Memory & Boot Issues

[tgd3]

Not too long ago i turned on my computer to find a couple of windows error messages (that i now wish i would have paid more attention to). i simply restarted the computer and hoped it would go away. when the computer restarted it would freeze on the login screen of xp. sometimes i could get my password in quick enough before it froze but it would never actually make it to the desktop. i decided to reinstall windows xp and start fresh.

after i installed xp pro and installed the necessary drivers for video card, wireless card, xp updates etc. things worked fine for about 20 hours and when i restarted my computer it wouldnt get passed the xp logo loading screen. the blue bars kept moving but it never made progress. i tried a number of things to help the situation including: going into safe mode and uninstalling the last couple drivers/programs i installed before the boot problem. running checkdisk on the c drive and second hdd. disconnecting all optical drives. plus some other things i read in posts & fourms, but nothing worked. finally i thought to test the memory (2x2gb).

when i removed one it finally booted so i assumed i just had a bad memory stick. then i tried the other one (the one i assumed was bad) and that one worked too. then i tried both again and it failed to boot (same as before). at this point i do not know what is wrong, if its something to do with the memory or the motherboard or what.

i built the system about a year ago and i have been using the same essential parts since then and this is the first problem i've had like this.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz
Asus P5N-D MoBo
Kingston DDR2 800MHz 2x2gb
EVGA GeForce 9600GT 1GB
Windows XP Professional SP2

thanks for your help,
ted.

 

[wuzy]

when i removed one it finally booted so i assumed i just had a bad memory stick. then i tried the other one (the one i assumed was bad) and that one worked too. then i tried both again and it failed to boot (same as before). at this point i do not know what is wrong, if its something to do with the memory or the motherboard or what.

Is it repeatable? i.e. it only works with one memory module, but not both

i built the system about a year ago and i have been using the same essential parts since then and this is the first problem i've had like this.

So this just happened suddenly one day is that correct?

 

[starams5]

Hi T

I have a P5N-D as well but I've never had these problems, been stable as a rock since day one (E8500). How do you have your bios setup, auto settings or manual (voltages, mem, timing, etc). Also, link us to your ram (specifically) and PSU. One more thing, which bios version are you running?

 

[tgd3]

wuzy, yes. either memory module works fine but when both are used it wont boot. and yes it suddenly just stopped working after almost 1 year of use.


starams5, BIOS is something im not too familiar with. i ordered the computer from an online company that builds "custom computers" (ibuypower.com) and they set up the BIOS. i assume im running auto settings. if you let me know where to find the version i can get that for you.

Memory: http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-KVR800D2N5-2G-800MHz-Memory/dp/B000Z2GO2Q/ref=sr_1_1/186-6341869-8525558?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244564589&sr=8-1
Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817709014


Thanks to everyone for your quick responses. hope this info helps.

ted

 

[wuzy]

Use just one stick plugged in so you can get into the BIOS. Set RAM mode to 'sync' and RAM speed to 333Mhz (DDR2-667) and timing to 5-5-5-15. vDIMM to 1.9-2.0V
Save it, restart then power off. Plug the 2nd stick and see if it'll work.

 

[starams5]

Try wuzy advice in regard to the voltage & timing (set the Command Per Clock to 2T). If you are stable at 667MHz then bump it, keep bumping it up and testing.

 

[tgd3]

okay, i did everything listed but it definatly didn't seem to work. when i restarted my monitor didnt seem to get any connection so i hit the restart button on the tower and got an error message Warning: System Boot Fail. i hit F1 to continue and it loads and goes to desktop. but when i restart the same exact thing happens again. (this is with one memory module in) i tried to put both modules in and the same thing happens except when i hit F1 to continue it hangs on the XP loading screen still (same original problem).

to make sure i did everything properly here are some images of the BIOS and the system boot fail error.

FSB & Memory Config:
http://s597.photobucket.com/albums/tt59/tgd3njitedu/?action=view&current=FSBMEMconfig.jpg

Voltage Control:
http://s597.photobucket.com/albums/tt59/tgd3njitedu/?action=view&current=voltage.jpg

Memory Timing:
http://s597.photobucket.com/albums/tt59/tgd3njitedu/?action=view&current=timing.jpg

System BOOT Fail:
http://s597.photobucket.com/albums/tt59/tgd3njitedu/?action=view&current=error.jpg

 

[starams5]

Try this, instead of hitting F1 to continue use the other option "DEL" to go into the bios. Hit F10 to save bios settings and reboot. Also, you can try these settings: HT at 1.3v, NB at 1.4v, SB at 1.5v. Another alternative would be HT at 1.3v, NB at 1.5v, SB at 1.6v. The Q6600 has a voltage range of 0.85V – 1.5V. Go into the hardware monitor and see what it is running at with the auto setting. This can be bumped up as well just don't exceed the max voltage. It really would be helpful if I knew which bios version you are running, download CPU-Z and check the motherboard tab. The linked/synced mode is used mostly for mild overclocking. You will lose the benefit of your mem MHz big time in this mode. Choose Unlinked mode, you can leave it at 667mHZ while your testing, in unlinked mode you can raise your mem MHz later w/o having to raise any thing else.

