2 beeps during post.

[tsunme]

I was trying to update my bios, thinking it would fix the problem I had, but my computer froze mid update and now when i try to boot, I'm getting 2 beeps post. I looked up the beeps and it says memory parity. I'm not sure what this is or how to fix this.

Edit:
OS - Win 7 Ultimate
CPU - AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0 GHz
Mobo - GA-970A-UD3 rev 1.2
GPU - XFX Radeon R9 270X
RAM - Crosair VengeanceLP 8GB DDR3 1866
HDD - 1TB WD Blue 7200rpm 64mb cache
PSU - Rosewill Hive-650

 

[Chicano]

Memory parity error means:
1. Bad RAM issue. Parity circuit failure
2. It could also mean the BIOS damage makes it read the RAM incorrectly.


See if this BIOS recovery method works.
http://www.technibble.com/how-to-recover-from-a-bad-bios-update/

 

[tsunme]

I'm trying to do this, don't know if I need a floppy drive (don't have one) or if it's not reading my cd.

 

[Chicano]

The recovery guide suggests a floppy drive, so that may be a problem. A CD drive also has leds so it may work the same but if you don't see the drive light up then it's probably not working. Try removing the connections to the hard drive so the BIOS can only access the CD Drive, in case the boot order is affecting access, and allow plenty of time so you wont cut it short. If it doesn't work, try with a USB pendrive.

 

[tsunme]

Ok i tried this, and still doesn't seem like its doing anything. I'll try the usb.

 

[Chicano]

If that also fails, the possitive aspect is you can order a BIOS chip (P1.00-15B) to replace it.. it's the chip with a white label, right under the Sout Bridge chip. See the mobo image.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157479

You can pry the chip off carefully with a small screwdriver... previously remove the battery and all power connections, better if you remove the motherboard from the case. Just keep in mind which side of the chip goes which cause they can fit either way. The chip is not soldered so removing it is much easier than you'd think. Price is about $15.00 US

Order - BIOS-CHIPS ASROCK FATAL1TY 990FX KILLER
https://www.google.com/?hl=en&gws_rd=ssl#hl=en&q=Order+-+BIOS-CHIPS+ASROCK+FATAL1TY+990FX+KILLER

BTW. Make sure it's not a RAM issue before that... try to boot the computer with one RAM stick only on each slot, then try with the next stick... and if possible try a different stick of RAM.

Also see if resetting the BIOS helps.

 

[tsunme]

hmm i'll try that, i tried plugging in each of my ram sticks into the slots and the same 2 beeps happened, and i tried a friends ram stick and still 2 beeps

 

[tsunme]

will switching motherboards and reformatting get rid of this problem?

 

[Chicano]

You mean a new motherboard? It would solve it... but so would replacing the BIOS chip for much less.

A reformat may not be necessary if the motherboard is the same model. Another motherboard model with the same chipset may or may not need a reformat.

 

[tsunme]

i have my old motherboard that i upgraded this 1 from because i thought it was the problem, seems like it was my memory since it happened with this mobo aswell.

 

[Chicano]

If you; "tried a friends ram stick and still 2 beeps"... the mobo is the problem, not the RAM... and the old mobo should run if it still did when you replaced it. What symptoms did the old mobo have?

 

[tsunme]

My computer would completely freeze on me. No bsod or errors, just freeze. All video/audio would stop and I wouldn't be able to use my mouse or keyboard. The only thing I could do was hard reset. I tested the ram with memtest86, I tried the different ram slots and I tried different ram and I had the same problem. And I had it happen on 2 mobos now.

 

[Chicano]

That could be caused by some device or periferal.. what else do you have installed inside the case besides the list of components you posted initially?... and/or what peripherals do you have connected to the computer, other than the keyboard, mouse and monitor?..

How old is your build, and are all those components original, how long was the first mobo used, and how long the second?.

How old is Windows, have you ever reinstalled or clean installed it?

 

[tsunme]

logitech g600 mouse, cooler master quickfire tk keyboard, plantronics gamecom 780 headset, samson meteor mic.

My 1st mobo is actually my 2nd one for this computer, which i upgraded to about 3-4 years ago, same with my processor and ram, the rest of my internals are about 6-7 years old (grapihcs, hdd, psu). This newer mobo i've had for about a week.

Let me link you to a couple threads where I've been trying to fix that problem and everything I've tested.
http://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/28x2pi/computer_randomly_freezing/
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2108510/computer-randomly-freezing.html

 

[Chicano]

So it's still the same PSU and RAM? Those were suspected on your reddit thread... the PSU is old enough and is not so good quality. it's said to suffer from a voltage deflection of up to 10%... and that along with it's age can cause hardware issues including motherboard damage.

