[SOLVED] My pc keeps freezing in bios, memtest86 and windows

[panos theodorakis]

Hi my system is 5 years old with the only recent upgrades being 16gb ram, 2tb Toshiba hdd
I5 4460
Z 97-p
16 Kingston hyper x
Kingston hyper x ssd
1tb wd blue
2tb Toshiba
Gtx 960 2gb
Coolermaster G650m
Latest windows 10

So the problem first occurred during Christmas during a casual browsing on web. The pc got stuck with everything spinning but zero sound response and sound. During that time i upgraded from 8gb of ram to 16gb from a friend that went to ddr4 so the modules where tested and were fine on his system...

With covid-19 around the corner i left in a rush (to go back to my hometown) and left it without diagnosing it.

After Easter i went back and unplugged everything because I was moving to my birthplace as my semester had ended.

As i got back i removed everything from the case and cleaned everything thoroughly, changed thermal paste to cpu and gpu etc.

Got it all set and boot it, i had zero problems for about a month or so... After that it got stuck again and did the same thing as i pushed the power button for 10 sec to shut it down it then boot up again and kept boot looping until I turn the switch to off from the PSU.

Left it alone for a couple of days because i had ordered an additional hdd to put in. After installing the hdd i did a format just to have clean slate to begin from zero.

And for sometime everything was ok until one day it's just shut down without doing anything. And boot up again on its on and got again on bootloop without stopping.


When its not bootlooping and boots normally i can hear the post beep just like normal.

No extra beeps nothing

Yesterday I took a voltmeter and measured the 24pin, 8pin and 6pin... Everything looked normal except for the pin number 14 that was at 11.47v which someone said to me that its pretty low if we consider that it had no load externally but only what the case has inside.

So today I run memtest86 and it got stuck on the last test after 2 hours so I did it again this time it froze just 9 seconds after initiating it.

So can anyone plz help HEEELP ME, I'm desperate and my brother doesn't let me borrow his psu to test if mine is faulty!!!!

UPDATE
The memtest86 on the first try with both sticks failed
The second attempt failed even faster
The third attempt with one was successful
The forth with the other stick was successful too
The fifth attempt with both sticks was a success too...
Zero errors the whole time I'm ready to give up seriously... The psu is running ~16 hours now with not a single problem....

 

[clutchc]

My first thought is that the PSU is failing. The voltage readings at idle really don't tell you much. Under load, that voltage can drop. One of my old rigs acted similarly and was fixed by replacing the PSU.

Might also be a bad ram stick. Try memtest again this time with just one stick at a time.

 

[panos theodorakis]

My first thought is that the PSU is failing. The voltage readings at idle really don't tell you much. Under load, that voltage can drop. One of my old rigs acted similarly and was fixed by replacing the PSU.

Might also be a bad ram stick. Try memtest again this time with just one stick at a time.

Thanks I will try the ram before doing anything else....

 

[clutchc]

If memtest with a single stick causes the same issue, try unplugging and disconnecting as much peripherals and components as you can and try again.

 

[panos theodorakis]

If memtest with a single stick causes the same issue, try unplugging and disconnecting as much peripherals and components as you can and try again.

Currently running keyboard mouse and monitor with one ram stick will see what happens...

 

[LinuxDevice]

...
So the problem first occurred during Christmas during a casual browsing on web. The pc got stuck with everything spinning but zero sound response and sound. During that time i upgraded from 8gb of ram t...
...
So today I run memtest86 and it got stuck on the last test after 2 hours so I did it again this time it froze just 9 seconds after initiating it.
...

Are all current RAM sticks matched? If you mixed your old ones with the new ones, it would be rather common for a failure. If the installed RAM is from the original set, then I'd ignore this and just go by the memtest86.

 

[panos theodorakis]

Are all current RAM sticks matched? If you mixed your old ones with the new ones, it would be rather common for a failure. If the installed RAM is from the original set, then I'd ignore this and just go by the memtest86.

The thing is... The guy that had them, had one stick of 8gbs at the beginning and after some time he got another one by searching the numbers with the first one ... What should i post here to help you figure out if thats the problem....?