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

 

[tgd3]

starams5, even after i save changes to the bios the monitor still doesnt detect any signal until i hold the reset button on my tower. i tried your suggestions, changing the voltage options, but no luck. i get the same problems.

Heres the info i got from cpuid:

DMI BIOS
--------
vendor Phoenix Technologies, LTD
version ASUS P5N-D ACPI BIOS Revision 0402
date 03/05/2008

Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

ITE IT87 hardware monitor

Voltage sensor 0 1.14 Volts [0x47] (CPU VCORE)
Voltage sensor 1 3.15 Volts [0xC5] (VIN1)
Voltage sensor 3 4.95 Volts [0xB8] (+5V)
Voltage sensor 4 11.84 Volts [0xB9] (+12V)
Voltage sensor 7 4.92 Volts [0xB7] (+5V VCCH)
Voltage sensor 8 3.20 Volts [0xC8] (VBAT)
Temperature sensor 0 38°C (100°F) [0x26] (TMPIN0)
Temperature sensor 1 43°C (109°F) [0x2B] (TMPIN1)
Temperature sensor 2 22°C (71°F) [0x16] (TMPIN2)
Fan sensor 0 2419 RPM [0x117] (FANIN0)
Fan sensor 2 1172 RPM [0x240] (FANIN2)
Fan sensor 3 3835 RPM [0xB0] (FANIN3)

Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

Analog Device ADP3228 hardware monitor

Current sensor 0 18.12 Amps [0x8C] (CPU)
Power sensor 0 19.08 W [0x115D] (CPU)


Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 46°C (114°F) [0x36] (Core #0)
Temperature sensor 3 42°C (107°F) [0x3A] (Core #3)
Temperature sensor 1 47°C (116°F) [0x35] (Core #1)
Temperature sensor 2 43°C (109°F) [0x39] (Core #2

Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

GeForce 9600 GT hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 51°C (123°F) [0x33] (GPU Core)

 

[starams5]

I understand your board has worked fine for the last year but your bios version is antique, you are 5 bios versions behind. Go ahead and update the bios, you have nothing to lose. Also, and I should have caught this sooner, what is the brand of your PSU and wattage. Could it be failing? Do you have another for testing? If none of this works, RMA the motherboard.

Download P5N-D BIOS 1101
http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

EZ-Flash with USB Stick:
Format to FAT or FAT32
Note: "BIOS.BIN" is used as an example.

1. Make USB stick bootable (if hidden MSDOS files are missing on USB stick) with the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool, you will also need DOS System Files, you can download both here:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/ag3fg6f/n/HP_USB_Disk_Storage_Format_Tool_v2_18_zip

2. Copy BIOS.BIN to the USB stick.

3. Reboot into the bios and restore setup defaults.

4. Enter bios setup program. Go to the Tools menu to select EZ Flash 2 and press <Enter> to enable it.
You can switch between drives by pressing <Tab> before the correct file is found. Then press <Enter>.

5. DO NOT shut down or reset the system while updating the BIOS to prevent system boot failure!
When the correct BIOS file is found, EZ Flash 2 performs the BIOS update process and automatically reboots the system when done, go back into the bios after the reboot.

6. Now shut down the computer (PSU switch) and unplug it. Pull the CMOS battery and discharge the motherboard by holding in power button while touching the chassis for approx 30 sec.

7. Re-install battery and post.

 

[doormatderek]

How about trying a memory tester with each stick of RAM in one at a time? One of them has to be going bad.. .

 

[tgd3]

starams5, thanks for doing all that research on your last post.


doormatderek,

when i removed one it finally booted so i assumed i just had a bad memory stick. then i tried the other one (the one i assumed was bad) and that one worked too. then i tried both again and it failed to boot

i tried each module and each one worked fine, but together my computer fails to boot.


ive upgraded my BIOS, restored defults, pulled the CMOS battery and discharge the motherboard.. and im still stuck at the XP loading screen. unfortunately i do not have any PSUs to test my system with, so it looks like its RMA time.

thanks to everyone for your responses and help.
ted.

 

[tgd3]

UPDATE:

i haven't tried to turn on my computer since the last time i posted my results of the BIOS upgrade, but about 15 min ago i tried to turn on my computer and it now seems that anything that recieves power through the motherboard is not responding. from what i can see visually from my 4 fans: a case fan, cpu fan, and heatsink fan are not running and my monitor isn't detecting a signal from the computer. i do have a second case fan connected directly to the psu and that one is running fine.

this seems to confirm the idea that my motherboard was going bad. an RMA was issued this morning so i'll update when that gets in and i replace it.

Ted.