1 RAM slot isn`t working on Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R

[eband00]

Hey guys. I`v got a problem and it took me a while to figure it out!

It started off with the computer having trouble booting up after being shut down, or put to sleep mode. All the fans would start up, same with the lights, but there was no beep or bios loading up, as well the the screen not getting on. I had to play with the power supply`s on/off switch to then push the power button again, and it would, after several tries, boot up.

So i thought it was my power supply not giving enough juice to my system, which made sense. I had a Corsair 520 Watt power supply powering 6gbs or ram, a Q6600, 3 hard drives and a XFX Radeon hd4890 1gb, as well as several fans! So i got a OCZ 850watt PSU.... Same thing happens... doesn't boot up.

So the 1st thing i did after that, was take out a set of ram sticks (i have a pair 2x2gb of Patriot viper DDr 2 1066mhz and a pair 2x1gb of Crucial Ballistix DDr2 1066mhz), it was the crucials. And the computer worked... booted up first thing, and every times afterwords... so i thought it was my memory that was defective, so i sent an RMA to crucial, explaining what happened. They accepted and i was going to send the sticks... But i wanted to make sure it was the crucial sticks... so i took out the patriot, and put the crucial in their slots. IT worked!!

Then what i did is i tried every slot with 1 stick of Patriot, and then with 1 Crucial. Every slot worked except for the 1st one, the one nearest to the CPU. Following with a 7 pass test of each memory module with Memtest86. Everyone passed the test!

Now i`m not sure why 1 slot doesn't work, i never touched it except to put a module in, i never put the memory the wrong way, i always double check and go smoothly... Is there anything i can do to test it or fix it?

P.S i'm running Windows 7 64bit

 

[mattimeo005]

sometimes the hardware is just defective, it sucks but it happens. if you can, i'd RMA the mobo or try and activate the warranty and get it replaced.

 

[andrern2000]

If you did the test like that and all RAMs pass the test then there's no wrong in the memory. maybe it's the motherboard's memory channel that's faulty. To check it, you can borrow another friend's working Ram and plug it there. Then see if it works.

 

[Gekko Shadow]

Sounds like your only option is to RMA it =P. You can't fix something like that.

All is an say is check the slot - maybe something is stuck in there? - or clean it and see if that helps any =L

 

[eband00]

Ok guys. Here what i did, i took the Patriot Viper, and tested both sticks separately for about 4 passes each in 1 slot. this confirms that all my ram is good, without errors!

Now, what i did next, is take the same viper stick, and test it for about 1 pass in each slot... I also cleaned the slot nearest to the CPU, the one that wasn't working, which some alcohol and toothbrush. Surprisingly, all the slots worked .

Ok.. i was surprised, so then i took out the memtest86 boot-up disk, inserted all the four sticks in the case, and started everything up... it ran, tried it 3-4 times. It booted up every time! Then i tried switching channels with the sticks. Same thing, everything worked fine over 3-4 tries.

Then before concluding that cleaning the slot did the job... i tried running Memtest86 one last time, with all four sticks in the slots. PROBLEM... Memtest hangs 5 seconds into the test.

7%
Test #0: [Address test, walking ones, no cache]
Pattern: 00000000
Times: 5 seconds

I tried switching channels again, same thing happens. Weird thing is, there is an "underline ( _ )" that keeps ticking on and off, like it does all the time during normal successful test, so it seems the program isn't completely frozen, but the timer stops and nothing happens, the memory still stays extremely hot though... i tried letting it run for about 10 minutes, before i shut it off.

 

[Gekko Shadow]

Ok so now you're getting somewhere xD. Now let's see: You say it hangs when you have all fours slot used up, have you tried just using one pair of ram at a time? As in two slots - then the other two slots - and run memtest and see if it hangs.

 

[eband00]

Alright guys. Here are the test that I've done. The results are extremely confusing!

1st: I retested test the Patriot Viper memory one at a time for around 4-5 passes on Memtest 86. They both passed with no errors.
2nd: I retested the Crucial sticks one at a time, for 4-5 passes. No problems.
*The test were made on the slot that i thought was defective (channel 1), from the beginning of the thread. So this proves the slot works! The earlier tests were made on the 2nd slot from the cpu (channel 2)

-Then i inserted only the 2 patriots. I tested them on channel 1, and then on channel 2, as well as one stick in channel1 and the other in channel2. All the results were the same: 7 seconds into the test, the PC reboots itself... It was doing Test 0 [Address test, own address] and stops at around 45% each time....

-I then test the 2 crucial, with the same tests and same slot position. Each test for about 10 minutes. They all passed with no problems.

-Then i tried the patriot again with default motherboard settings (default clocks and a 1.8v). Same problem, reboots. Then i tried the recommended clocks and default voltage (5-5-5-15 and 1.8v)... reboots. And then recommended clock and voltage (5-5-5-15 and +0.3v (2.1v)) reboots....

I really dont know what the problem is. The channels seem to work fine, proved by the crucial sticks. Both stick have the same specs (5-5-5-15 and 2.1v) All the slots work. The patriot as a single unit passes the test.... Could it be a defect in the patriot sticks that makes them incompatible with each other? They were bought as a 2x2gb set, identical!

 

[Gekko Shadow]

It just might be the case, although odd, it's possible.

