ASRock TP-55 Self CMOS reseting

[mtb89]

I also have 16GB of 1333 RAM.

Here's what's been happening:

The computer first started freezing.
Then it started to shut down with a CMOS reset randomly.
Half of my RAM is now not recognized by the mobo. At start up it says "8048mb ok" while posting. In Win7x64 is says 8gb "hardware reserved".

Here's what I have done:
I've run the extended mdsched.exe while the computer still recognized all 16gb. No errors.
Flashed the BIOS to the latest version. It already was the latest, but I flashed it anyway.
Run prime95 for a while, no errors.
Run OCCT for the gpu, no errors.

At frist I caulked it up to bad RAM, which I was just going to remove one-by-one run the mdsched.exe each time. However, last night I started the computer up and everything was running fine, all 16 gb was recognized. This makes me second guess my original conclusion; hence why I'm posting here.

One side effect is that Mass Effect 3 runs very poorly, about 5-10 fps, while half the RAM is hardware reserved. Also, the computer is not overclocked. The RAM voltages are correct.

 

[clutchc]

It sounds like your BIOS is messed up. Are you sure you flashed the correct BIOS? If so, have you tried resetting the BIOS by removing the battery and shorting the CLR CMOS pins. And be sure your CMOS battery is still good. It might be a good time to change it.
Btw, I can't find that board listed at Asrock. They have a P55 but no TP-55 listed that I could find. Biostar however has a TP-55 board.

 

[mtb89]

You are correct, I mis-titled it.
Here it is: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/P55%20Extreme/
You know, I have a feeling you might be right about that battery. I'll change it out, reset the CMOS and see if that works. Also, very sure I'm flashing the correct BIOS, right from the link above.
Thanks for the reply!

 

[clutchc]

You are correct, I mis-titled it.
Here it is: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/P55%20Extreme/
You know, I have a feeling you might be right about that battery. I'll change it out, reset the CMOS and see if that works. Also, very sure I'm flashing the correct BIOS, right from the link above.
Thanks for the reply!

While it's always a good idea to start BIOS troubleshooting with a fresh CMOS battery, I doubt that was the cause of your shutdowns and poor video performance (unless the weak battery was corrupting the BIOS settings). The memory could still be the culprit. Let's eliminate that possibility first. (Even tho the RAM appears OK for now). Run at least one full pass on individual sticks with Memtest; http://www.memtest.org/#downiso
The folks at Memtest recommend an overnight run per stick to be sure the errors don't only show up after the system has been on for an extended time. Many folks go with the 7 passes per stick rule.

 

[oneeye_72]

This might sound like a silly idea, but it happened to a friend. He was getting random shutdowns, BSOD's, and all sorts weird problems.

Unplug both the 24pin and 4/8pin motherboard connectors and check for signs of arcing, (carbon and/or melted plastic.)

Clean them up (make sure there is nothing preventing them from fully seating) and replug, (making sure they are firmly seated.)

This cured my friends machine and he hasn't had a problem since.

Its worth a try, when all else has failed.

 

[clutchc]

One other thing... when you prove out 2 sticks of RAM (8GB) are good, try the system with just those 2 sticks in their matching slots. See if your gaming issue is corrected. I'm wondering if it might be an issue with the board/memory slots