Question I moved my RAM over a spot and now I don't know what's wrong

[Josephdaze]

I bought an upgrade to my ram yesterday from 2x4gb to 2x8gb. When I installed the new ram I didn't know they needed to be in 1, 3 or 2, 4 and installed them right next to each other. So while I had some time today I moved one of the sticks over a slot. Now my computer is freezing up and I just got a "Critical_Process_Died" BSOD. Did I do something wrong? I completely unplugged my computer before moving things over and I read somewhere is should be fine but I'm having these issues. What did I do wrong and what can I do to fix it?

 

[drivinfast247]

Install one nearest the 24pin motherboard power plug, skip a slot, then install the 2nd. Make sure they are fully seated in the slot.

 

[Josephdaze]

Install one nearest the 24pin motherboard power plug, skip a slot, then install the 2nd. Make sure they are fully seated in the slot.

Right, I did that but now I'm having this problem in the op. They were originally right next to each other and everything was mostly fine. But after I moved them to how it should be is where my problems started.

 

[MeanMachine41]

Your MB manual should indicate a recommended RAM slot usage. Most are best configured for dual channel operation or as in your case (2x8) using slots A2 and B2.
Remove your RAM and clear CMOS. Reinstall the 2x8 modules and ensure they are seated correctly.
If it continues then open an elevated Command Prompt and type SFC /SCANNOW to check for any corruption in WIN32 files.

 

[drivinfast247]

Right, I did that but now I'm having this problem in the op. They were originally right next to each other and everything was mostly fine. But after I moved them to how it should be is where my problems started.

Clear CMOS and reset BIOS defaults.

Also, list your PC specs.

 

[Josephdaze]

Clear CMOS and reset BIOS defaults.

Also, list your PC specs.

Sorry,
Graphics: Gtx 1080 ti
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x8gb
Cpu: i5-7500
MB: MSI Z270
Also I have no idea what that means to reset cmos. I looked it up real quick but from the video I saw I don't know if I have the little piece to do that..?

 

[geofelt]

Read your motherboard manual.
It will tell you which are the preferred slots to populate if you will not be filling them all.
You will want one dim in each channel.
Unfortunately identifying channels is not a standard so read your motherboard manual.

slots 1&2 if it worked would likely give you single channel operation.
My guess would be slots 2 and 4.

To test out the ram download memtest86 to a bootable usb stick.
Memtest boots from the usb stick and does not use windows.
It should exercise your ram. It should complete a full pass with NO errors.
If the test passes, look for your BSOD problem in windows.
You may need to do a cold boot with fast boot disabled.

 

[Josephdaze]

Read your motherboard manual.
It will tell you which are the preferred slots to populate if you will not be filling them all.
You will want one dim in each channel.
Unfortunately identifying channels is not a standard so read your motherboard manual.

slots 1&2 if it worked would likely give you single channel operation.
My guess would be slots 2 and 4.

To test out the ram download memtest86 to a bootable usb stick.
Memtest boots from the usb stick and does not use windows.
It should exercise your ram. It should complete a full pass with NO errors.
If the test passes, look for your BSOD problem in windows.
You may need to do a cold boot with fast boot disabled.

I looked into the manual and it said 2 & 4 is right which is what I moved it to. But my system boots to desktop and just freezes then bsod "critical process died". I didn't see anything about cmos from skimming the manual but I'll look again. I hardly understand even half of what you guys are saying and have to look up most things but I'm trying to work it out. Would reinstalling the only do anything or no?

 

[MeanMachine41]

There are differing ways to clear your CMOS. Using the CMOS jumper pins or you can remove the CMOS battery for 10 mins. To ensure the caps are FULLY discharged, press the power button OFF and ON. Replace the battery and you should be good to go. Your Bios will be set back to default so RAM settings may need tweaking if SPD is set lower than your RAMS rated speed.

 

[Josephdaze]

There are differing ways to clear your CMOS. Using the CMOS jumper pins or you can remove the CMOS battery for 10 mins. To ensure the caps are FULLY discharged, press the power button OFF and ON. Replace the battery and you should be good to go. Your Bios will be set back to default so RAM settings may need tweaking if SPD is set lower than your RAMS rated speed.

The manual says I can press f6 to load optimized defaults for my bios. Would that be okay? Im not particularly comfortable touching things I don't know what they are without clearer guidance considering I have little idea what I am doing in the first place. I just thought I could move the slot over and I don't understand why this is becoming a problem in the first place.

 

[MeanMachine41]

Yes if your able to access bios then F6 will do.
Did you move the RAM to a different slot with power to the MB? That would mess things up!!

 

[Josephdaze]

Yes if your able to access bios then F6 will do.
Did you move the RAM to a different slot with power to the MB? That would do it!!

I had unplugged my computer before moving the ram over. But if I can just hit f6 I'm a lot more comfortable with that than squeezing my hand under my graphics card to pull the battery out.
Real quick before I do that though it's showing me the things it changed when I hit f6 and wanted to know if it's fine to go through cause there's a lot of words and it's intimidating.
FCLK Frequency for early power on: 800Mhz>1GHz
SLP_S0# Voltage monitoring: Enabled>Disabled (this is the main one that scares me, but I don't know anything)
HID Event Filter Driver: Enabled>Disabled
Topology: Unknown>ISATA
Detect timeout 0>50
And then some boot option changes which I kind of know about

Edit: also idk if it's worth mentioning but the ram DOES show up in bios. In the right slots and the information is correct, both 8 gb with a total of 16gb

 

[Josephdaze]

F6 worked just fine, back up and running. Sorry if I'm literally stupid but when it comes to hardware I am irrationally terrified to even touch it so I was at stress level 100 for most of that. Thanks everyone for your patience and help.

 

[MeanMachine41]

Your Welcome Joseph Glad you have it sorted.