Best thing to do may be to RMA those sticks/buy another pair and see if that works or just buy the same crucial sticks you have right now.

 

[eband00]

now the slot/channel1 nearest to the cpu isn't working again... tried both with crucial and patriot. They both work (pc boots) in channel 2, but it doesn't it channel 1. o yea, and at one point, when i moved the arround, the computer started beeping, i tried counting the number of beeps, but it wouldn't stop after 15 seconds. It giving me arround 1 beep a second. So i shut it off, put in only 2 sticks in channel 2, and it booted up.

Is there anything else i can do to find out if its my damn motherboard or my ram? It really frustrates me, sooo bad.

I'm kinda suspecting its my MB. So what motherboard should i get? DDr2 ram and intel q6600 quad core. And is there a possibility to get a motherboard that can support DDR2 and DDR3, as well as the Q6600 and maybe an upgrade to a i7 or 9 down the road?

 

[mattimeo005]

Unfortunately, the socket type is completely different for those chips, so such a mobo does not exist. One thing you can try, though I'm not sure if it will do anything, is to reseat your cpu. The reason I'm not sure if it will do anything is I don't remember if the Q6600s have integrated memory controllers in the chip, or if they are incorporated into the northbridge of the mobo. Either way, try reseating the CPU, and when you put the heatsink on, be very careful to not screw it down too tightly.

 

[andrern2000]

Wait, mattimeo005. There's a motherboard that supports ddr2 & ddr3 at same time. It has the spec somesort like this: DDR2/DD3 533/667/800/1066/1333.

Ah, wait. Maybe there's epic piece of dust in your ram slots or CPU socket. Use a brush to clean the slots and the socket thoroughly.

 

[Gekko Shadow]

now the slot/channel1 nearest to the cpu isn't working again... tried both with crucial and patriot. They both work (pc boots) in channel 2, but it doesn't it channel 1. o yea, and at one point, when i moved the arround, the computer started beeping, i tried counting the number of beeps, but it wouldn't stop after 15 seconds. It giving me arround 1 beep a second. So i shut it off, put in only 2 sticks in channel 2, and it booted up.

Is there anything else i can do to find out if its my damn motherboard or my ram? It really frustrates me, sooo bad.

I'm kinda suspecting its my MB. So what motherboard should i get? DDr2 ram and intel q6600 quad core. And is there a possibility to get a motherboard that can support DDR2 and DDR3, as well as the Q6600 and maybe an upgrade to a i7 or 9 down the road?

Yeah sounds like your ram slots are just on the fritz - if i was you i'd just throw that board out. And by throw i mean RMA or sell it off as-is lol =P

There isn't much else - 'cept buy new ram xP.

Lol - ddr2 + ddr3 is a SLIGHT possibility with a Q6600. I've seen them before. But as far as a Q6600 to i7 or 9 - not gonna happen. Since you need new sockets - you'll have to upgrade the motherboard when you upgrade the processor. And more than likely your ram as well.

 

[eband00]

Ok guys. Having the 4 sticks in when the computer's cold (has been shut-off for a while) seems to be the problem. When it boots, it shuts off, then starts again, then shuts off and then it starts again and goes BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP non stop. As soon as i remove 2 stick from a channel, doesn't matter what pair of sticks, or what channel, it boots fine. And then when everything is warmed up, i can shut the pc down, insert the 2 remaining sticks, and it boots up no problem!

???

 

[mattimeo005]

Wait, mattimeo005. There's a motherboard that supports ddr2 & ddr3 at same time. It has the spec somesort like this: DDR2/DD3 533/667/800/1066/1333.

Ah, wait. Maybe there's epic piece of dust in your ram slots or CPU socket. Use a brush to clean the slots and the socket thoroughly.

Yeah, I was referring to the socket type of the CPU. The Q6600 is a LGA 775 socket type, while i7s are 1366. Sorry, I should have been more clear.

 

[jaquith]

This all screams compatibility, and no where do I see RAM part-numbers and/or links to your RAM. Patriot RAM is very problematic and never seems to play well with others, so please post the P/N's.

BTW - had it not been for mix-matching RAM, I too would have jumped into the new PSU realm; logical assumption.

 

[eband00]

This all screams compatibility, and no where do I see RAM part-numbers and/or links to your RAM. Patriot RAM is very problematic and never seems to play well with others, so please post the P/N's.

BTW - had it not been for mix-matching RAM, I too would have jumped into the new PSU realm; logical assumption.

Allright. Here is what i have:

Patriot Extreme Performance Viper 4GB 2X2GB PC2-8500 DDR2-1066 CL5-5-5-15 EPP Memory Kit P#:31270 $94.82



Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500 DDR2 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-1066 CL5-5-5-15 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit P#: 24378 $84.99

 

[jaquith]

Oops alredy stated -> [strike]I don't even need to do a look-up, Patriot rarely plays well with others,[/strike] so pick one and get more of exactly the SAME. Those numbers are not RAM P/N; I assume they're the store where you purchased them internal numbers.

Certified {GA-P35C-DS3R} http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2749#memory%20support%20list

Tested:
Crucial - http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=GA-P35C-DS3R
Patriot - http://www.patriotmemory.com/configurator/morepartsp.jsp?catid=6569&mfrid=781&modelid=566857&tab=s

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