Gigabyte board and memory

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rynman

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Hey guys

I've recently purchased a Gigabyte board (GA-P55-UD3) and 2 sticks of Corsair 1333mhz 2gb RAM.

Having some troubles when I try and boot up the system with both sticks in the board - I get some rapid beeping from the motherboard and it doesn't boot up. If I remove one of the sticks (from DDR3_3) it boots up and runs perfectly. The manual says to put them in DDR3_1 and DDR3_3 to enable dual channel mode (which I'm assuming just means using the two sticks?), which is what I'm doing. But still not booting up, and constant beeping.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong? Thanks guys....
 
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retox9k

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Make sure they're identical ram... i.e. nobody did the switcheroo... if they're identical, try 2 and 4. If 2 and 4 works there's probably a mb issue with the 1 or 3 slot...
 
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ekoostik

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Just happened across a similar thread that from last September. The rapid beeping, according to Gigabyte's manual, is a problem with power. But I have often seen this relate to RAM (so perhaps its power getting to RAM?).

One of the more confusing aspects of these motherboards is the naming convention on the RAM slots. Gigabyte calls the first slot #2, the second slot #1, the third slot #4, and the last slot #3. Not exactly the clearest naming convention.

To be sure we're talking about the same thing, lets refer to them in their order from the CPU. So, for example, the slot closest to the CPU is the first slot, then the second, etc.

Having the terminology down - which slots do you have your RAM in? With two sticks you should put them in the 2nd slot (2nd from the CPU) and 4th slot (farthest from the CPU). (I believe these are the white slots.)

There's not necessarily an issue with 1 & 3, it just expects you to put them in 2 & 4.
 
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rynman

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Hi!

Yeah, if we use your numbering convention from the CPU, my ram is placed in the 2nd and 4th slots.
 
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monkeyboy3

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hi there i recently bought some ram and had the same sort of problem and seems to to be the same that one stick of ram is just plan and simply faulty sea if you can get a same ram from some one u no if u lucky to try it if not just send/take it back from were you bought it and they ahould replace for
 
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ekoostik

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Download memtest86+ and make a bootable CD out of it: http://www.memtest.org/

With one of your RAM sticks in the 2nd slot, boot up into the CD and let memtest86+ run for a few hours, or over night if you can.

Repeat on the second stick, also in the 2nd slot.

If both pass, put one in slot 2 and one 4 and run the test again.

*One of thing worth mentioning - Gigabyte has been turning out a lot of BIOS updates with the description "increase memory compatibility". If you have been able to work with 1 RAM stick reliably, with only 1 stick installed download and update to the latest BIOS.
 
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roysoto

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It looks like I have a similar problem...first build of a system including

Gigabyte H55M-S2H mobo
OCZ DDR3 PC3-10666 2x2GB RAM

Rapid short beeps, then silence, then reboots itself. All power seems to be attached appropriately, fans and lights working. Removed RAM chip farthest from CPU and did the same thing, then put it back and removed RAM chip closest to CPU and it seemed to boot...at least it gave the single/happy/good beep, and stayed on. I didn't have it hooked to the monitor at the time, and called myself lucky and went to bed...I called the Gigabyte folks and they said it was probably a DDR3 RAM voltage problem...it's set to 1.5 in the BIOS, and I might have to change it manually with only one loaded (after doing a battery pull)...that make any sense whatsoever?
 
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ekoostik

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Yes that makes sense and is possible. It might also be that the stick you took out either wasn't fully inserted or was faulty. Try it in the fourth slot and see if you boot, that way you've test both sticks in the fourth slot with none in the second.

If both work in the fourth slot, try again with the original setup, one in the fourth slot and one in the second. Make sure the sticks are fully seated.

If one of them doesn't work in the fourth slot but one does (and you're sure they were both fully seated) you have found a faulty stick. Same goes if you get one to work in the second slot but the other doesn't work in the second slot.

I know I'm harping on making sure the sticks are fully seated, but that is one of the most common causes of RAM boot issues. It's pretty easy to not get them in all the way.
 
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ekoostik

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Um, you lost me. If the memory wasn't seated well, it wouldn't boot. Or if only one of the memory sticks is bad, it wouldn't boot. Or, if it's the voltage, then you could boot with either stick in, but not both (in this case, not necessarily in all cases).

Have you tested both sticks individually?
 
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roysoto

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OK, got into the BIOS with the one RAM chip in place (farthest of the 2 slots from the CPU), changed the voltage from 1.5 (default) to 1.64 (chips says 1.65 on it), saved it, stuck in the other chip and exact same error as before.

Yes, I've tried with both chips...they both work when in that one slot, and neither work when in the other slot. So I think the chips are both fine, but I think either the motherboard doesn't like the combo of two of them (software reason), or that slot is whack.

So, others have suggested that I install the latest version of the motherboard BIOS (version 4...mine currently has version 1). Does this mean I have to:

1) Turn on computer with my one RAM chip in the working slot
2) Install my OS (Win 7) for the first time
3) Get online and download the latest version of the BIOS (or just download on other computer and move it over via USB drive)
4) Install that version of the BIOS
5) Turn off computer, stick in 2nd RAM chip in the 2nd slot
6) Turn computer back on and pray?

Anything bad that can happen by doing it this way?
 
