[SOLVED] PC Crashing/Freezing after memory upgrade

[pbert10]

Hi First time posting so forgive me if i'm breaking any rules. I've done many memory upgrades in the past and never encountered an issue like this before and have gone through many threads and post but unable to find a solution.

I recently upgraded my SSD as my older model was running low on space so I figured why not upgrade the ram as well. I have an Asus P8H61-M LX motherboard which previously had Kingston DD3-1333 CL9-9-9 24 ram in it (1 dimm only). Here are the memory specs from the site:

2 x DIMM, Max. 16GB, DDR3 1333/1066 Hz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)

• The maximum 16GB memory capacity can be supported with 8GB or above DIMMs. ASUS will update the memory QVL once the DIMMs are available in the market.
• Refer to www.asus.com or user manual for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists).
• Due to OS limitation, when installing total memory of 4GB capacity or more, Windows® 32-bit operation system may only recognize less than 3GB. Install a 64-bit Windows® OS when you want to install 4GB or more memory on the motherboard.

I purchased a 16GB G.SKill RipJaws X kit (http://www.gskill.com/specification/165/176/1532076864/F3-10666CL9D-16GBXL-Specification ). I've installed G.Skill ram in my other PCs and never had any issues. I re-installed windows 10 on the SSD and after installing every time I either get to the login screen or right after I log in the screen freezes with a bunches of squiggly lines on it (like those old VHS tapes that would go bad). The mouse locks up and I can't do anything but perform a hard shutdown. Here is what I tried:

• Ran memtest to see if there were any memory errors and both came up clean.
• Upgraded the BIOS firmware to the latest, same issue
• Tried running only one DIMM rather than both, same issue
• Ran the PC in safe mode (never freezes here) and updated VGA drivers (Note: I only have the integrated graphics card in this PC, no add on cards).

If I put back my old DIMM everything runs fine (using the PC to write this post). At this point it seems to be the new ram kit causing the issues but it seems to meet all the compatibility specifications. Is there any other settings or configurations that I should check or modify before giving up and try returning the RAM?

Thanks

 

[Darkbreeze]

Do you have them installed in the second and fourth slots over from the CPU going left to right, starting at the CPU and moving towards the edge of the motherboard?

Are you getting errors are the default configuration or have you enabled the XMP profile?

Have you tried a hard reset to reset the memory configuration tables? If you have not, then I would do so WITH the new memory installed in the second and fourth slots. THOSE are the slots the memory needs to be installed in for dual channel two DIMM operation.


BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes, press the power button on the case for 30 seconds. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the hardware tables to reset in the boot manager.

 

[pbert10]

Do you have them installed in the second and fourth slots over from the CPU going left to right, starting at the CPU and moving towards the edge of the motherboard?

Are you getting errors are the default configuration or have you enabled the XMP profile?

Have you tried a hard reset to reset the memory configuration tables? If you have not, then I would do so WITH the new memory installed in the second and fourth slots. THOSE are the slots the memory needs to be installed in for dual channel two DIMM operation.


BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes, press the power button on the case for 30 seconds. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the hardware tables to reset in the boot manager.

Hi Darkbreeze,

Thanks for the reply. I am using the default profile on the motherboard. Also it only has 2 dim slots. I tried the hard reset of the bios and didn’t work. To be safe i left the cmos battery over night and put it back in today when i got home from work and same issue. As soon as it gets to the login screen it freezes up and the screen looks like an old TV set with fuzzy lines on it. If I enter in safe mode this issue does not happen and if i put back the original 4gb of ram that i had installed it runs normally. Starting to wonder if its a compatibility issue with the ram and the board?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Boot into safe mode and do a clean install of the latest graphics drivers for your graphics card.

How To - How to perform a CLEAN install of your video card drivers.

Updated 9-19-19 How to do a CLEAN install of your graphics card drivers using the Wagnard tools Display Driver Uninstaller A major issue on many systems is the presence of multiple graphics card drivers or drivers that have been incompletely uninstalled followed by the installation of...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[pbert10]

Tried it and same issue.

 

[Darkbreeze]

It's possible you have incompatible memory. G.Skill seems to believe that ONLY these sticks, from what they have available, are compatible. Unlike motherboard QVL lists, memory manufacturer compatibility lists are usually pretty much spot on in most cases.

List of G.Skill memory compatible with your P8H61-M LX motherboard.

 

[pbert10]

It's possible you have incompatible memory. G.Skill seems to believe that ONLY these sticks, from what they have available, are compatible. Unlike motherboard QVL lists, memory manufacturer compatibility lists are usually pretty much spot on in most cases.

"][URL='http://www.gskill.com/configurator?page=1&cls=1529635169&manufacturer=1524725352&chipset=1531378040&model=1531384873[/URL]']www.gskill.com/configurator?page=1&cls=1529635169&manufacturer=1524725352&chipset=1531378040&model=1531384873]http://www.gskill.com/configurator?page=1&cls=1529635169&manufacturer=1524725352&chipset=1531378040&model=1531384873"]www.gskill.com/configurator?page=1&cls=1529635169&manufacturer=1524725352&chipset=1531378040&model=1531384873

Ya I had seen that. I'll reach out to them to get further info and then hopefully am able to get the memory replaced. Thanks for your help.

 

[Darkbreeze]

For sure. I'll bet it has to do with unsupported speed, or those modules have ranks or rows that are not supported on the board.

 

[pbert10]

So end result is they recommend different dimms. Not going to chance it and simply with get an additional 4gb of the existing ram and I’ll live with 8gb. Thanks for your help

 

[Darkbreeze]

Anytime man.