You also mentioned the freeze occured when on twitch.tv... is it still the same?. Someone mentioned a flash or GPU driver issue, and I would add the GPU itself may be at least part of it. I've also read that GPU issues can be detected as RAM related.

Another thing is your hard drive.. it's what? 6-7 years old?. You deffinitely have components that need attention, and if twitch.tv is still related, you can include software related causes. You mentioned having done virus and malware scans with no results... to discard software I would download a Linux distro and see if the problem persists..

 

[tsunme]

twitch isn't an issue anymore. I'm definitely upgrading my gpu within the coming weeks. as for the a linux distro, how would i go about doing that?

 

[Chicano]

Download a Linux ISO, burn it to a CD/DVD and boot the computer to it in Live CD mode... browse or do what you normally do when it freezes... if it doesn't freeze on Linux, you can discard a hardware issue and blame it on software... if it does freeze it's obviously hardware.
http://www.linux.com/directory/Distributions/popular-distributions

EDIT: Completely forgot about the 2 beeps and focused on the freezes... So this would not clear that up. You'll have to wait till you see if the new GPU makes a difference.

 

[tsunme]

Ok, so I was running Ubuntu for a little bit (just the try mode) and browsing reddit (since i couldn't watch anything without flash), and all of a sudden, it was like what usually happens except i could move my mouse (video/audio stopped, keyboard unresponsive). And then i guess it crashed or restarted or something, so i just exited ubuntu and went back to windows.

I actually switched back to my previous motherboard and was able to use it without needing to reformat. (which is odd maybe?)

 

[Chicano]

So, it's the same hardware issue persisting even on Ubuntu. You can discard: flash, hard drive, twitch.tv, other software... And leaves the PSU and GPU as possible causes to be replaced.

If the motherboard is the same model or has the same chipset, that may be why you did not have issues booting it.

 

[tsunme]

Ok, I should have a new gpu by the end of the week. i'll see if that fixes the issue, if not psu is next. What are we looking at if neither of those fix the problem?

 

[Chicano]

Possibly a bad motherboard... but first see if any of the following helps.
1. reaply thermal paste to the CPU
2. Update the BIOS... carefully so the problem won't be repeated on this other mobo.
3. Double check the PSU connections to motherboard 24 pin and 4/8 pin connectors, the cable connectors to the PSU, the HD and optical drive connectors.
4. Check the SATA cables on the motherboard, and also see if connecting the HDD cable to another SATA port makes any difference.
5. If at all possible, try testing the computer with still another RAM module.

 

[tsunme]

so just a little update, it seems that if don't use my browser, the longer i can last between freezes. sometimes i can last for 4-5hrs, but then its like i freeze and it will happen like every 15-20min.

 

[Chicano]

1. Try disabling your browser addons, particularly the Flash Player... Chrome includes it's own.

2. Uninstall the browser and replace it with some other.
Problem Solved: Google Chrome frequent freezes and crashes.
http://www.skial.com/threads/google-chrome-frequent-freezes-and-crashes.24778/

Firefox causes freezes and crashes
https://www.google.com/?hl=en#hl=en&q=firefox+causes+freezes+and+crashes

3. Run a Anti Rootkit... I believe you have already run Malwarebytes and the Antivirus and nothing turned out(?), but you havent run a anti rootkit. The Malwarebytes website has one free for download, AVG has another, and there are many others that may do the job.
https://www.google.com/?hl=en#hl=en&q=free+antirootkit
https://www.google.com/?hl=en#hl=en&q=best+free+anti+rootkits

4. Start / Search and type "hosts" and open the file with Notepad
Take a screenshot of the open hosts file and post it here, or compare the file text to the following text from my hosts file. Any difference may indicate an infection and the file has to be replaced or edited.
---------------------------------------------------------


# Copyright (c) 1993-2009 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host

# localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself.
# 127.0.0.1 localhost
# ::1 localhost

 

[tsunme]

I only have the built-in chrome flash so i'll try downloading adobe flash and disabling the other.
I've ran the Rootkit and nothing came up.
When I type in hosts, all i get is 'configure proxy server'.

 

[Chicano]

The hosts file is supposed to block unwanted/malicious websites and if it's missing, it's possible it has been deleted by malware and you have to replace it either with a default Windows or a custom hosts file with browsing security in mind. Custom hosts files include many urls to known malicious websites which are supposed to be blocked to your web browser... but you first have to search and make sure if the Hosts file is actually missing. The search result of 'configure proxy server' indicates an issue with the internet connection and it's possible the hosts file is missing but you have to make sure of that... install Everything file search tool... and if it fails to find it, install Copernic or Locate32

http://www.voidtools.com/

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-desktop-search-utility.htm