- Mar 16, 2014
- 4
- 0
- 4,510
Name: Mike O'Brien
Current Setup:
AMD FX-8150 Zambezi 3.6Ghz AM3+ CPU
Silenx CPU cooler (cheap heatpipe unit)
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive (OEM)
Gigabyte 990-FXA-UD3 (REV 4.0) Motherboard (Current MB)
4 sticks of Corsair Vengeance (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 Memory (16GB total)
MSI R7850 Twin Frozr 2gb Video Card
NZXT Phantom Full Case
Windows 7 64bit (Full Retail)
BFG 650W Power Supply
Hey everyone. I started my initial (and first) from scratch build back in early 2013, using everything listed above aside from using a MSI 990XA-GD55 motherboard. The system ran great for over a year with no issues, and then i started encountering video issues with the mouse cursor freezing, and the entire screen slowly fading to white with random color bands running vertical across the screen. I started by making sure all my drivers were up to date, and manually removing the current drivers and installing the latest versions from the manufactures' websites for everything I could. When the issues kept happening, my first reaction was a bad graphics card, so i purchased a cheaper Radeon unit from my local Tiger direct and swapped it in with appropriate drivers. Still, the same issues were happening, so my local Tiger Direct sale guy and i both agreed that it was more than likely a PCI slot issue on the MB, so I purchased a new (and my current) Gigabyte 990-FXA-UD3 to install at his recommendation. This seemed to fix my instability issues, with only a problem every few months that didn't seem graphics related.
lately I have been dealing with stability issues, and faster occurring BSOD referring to IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, which when diagnosed points to the probable cause as some kind of memory corruption. The blue screens started as only once every few weeks, but have now progressed to multiple times in a day. There doesn't seem to be any specific trigger to the blue screens, it happens when the computer is just idling, when i'm surfing the net, or when i'm stressing the computer with applications. I have again tried manual removing all current drivers, and downloading the most current. My BIOS also seems to be the most current non-beta version available.
Before i play the "buy stuff and throw it at the computer" game, I thought I would test the memory with Memtest86 to see if I could isolate any issues with my RAM. I mounted the ISO to a disk, and rebooted the PC to start the test with all 4 current sticks installed to see what happens.
Almost right off the bat, the errors had reached in the 600's before 7% of a pass had completed. I stopped the test, powered everything down and unplugged the PC, and removed all the sticks of ram. I labeled them 1-4 with some bits of tape, and started by installing #1 in the first slot closest to the CPU. From the quick start guide for the motherboard, i believe this should be the slot populated if only using one stick.
I ran the first stick through the test, and the first pass showed no errors. The 2nd pass however showed 3 errors about half way through. I stopped the test, removed the stick, and inserted stick number 2 into the same 1st slot next to the CPU. Testing the 2nd stick, 5 errors had shown through the 1st pass, while teh 2nd pass is currently going with no extra errors yet.
Before i continue to test things, i had a few general questions about the process and what I can conclude from the results.
1. I understand that there should be 0 errors through multiple passes on the RAM to conclude that both the stick and slot in the motherboard are ok. If there are only a few errors, on the order of 5-10 through the entire 4-pass process, is it still viable to say that the memory stick is absolutely no good? I would understand if i came back with hundreds of errors on a stick that there is certainly something wrong, but when there are just a few tiny examples, does it surely mean "this stick is worthless, or there is something wrong with the MB slot?" Could a good stick have just a few small isolated miscalculations over the entire test, or do i need a confirmation of 0 errors to be confident that the stick is ok?
2. Since i came up with errors (although small numbers of them) testing the first two sticks, is their any indicator that i am looking at an issue with the motherboard's 1st slot, or is it common to have two sticks with faults at the same time? I would think that one stick may fail, but if i see that multiples have failed when testing in the same slot, that the motherboard may be the real culprit.
3. While I am testing one stick at a time, if i suspect that maybe my 1st slot on the motherboard may be faulty, can i simply use any of the other 3 slots to again test the memory sticks? I know their is an order to how the sticks are oriented when using the PC, but is this relevant when using memtest86? Can i slide over a failed stick to the 2nd slot, and repeat the test to see if it clears? I would assume this would be the best indicator that my 1st motherboard slot has an issue, and the stick(s) may be fine.
4. When i did my first test with all 4 sticks installed, the memtest screen that appeared was the same blue background screen that you see on all the tutorials online. Like this:
(generic google image, not my setup above)
When i powered off the PC, and installed the single ram stick, i was shown a new set of black background screens and not the normal blue. I saw a nice little memtest cover page with some graphics, and a countdown to the test starting. Then the test began, and this was the screen i saw when using the single stick of RAM:
(Actual picture of my screen with one stick of RAM)
Is this merely a normal thing? Maybe i accidentally selected something without knowing it which changed the display, or the fact only a single ram stick is being used has provided the above screen?
I am currently testing teh 2nd stick, but will also test the 3rd and 4th in the same 1st slot on the motherboard closest to the CPU. I'm thinking that if all 4 have errors, i am surely looking at the MB slot being at fault. Can 4 sticks all go bad at a similar time? Maybe a power surge (i do use a surge protector) or other anomaly had corrupted all 4 sticks?