 

[panos theodorakis]

Are all current RAM sticks matched? If you mixed your old ones with the new ones, it would be rather common for a failure. If the installed RAM is from the original set, then I'd ignore this and just go by the memtest86.

Here is a picture of them

https://imgur.com/a/NZkbNLO

View: https://imgur.com/a/NZkbNLO

 

[egda23]

After re-reading your first post, I vote for a PSU problem, as CLutchC.
Coolermaster, to put it mildly, is not the most repliable PSU brand

 

[panos theodorakis]

After re-reading your first post, I vote for a PSU problem, as CLutchC.
Coolermaster, to put it mildly, is not the most repliable PSU brand

Thanks for the response, but i need to be sure....

 

[mdd1963]

A set of (potentially unmatched) RAM sticks might work fine on someone else's board at whatever clock speed, but, might not work on yours...

Check each module individually...

Then borrow a matched set, first testing at conservative speeds/timings...

As others have already pointed out, a PSU can cause weird lockups easily...

 

[panos theodorakis]

A set of (potentially unmatched) RAM sticks might work fine on someone else's board at whatever clock speed, but, might not work on yours...

Check each module individually...

Then borrow a matched set, first testing at conservative speeds/timings...

As others have already pointed out, a PSU can cause weird lockups easily...

But what does the potentially unmatched means? What numbers of the sticker should match ? I have already run memtest86 individually for each stick and now i initiated it with both of them installed and waiting for the results, as for the psu 0 problems the past 12-14 hours 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[panos theodorakis]

My first thought is that the PSU is failing. The voltage readings at idle really don't tell you much. Under load, that voltage can drop. One of my old rigs acted similarly and was fixed by replacing the PSU.

Might also be a bad ram stick. Try memtest again this time with just one stick at a time.

Did the psu failed constantly or twice a week for example....? You know more randomly....

 

[Turtle Rig]

Try to put in the RAM timings and speed an d voltage manually as to what the RAM Kit box says. So basically do not use X.M.P as that is not reliable and what not. Enter in the speed in Mhz the voltage and the CL timings for both channels and boot her up. If still problem then try one RAM stick at a time and if tsill no go then yes PSU might be botched, as I doubt the CPU or mobo is dead or something. 😷💯🙈👨🏽‍🦲✝

 

[panos theodorakis]

Try to put in the RAM timings and speed an d voltage manually as to what the RAM Kit box says. So basically do not use X.M.P as that is not reliable and what not. Enter in the speed in Mhz the voltage and the CL timings for both channels and boot her up. If still problem then try one RAM stick at a time and if tsill no go then yes PSU might be botched, as I doubt the CPU or mobo is dead or something. 😷💯🙈👨🏽‍🦲✝

This is the settings that both modules have, without messing eith anything, no xmp enabled what should i change?

https://imgur.com/a/QIYTtNL

View: http://imgur.com/a/QIYTtNL

 

[clutchc]

Did the psu failed constantly or twice a week for example....? You know more randomly....

Mine? It never actualy failed. It just caused stuff not to work at random times. The PSU was on a test bench I use to work with various components. When trying to install W10 for instance, it might not complete the install... just sit there. When running games or benchmnarks, it might crash or re-boot. Different things that never were consistent.

Your Cooler Master G650M wasn't that bad of a PSU when new. Jonny Guru gave it passing marks (except for the caps), and he's pretty tough.

 

[panos theodorakis]

Mine? It never actualy failed. It just caused stuff not to work at random times. The PSU was on a test bench I use to work with various components. When trying to install W10 for instance, it might not complete the install... just sit there. When running games or benchmnarks, it might crash or re-boot. Different things that never were consistent.

Your Cooler Master G650M wasn't that bad of a PSU when new. Jonny Guru gave it passing marks (except for the caps), and he's pretty tough.

Hmmm so after doing memtest86 for about 12 hours, and a prime95 for about 3(for ram stressing not cpu temperature) without any crashes or even any problem at all for 24 hours. What do you believe that is my problem (as I'm writing this my screen has start flickering randomly for about half a sec while playing)

 

[LinuxDevice]

The thing is... The guy that had them, had one stick of 8gbs at the beginning and after some time he got another one by searching the numbers with the first one ... What should i post here to help you figure out if thats the problem....?

