Computer won't start with both RAM sticks

brtd90 · Dec 9, 2015

I built a new rig last weekend (Saturday) and had no issues with it until last night (Tuesday). Before that it ran smoothly, I played some games for a few hours Sunday. Saw nothing problematic. Last night I left my computer on idle and I got back it was frozen on the bios startup and once I forced a restart it installed a windows update. From there I constantly blue screened and it occasionally struggled to make it past post.

Tonight I did some troubleshooting. My DRAM light was lit so I investigated the RAM. I eventually tested each stick by itself (both work) and had no issues. Been going for an hour now without a restart (never lasted more than 5 minutes before). I later tried the other RAM slot pairings and it crashed once again. I also did a reinstall of windows for the hell of it , incase it was an update error. I checked the RAM voltage and it needs 1.5V and if I understand this properly I shouldn't need to alter anything for that.

I am running an ASUS Z97 -A 3.1 motherboard and a pair of HyperX RAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104472). The RAM isn't in the QVL but the dual 8Gb equivalent is.

Is there anything else I can try or should I just RMA the board (I'd like to avoid since I'd rather not be without a computer for any longer than I have been of late but it seems like the best option to me). Thanks in advance

Tradesman1 · Dec 9, 2015

Were these bought as a set as shown - or were they individual packaged sticks - if individual try upping the DRAM voltage to 1.55 (may want to do that regardless). What CPU and is there any OC on it - stock Haswells are rated to 1600 so the DRAM voltage increase may help

brtd90 · Dec 9, 2015

They did come as a pair and the increased voltage didn't seem to help much. And I have not done any overclocking. I toyed with the autotuning software that came with my mobo. It adjusted things slightly and I set it back to default after like 5 minutes.

My full build is here besides the RAM: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6ZQJcf

Tradesman1 · Dec 9, 2015

Do you have the latest BIOS? If so they should just set themselves up for you to 1600 or 1866

brtd90 · Dec 9, 2015

Seems the BIOS was out of date. I updated it but still doesn't make it past Post with both cards in.

I happened to find a PC Diagnostic Tool from ASUS. Everything passed on that as well.

Tradesman1 · Dec 9, 2015

How about in slots 1-2 from CPU?

brtd90 · Dec 9, 2015

I've tried using a1 and b1 together and a2 and b2 together. Are you saying to try a1 and a2 ad well?

Tradesman1 · Dec 10, 2015

Yes, it may indicate a channel or MC problem if A1-A2 is OK

brtd90 · Dec 10, 2015

Sorry for the delay. Just got home from work not too long ago. But it seems like A1-A2 has no issues. Its been about 5 minutes so far and no restart or any other problems. Reading 8 gigs as well.

Tradesman1 · Dec 10, 2015

Might be a few things, first to check would be to loosen the CPU cooler, then snug it down screw tight, if too tight in a corner or side, it can throw the MC off and you 'lose' a channel

brtd90 · Dec 10, 2015

Alright. I'll give that a shot and report back. Something interesting I've just noticed is any video takes an unnecessary amount of cpu to run. Currently I have chrome using 30% of my cpu for 1 video. Before I realized I had a 32bit version it was maxing out at or near 100%. The 64bit program seems to have brought things down a bit.

brtd90 · Dec 10, 2015

I don't want to jynx it. But its going pretty well so far. Been at least 5 minutes now with no crashes. The first time it had issues but I double checked and made sure it was on right again and one corner clicked and its been good this time around. I hate intel stock coolers. I have difficulty with them for some dumb reason.

Edit: I'm gonna give it a bit of time before I mark this as solved fyi. But it seeming like you found the issue. Thanks a ton!

Tradesman1 · Dec 10, 2015

No worries, this happens all the time, mostly with 3rd part coolers, but the stock cooler also, if not evenly attached the CPU itself can be slightly out of level and not get full contact with all pins, 'losing' a channel is a common occurrence

brtd90 · Dec 11, 2015

So I'm blue screening again. Retightening the cpu cooler seems to fix it for a bit but then it goes back to crashing

Tradesman1 · Dec 11, 2015

Next would be to check for bent/broken pins

brtd90 · Dec 12, 2015

The pins all looked good to me. I remounted everything and haven't really had any problems yet. We'll see how it goes this time. There was an unusually thick sliver of thermal paste on the cpu, maybe thats what was causing the uneven pressure somehow?

Also, I've occasionally had issues starting up after making changes. I usually have to reseat the RAM a few times and then I have no issues after that. There doesn't seem to be any trends with why it starts and why it doesn't. Started up pretty easily this time (I think I actually did have a slightly loose card this time since I just pushed on the bottom side and it clicked and started fine).

brtd90 · Dec 16, 2015

It's back...

I think I'm going to by a new stock cooler. Make sure I didn't break this one when I was loosening it incorrectly. Wondering if you had any other thoughts?

Computer won't start with both RAM sticks

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