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ekoostik

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First, what motherboard do you have? You said GA-P55-UD3, but I can't find any such board on Gigabyte's website. There are similarly named boards, GA-P55A-UD3, GA-P55-UD3L, GA-P55-UD3R, and GA-P55A-UD3P. Which one do you have?

To answer your question, it would probably be a good idea to update your BIOS. As I said in a previous post: Gigabyte has been turning out a lot of BIOS updates with the description "increase memory compatibility". If you have been able to work with 1 RAM stick reliably, with only 1 stick installed download and update to the latest BIOS.

To do so, you do not have to install Windows. Download the latest BIOS on another computer. Execute (run; double-click) the BIOS file, it is a self-extracting executable. Place the extracted files onto a USB stick. Put the USB stick in your computer and reboot it. Go into BIOS. Enter the Qflash utility (likely either F8 or F11 but it will say on the main BIOS screen). From there, select to update the BIOS then find your USB stick - it will likely be labeled as HDD 0-0 or something similar. Select it and then the updated BIOS file. Update, reboot. Enter BIOS and set RAM timings per their specs. Then turn off and try to run with your second stick.
 
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roysoto

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No luck. I successfully upgraded my BIOS to the F5 version using your directions (which worked great, thanks), and everything's the same...all works except that one RAM slot. Note that that slot is Channel A in my BIOS. Channel B is working fine (the slot furthest from the CPU).

So, assuming this should've worked in the first place, and assuming I've done everything in my power to get it up and running, do I assume that I have a faulty motherboard? Got the whole enchilada from TigerDirect as a bare-bones kit, so I would assume that none of this should've happened in the first place...

Roy
 
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ekoostik

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Ah, I was getting you and the OP confused. That's where the P55 UD3 came from. Wondered why you only had two RAM slots. Makes much more sense.

Beginning to sound like it could be an issue with the board. Just to make sure we're on same page, your issue is, with 2 sticks of RAM inserted you get "Rapid short beeps, then silence, then reboots itself." right?

You're sure you've got the 2x4 and 2x12 pins from the PSU fully and correctly seated? And when you updated BIOS, you selected Load Optimized Defaults? You could also try Load Fail-Safe Defaults which would attempt to work with less aggressive settings.

Please provide a link to your RAM and PSU.
 
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roysoto

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That's correct...with 2 RAM sticks inserted OR either one of the sticks alone in Channel 1, I get the rapid short beeps followed by silence then a restart.

Yep, I have all of the power cables installed (including the 12 V 2x2 and the 2x12) ... was the first thing I checked. I also made sure the RAM chips were seated correctly, nothing was touching anything, and I tried all of the above both in the case and "bread boarded". I changed the voltage in the BIOS from default 1.5 to 1.64 (the chip itself says 1.65), I've tried the falesafe mode, I've tried the optimized mode, I've played with RAM settings in the BIOS itself like some have suggested, I've updated the BIOS from version F1 to F5, and absolutely nothing changes ever...one thing I haven't tried yet is beating it with a baseball bat...do you recommend a wood or metal bat for best results? ;)

Here's exactly what I have...straight from the email from TigerDirect:

Items Ordered

Ultra LS400 Lifetime Series 400W Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, PCI-Express, Lifetime Warranty (ULT-LS400) Link is:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3255391&CatId=1078

OCZ PC3-10666 Platinum RAM - 4GB, 2x2GB, 1333MHz, DDR3, Low Voltage, Dual Channel (O261-6258) Link is:
http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_ddr3_pc3_10666_platinum_edition

Hitachi Deskstar OS00163 IDK/7K Internal Hard Drive - 1TB, 7200RPM, 32MB, SATA-3G (H450-9002)

Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Mid Tower Case - ATX, Micro ATX, 120mm LED Fan, 4x 5.25 Bays, 5x 3.5 Bays (T925-3018)

Intel Core i3 530 Processor - 2.93GHz, LGA 1156, 4MB L3 Cache, Dual-Core, Retail Processor w/ Fan (I69-0530)

Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H Motherboard - Intel H55, LGA1156, Micro ATX, Audio, Video, PCI Express 2.0, LAN, USB 2.0 (G452-0106)
Click to expand...
 
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ekoostik

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Despite being billed as low voltage, those RAM sticks are rated at higher V than is safer to provide on a 'modern' Intel board. The socket 1366 and 1156 motherboards are meant for RAM running less than 1.65V. The link to your RAM shows it as 1.8V with a "Special Feature 1.85V EVP".

You could try setting the memory SPD to 8 and relaxing your timings to 9-9-9-24, with the V set at 1.64. See if that's slow enough that 1.64V will give it enough juice to run. But if you can return them you may want to consider exchanging them for something rated at <1.65V.
 
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roysoto

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Just tried those settings and still no-go. I've ordered a new motherboard, and we'll see how it goes...if I get the exact same error, then it'll be time for BATTER UP! I'll let you know how it goes, and thanks again for your help!
 
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roysoto

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New motherboard, and it works beautifully, first time out of the box! So diagnosis is bad RAM slot on the original motherboard.

I did, however, have a great time trying to figure out what the problem was in the first place, and I truly appreciate all of your help! Seems I get myself into these situations every few years with new systems and end up learning a ton each time.

Thanks again, and happy computing.

Roy
 
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