If sticks were exact matches in published speeds, then they stand a reasonably good chance of working. However, there are good reasons why RAM is sold in sets...multi-channel kits are even more closely matched. The producers of the "sets" will bin together DIMMs which are very closely matched. "Closely" is subjective, but the more channels are being interleaved for performance, the more "closely" binned the DIMMs must be to a perfect match. How close the requirement is for multichannel can exceed the requirement of simply being rated at the same specs in single channel operation. You can always check one stick at a time, and you may find each stick works solo, but may fail in dual channel configuration.

Testing this implies testing each stick, maybe for 8 hours, using memtest86+. If those all pass, then trying both in the correct slots, perhaps without dual channel enabled, for another 8 hours. Follow this by dual channel testing for 8 hours. If you get some minimal failures at non-repeating addresses, then you could possibly turn up the DIMM voltage by the absolute minimum your system can bump it up by, and try again. Random failure addresses tend to be non-permanent stability issues, whereas metest86+ failing at the same address is likely an actual bad stick of RAM. In the case of non-permanent failures you can increase stability with a bit of voltage increase, but this has diminishing returns since it also causes heat to go up...which makes the RAM less stable.

 

[Turtle Rig]

This is the settings that both modules have, without messing eith anything, no xmp enabled what should i change?

https://imgur.com/a/QIYTtNL

View: http://imgur.com/a/QIYTtNL

Im not familiar with that BIOS and that is not the right place to enter in the Mhz Voltage and CL timings. You say you run memtest without issue so I doubt its the RAM so no need to troubleshoot that. If your getting screen flickering then the video card is the culprit. I highly doubt the PSU is bad or else it wouldn't have passed tests for 24 hours. I would try a different video card and then you will get a bigger picture of what is going on. 🤙🏽🤷‍♀️😷🙈✝

 

[panos theodorakis]

If sticks were exact matches in published speeds, then they stand a reasonably good chance of working. However, there are good reasons why RAM is sold in sets...multi-channel kits are even more closely matched. The producers of the "sets" will bin together DIMMs which are very closely matched. "Closely" is subjective, but the more channels are being interleaved for performance, the more "closely" binned the DIMMs must be to a perfect match. How close the requirement is for multichannel can exceed the requirement of simply being rated at the same specs in single channel operation. You can always check one stick at a time, and you may find each stick works solo, but may fail in dual channel configuration.

Testing this implies testing each stick, maybe for 8 hours, using memtest86+. If those all pass, then trying both in the correct slots, perhaps without dual channel enabled, for another 8 hours. Follow this by dual channel testing for 8 hours. If you get some minimal failures at non-repeating addresses, then you could possibly turn of the DIMM voltage by the absolute minimum your system can bump it up by, and try again. Random failure addresses tend to be non-permanent stability issues, whereas metest86+ failing at the same address is likely an actual bad stick of RAM. In the case of non-permanent failures you can increase stability with a bit of voltage increase, but this has diminishing returns since it also causes heat to go up...which makes the RAM less stable.

Seriously it doesn't even worth it all this headache all this testing we are talking hours and hours of testing here and simply its doesn't worth it because even after soooo many hours no one is guarantying that i will manage to find a solution... Truly... But since the last 24hours or more i haven't encountered a problem i will simply let it be as it is and in the meantime I will start saving money to go to ryzen and ddr4 ... I have pre-ordered cyberpunk so i want my system to be ready for cd project red creation... Thanks for the amazing help and feedback if you have anything to add plz feel free!

