also run on that mother board.

The CPU in the ASUS H81M-Plus mother board is an Intel G3240
 

Gus

New Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2014
Messages
10 (0.00/day)
The handbook for the ASUS H81M-PLUS mother board shows ram 2 x DIM max 16GB DDRs 1600 / 1333/1066/ MHz. So the MB should run the the 1600 RAM. I will try some 1333 1 GB ram I have.


As for the other mother board the ASUS M4A78LT-M LE the Kingston part number for the ram I am using is listed in the RAM list given in the manual so it should also run on that mother board.

The CPU in the ASUS H81M-Plus mother board is an Intel G3240


Just tried a couple of 1GB 1333 memory sticks. Same result as before. Either stick works fine in Slot DIMM_A1 but put a stick in both DMM- slots and same as before no go.
 

Solaris17

Super Dainty Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Aug 16, 2005
Messages
25,774 (3.79/day)
Location
Alabama
System Name Rocinante
Processor I9 14900KS
Motherboard EVGA z690 Dark KINGPIN (modded BIOS)
Cooling EK-AIO Elite 360 D-RGB
Memory 64GB Gskill Trident Z5 DDR5 6000 @6400
Video Card(s) MSI SUPRIM Liquid X 4090
Storage 1x 500GB 980 Pro | 1x 1TB 980 Pro | 1x 8TB Corsair MP400
Display(s) Odyssey OLED G9 G95SC
Case Lian Li o11 Evo Dynamic White
Audio Device(s) Moondrop S8's on Schiit Hel 2e
Power Supply Bequiet! Power Pro 12 1500w
Mouse Lamzu Atlantis mini (White)
Keyboard Monsgeek M3 Lavender, Akko Crystal Blues
VR HMD Quest 3
Software Windows 11
Benchmark Scores I dont have time for that.
OMG YOU TOO! I ordered a few of these for the shop and ran into the same problem. I RMAd and got the none plus editions and those worked fine.
 

Gus

New Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2014
Messages
10 (0.00/day)
OMG YOU TOO! I ordered a few of these for the shop and ran into the same problem. I RMAd and got the none plus editions and those worked fine.

The 1333 1 GB ram was Kingston KVR1333D3N9/1G not brought as a pair. but works fine with both installed in three other computers.

I have also tried two 4Gb sticks not brought as a pair but tried in about 4 other computers. KVR16N11S8/4. Again I can get either stick to work in DIMM-A1 slot but plug one in each slot and we have a go go.

So what gives?
 

Solaris17

Super Dainty Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Aug 16, 2005
Messages
25,774 (3.79/day)
Location
Alabama
System Name Rocinante
Processor I9 14900KS
Motherboard EVGA z690 Dark KINGPIN (modded BIOS)
Cooling EK-AIO Elite 360 D-RGB
Memory 64GB Gskill Trident Z5 DDR5 6000 @6400
Video Card(s) MSI SUPRIM Liquid X 4090
Storage 1x 500GB 980 Pro | 1x 1TB 980 Pro | 1x 8TB Corsair MP400
Display(s) Odyssey OLED G9 G95SC
Case Lian Li o11 Evo Dynamic White
Audio Device(s) Moondrop S8's on Schiit Hel 2e
Power Supply Bequiet! Power Pro 12 1500w
Mouse Lamzu Atlantis mini (White)
Keyboard Monsgeek M3 Lavender, Akko Crystal Blues
VR HMD Quest 3
Software Windows 11
Benchmark Scores I dont have time for that.
The 1333 1 GB ram was Kingston KVR1333D3N9/1G not brought as a pair. but works fine with both installed in three other computers.

I have also tried two 4Gb sticks not brought as a pair but tried in about 4 other computers. KVR16N11S8/4. Again I can get either stick to work in DIMM-A1 slot but plug one in each slot and we have a go go.

So what gives?
I honestly dont know i think they have an issue with their pro boards i was pissed I bought about 5 or 6 for the shop and just RMAd them all after the second one had the same issue.
 

Gus

New Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2014
Messages
10 (0.00/day)
I honestly dont know i think they have an issue with their pro boards i was pissed I bought about 5 or 6 for the shop and just RMAd them all after the second one had the same issue.
Solved.

Brought a new mother board. Use the same Memory as was using in all of the above tests and checks. Worked out of the box. Plugged both of the Memory sticks in the bios saw both sticks 1600 DRR3 2GB each and has not missed a beat since.

Thanks for all of teh suggestions
 
Top