Any advice, guidance or help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
-Mike
Current Setup:
AMD FX-8150 Zambezi 3.6Ghz AM3+ CPU
Silenx CPU cooler (cheap heatpipe unit)
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive (OEM)
Gigabyte 990-FXA-UD3 (REV 4.0) Motherboard (Current MB)
4 sticks of Corsair Vengeance (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 Memory (16GB total)
MSI R7850 Twin Frozr 2gb Video Card
NZXT Phantom Full Case
Windows 7 64bit (Full Retail)
BFG 650W Power Supply
Hey everyone. I started my initial (and first) from scratch build back in early 2013, using everything listed above aside from using a MSI 990XA-GD55 motherboard. The system ran great for over a year with no issues, and then i started encountering video issues with the mouse cursor freezing, and the entire screen slowly fading to white with random color bands running vertical across the screen. I started by making sure all my drivers were up to date, and manually removing the current drivers and installing the latest versions from the manufactures' websites for everything I could. When the issues kept happening, my first reaction was a bad graphics card, so i purchased a cheaper Radeon unit from my local Tiger direct and swapped it in with appropriate drivers. Still, the same issues were happening, so my local Tiger Direct sale guy and i both agreed that it was more than likely a PCI slot issue on the MB, so I purchased a new (and my current) Gigabyte 990-FXA-UD3 to install at his recommendation. This seemed to fix my instability issues, with only a problem every few months that didn't seem graphics related.
lately I have been dealing with stability issues, and faster occurring BSOD referring to IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, which when diagnosed points to the probable cause as some kind of memory corruption. The blue screens started as only once every few weeks, but have now progressed to multiple times in a day. There doesn't seem to be any specific trigger to the blue screens, it happens when the computer is just idling, when i'm surfing the net, or when i'm stressing the computer with applications. I have again tried manual removing all current drivers, and downloading the most current. My BIOS also seems to be the most current non-beta version available.
Before i play the "buy stuff and throw it at the computer" game, I thought I would test the memory with Memtest86 to see if I could isolate any issues with my RAM. I mounted the ISO to a disk, and rebooted the PC to start the test with all 4 current sticks installed to see what happens.
Almost right off the bat, the errors had reached in the 600's before 7% of a pass had completed. I stopped the test, powered everything down and unplugged the PC, and removed all the sticks of ram. I labeled them 1-4 with some bits of tape, and started by installing #1 in the first slot closest to the CPU. From the quick start guide for the motherboard, i believe this should be the slot populated if only using one stick.
I ran the first stick through the test, and the first pass showed no errors. The 2nd pass however showed 3 errors about half way through. I stopped the test, removed the stick, and inserted stick number 2 into the same 1st slot next to the CPU. Testing the 2nd stick, 5 errors had shown through the 1st pass, while teh 2nd pass is currently going with no extra errors yet.
Before i continue to test things, i had a few general questions about the process and what I can conclude from the results.
1. I understand that there should be 0 errors through multiple passes on the RAM to conclude that both the stick and slot in the motherboard are ok. If there are only a few errors, on the order of 5-10 through the entire 4-pass process, is it still viable to say that the memory stick is absolutely no good? I would understand if i came back with hundreds of errors on a stick that there is certainly something wrong, but when there are just a few tiny examples, does it surely mean "this stick is worthless, or there is something wrong with the MB slot?" Could a good stick have just a few small isolated miscalculations over the entire test, or do i need a confirmation of 0 errors to be confident that the stick is ok?
2. Since i came up with errors (although small numbers of them) testing the first two sticks, is their any indicator that i am looking at an issue with the motherboard's 1st slot, or is it common to have two sticks with faults at the same time? I would think that one stick may fail, but if i see that multiples have failed when testing in the same slot, that the motherboard may be the real culprit.
3. While I am testing one stick at a time, if i suspect that maybe my 1st slot on the motherboard may be faulty, can i simply use any of the other 3 slots to again test the memory sticks? I know their is an order to how the sticks are oriented when using the PC, but is this relevant when using memtest86? Can i slide over a failed stick to the 2nd slot, and repeat the test to see if it clears? I would assume this would be the best indicator that my 1st motherboard slot has an issue, and the stick(s) may be fine.
4. When i did my first test with all 4 sticks installed, the memtest screen that appeared was the same blue background screen that you see on all the tutorials online. Like this:
(generic google image, not my setup above)
When i powered off the PC, and installed the single ram stick, i was shown a new set of black background screens and not the normal blue. I saw a nice little memtest cover page with some graphics, and a countdown to the test starting. Then the test began, and this was the screen i saw when using the single stick of RAM:
(Actual picture of my screen with one stick of RAM)
Is this merely a normal thing? Maybe i accidentally selected something without knowing it which changed the display, or the fact only a single ram stick is being used has provided the above screen?
I am currently testing teh 2nd stick, but will also test the 3rd and 4th in the same 1st slot on the motherboard closest to the CPU. I'm thinking that if all 4 have errors, i am surely looking at the MB slot being at fault. Can 4 sticks all go bad at a similar time? Maybe a power surge (i do use a surge protector) or other anomaly had corrupted all 4 sticks?
Any advice, guidance or help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
-Mike
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