Question Four Crucial DDR3 modules stopped working after regular shutdown

[sinip]

Here's what happened.

I have Gigabyte GA Z77-DS3H motherboard.

So I took four Crucial 8GB modules, installed them as a part of my desktop overhaul, and tested them with Memtest86, all is well.

Then I worked on that computer until the evening and shut down Windows 10 x64 the usual way. The next day, I switched on the computer, the power came up, disks started spinning, but no beep signalling successful initialisation and nothing on the monitor. I could hear the rhythmic low audio click - click - click... from the speaker.

So I thought that the BIOS crashed since it happened once before.

Long story short, BIOS is good (I've even re-flashed it eventually, version 11a) but the computer only booted when I put in some other memory module (HyperX 8GB). No matter what I do with those four modules, if I install only one of them, any of them in any slot, there's no boot and no BIOS showing up. No beeps no nothing. Just that clicking.

I'm pretty sure modules are OK but I don't have another PC to test them and I don't think that all four of them got fried instantly somehow. I've even replaced the PSU thinking that it could have something to do with that but those four refuse to boot even with a different PSU.

So, what the heck?!?

 

[Bob.B]

Here's what happened.

I have Gigabyte GA Z77-DS3H motherboard.

So I took four Crucial 8GB modules, installed them as a part of my desktop overhaul, and tested them with Memtest86, all is well.

Then I worked on that computer until the evening and shut down Windows 10 x64 the usual way. The next day, I switched on the computer, the power came up, disks started spinning, but no beep signalling successful initialisation and nothing on the monitor. I could hear the rhythmic low audio click - click - click... from the speaker.

So I thought that the BIOS crashed since it happened once before.

Long story short, BIOS is good (I've even re-flashed it eventually, version 11a) but the computer only booted when I put in some other memory module (HyperX 8GB). No matter what I do with those four modules, if I install only one of them, any of them in any slot, there's no boot and no BIOS showing up. No beeps no nothing. Just that clicking.

I'm pretty sure modules are OK but I don't have another PC to test them and I don't think that all four of them got fried instantly somehow. I've even replaced the PSU thinking that it could have something to do with that but those four refuse to boot even with a different PSU.

So, what the heck?!?

If you have xmp enabled turn it off....test.
Try resetting the bios....test.

 

[sinip]

Thanks for the suggestions but there are no XMP settings in the BIOS and its settings were reset during the reflashing procedure.
Everything's on "Optimized Defaults" as suggested after the update.

 

[Deleted member 14196]

try only one stick at a time in the proper slot. try to find out if any are good. test with memtest86 one at a time, one full pass zero errors allowed. otherwise, it's bad

 

[Bob.B]

Thanks for the suggestions but there are no XMP settings in the BIOS and its settings were reset during the reflashing procedure.
Everything's on "Optimized Defaults" as suggested after the update.

You might want to give bios f9 a test drive.

 

[sinip]

Here's the update.

I've tried every module, individually, in every memory slot - no joy.

I've also done that while running F9 BIOS, the only difference is that I didn't hear that low audible click-click-click sound.

Is it possible that the BIOS chip itself is not 100% OK?

I have that QiGuan test card - https://www.pctestcards.com/qiguaninc.com/met/producten/producten123_en.html and with those Crucial memories it shows 05DE, where DE stands for something wrong with the BIOS.

When I boot with a stick that works, I get 4EDE, so the "DE" remains. I did have BIOS crashing once "out of the blue sky" where I had to hardwire pins 1 and 6 of the main BIOS to restore from the backup BIOS chip but as far as I remember, at that time, I didn't have that DE code once I got the PC running again.

I have another AMD processor board with DDR3 slots so I'll try to make it work and run with those Crucial modules to see what happens.