 

[panos theodorakis]

Im not familiar with that BIOS and that is not the right place to enter in the Mhz Voltage and CL timings. You say you run memtest without issue so I doubt its the RAM so no need to troubleshoot that. If your getting screen flickering then the video card is the culprit. I highly doubt the PSU is bad or else it wouldn't have passed tests for 24 hours. I would try a different video card and then you will get a bigger picture of what is going on. 🤙🏽🤷‍♀️😷🙈✝

No no i didn't meant that from there i will be able to change something what I meant was with that picture to help you tell me what need to be changed from the data you see... But i understand what you meant now! Also I think the flickering has to do with a loose cable I will see if it still persists tomorrow...
Thanks for your input you can see above this message what I have decided to do you were very helpful!!! If you have anything to add then plz feel free to do it !!! Thx again

 

[Turtle Rig]

No no i didn't meant that from there i will be able to change something what I meant was with that picture to help you tell me what need to be changed from the data you see... But i understand what you meant now! Also I think the flickering has to do with a loose cable I will see if it still persists tomorrow...
Thanks for your input you can see above this message what I have decided to do you were very helpful!!! If you have anything to add then plz feel free to do it !!! Thx again

Oh that's great news come on fix the cable lol! Fill me in and know where always here for you, so anything further just ask. ✝😷🤷‍♀
🙈👨🏽‍🦲🤷🏽‍♂️💯🙏🏽

 

[LinuxDevice]

Seriously it doesn't even worth it all this headache all this testing we are talking hours and hours of testing here and simply its doesn't worth it because even after soooo many hours no one is guarantying that i will manage to find a solution... Truly... But since the last 24hours or more i haven't encountered a problem i will simply let it be as it is and in the meantime I will start saving money to go to ryzen and ddr4 ... I have pre-ordered cyberpunk so i want my system to be ready for cd project red creation... Thanks for the amazing help and feedback if you have anything to add plz feel free!

I've been quite happy with the Ryzen 3600x (I like the "x" not just because it is faster than the "3600" non-x, but also because the cooler is better on the "x" model...saves money buying an aftermarket). AMD CPUs are more sensitive to RAM speed than are the Intels, but even DDR4 3200 is now very effective and prices are reasonable. Whatever the speed is of the RAM you get, just make sure the XMP profile is enabled or the RAM might be running at some unusually slow speed (enabling XMP on mine basically doubled frame rates)

 

[panos theodorakis]

I've been quite happy with the Ryzen 3600x (I like the "x" not just because it is faster than the "3600" non-x, but also because the cooler is better on the "x" model...saves money buying an aftermarket). AMD CPUs are more sensitive to RAM speed than are the Intels, but even DDR4 3200 is now very effective and prices are reasonable. Whatever the speed is of the RAM you get, just make sure the XMP profile is enabled or the RAM might be running at some unusually slow speed (enabling XMP on mine basically doubled frame rates)

I know i have build some systems with ryzens and the truly have a difference as a system with proper ram speeds the thing is should i go with the 3600x or up it a little bit for future proof? Ot should i just upgrade in a couple of year on a much much better am4 cpu ?

 

[LinuxDevice]

I know i have build some systems with ryzens and the truly have a difference as a system with proper ram speeds the thing is should i go with the 3600x or up it a little bit for future proof? Ot should i just upgrade in a couple of year on a much much better am4 cpu ?

The 3700x is significantly higher performance, but it depends on what you are doing how much this will help. For example, if you have a fast GPU, then the frame rate will have a lot of dependency on CPU and how fast the data can reach the GPU. On the other hand, if your GPU is already slow or matched to work virtually 100% capacity, then increasing CPU won't help much (I'm assuming a gamer perspective). Even if the 3700x does work near capacity, then I would say that every once in awhile dips in frame rate would be less often versus the 3600x. If you have the money, then sure, the 3700x is definitely a good buy and more performance.

If you really want a lot of performance, but do not want to spend on absolute top and and do not want liquid cooling, then consider the 3900x. You would definitely need good cooling, but you could get away with air cooling. I have not looked for specs on how good/bad any default cooler is for this, but it is nearly a guarantee that a 3950x using air cooling would be a "bad idea". If you plan to play Star Citizen, or anything CPU sensitive, then the 3900x is the best you could get without mandating liquid cooling. If you really want the best high end for the buck, then consider a 3950x with an AIO cooler. The previously mentioned 3700x would have a definite bump in performance over the 3600x in CPU intensive games, including Star Citizen.