PC wont boot unless I remove and put RAM back in

[bustinya]

Hi guys, I built my custom gaming computer a week ago and everything worked fine. The problem came the second time I tried to boot it up. The lights and all the fans turned on when I pressed the power button but the monitor stayed in stand-by. I double checked all the cables and it wouldn't work. Googled the problem and they told me to remove and insert again the video card and the CMOS battery. It worked, but the next time I tried to boot it (after shutting down) it did the same thing. I read that it was the RAM so now everytime I try to turn on, it wont work and I have to remove and put back in the RAM. It works after, but it says that "Windows failed to boot __ times." and asks me if I want safe mode or normal. I don't want the computer components to be harmed by so many unsuccessful boots. Is there a fix? I got even more worried when I started getting Blue screens of death when the computer was running just fine. I've gotten BSOD about 3 times now. My antivirus is AVIRA but I used to have norton since it came with mobo. I haven't installed anything weird. Just some games from steam or Origin, League of legends, antivirus and the drivers and software from mobo and video card.

My setup:

-ASRock 990FX Extreme4
-Radeon 7870 Sapphire GHz OC edition
-AMD FX8350 8core at 4.00Ghz
-Rosewill Green Series 630W PSU
-Samsung 840series 120GB ssd
-Seagate 1TB HDD
-G Skill Ripjaws 2x4GB 1600 Mhz
-ASUS DVD-RW
-Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
-NZXT Sentry 2 fan control (ik its not important but maybe its causing the trouble).

I have Windows 7 Ultimate downloaded from internet. It all worked fine. Idk if downloading from internet is stupid but it was the only option I had.

I know the BSOD and the computer not wanting to boot might be different problems but if you know the answer to any of those, please help!

 

[Upgrader011]

Your RAM might not be compatible with your CPU. Are your CPU and Motherboard the same sockets? You might also have a defective part

 

[bustinya]

Im sure the motherboard and cpu are same sockets. Im not THAT dumb 😛 not sure about the RAM though or about the defective part.

 

[Upgrader011]

Okay, what are your RAM specs? Like what speed is it

 

[bustinya]

Okay, what are your RAM specs? Like what speed is it

Gskill Ribjaws Red 2x4GB at 1600MHz

 

[Upgrader011]

update your BIOS

 

[bustinya]

Can you tell me which one it is? I have windows 7 ultimate 64bit but don't know which one to get. They say they are for windows 8 so im not sure if it will work and I don't want to screw it up. http://www.asrock.com/mb/download.asp?Model=990FX%20Extreme4&o=BIOS

 

[Upgrader011]

do you know what version your BIOS is right now?

 

[bustinya]

Uhhh not sure, but its an old one. You can notice the pixels because of bad resolution. I think its from 2009 or 2010.

 

[Upgrader011]

i dont know how to update AMD BIOS you should look for a tutorial. hopefully somebody that knows can help you

 

[bustinya]

I successfully updated my BIOS to the most recent one. Not sure if it fixed the problem, but if the bsod doesnt go on again and booting always works, It wil.

 

[Upgrader011]

I successfully updated my BIOS to the most recent one. Not sure if it fixed the problem, but if the bsod doesnt go on again and booting always works, It wil.

does it work?

 

[bustinya]

Apparently it did! I turned the computer off and back on and it booted perfectly without having to reseat the RAM. Thank you. I am going to test it again in the morning and see if it works. Im not sure if this will solve the BSOD problem, but it did solve the RAM reseating one! Again, thanks.

 

[Upgrader011]

Apparently it did! I turned the computer off and back on and it booted perfectly without having to reseat the RAM. Thank you. I am going to test it again in the morning and see if it works. Im not sure if this will solve the BSOD problem, but it did solve the RAM reseating one! Again, thanks.

yup no problem! pleasure to help

 

[bustinya]

Yup, it worked! It even boots faster (sounds reasonable since new is usually faster). Thank you again! Im not sure if I'll get blue screens of death but it fixed the RAM reseating.

 

[LEDPros]

Sometimes too I have found the RAM slots get a little oxidized... pci slots do it too. You just need to spray some contact cleaner in there to fix it. http://www.amazon.com/CRC-Electrical-Contact-Cleaner-Aerosol/dp/B003NTQCA2

You can get the stuff at NAPA, Oreilly, Advanced Auto and the like as well.

 

[bustinya]

Sometimes too I have found the RAM slots get a little oxidized... pci slots do it too. You just need to spray some contact cleaner in there to fix it. http://www.amazon.com/CRC-Electrical-Contact-Cleaner-Aerosol/dp/B003NTQCA2

You can get the stuff at NAPA, Oreilly, Advanced Auto and the like as well.

I don't think that's the case. All the components are new with one week of use and have never been in contact with water. Haven't seen any oxidation marks either. Thanks for the help in case it happens sometime anyway!

 

[mattkenrick21]

Hey, this is a stupid question to ask, but if not all DIMM Slots have RAM in them, are the unoccupied ones locked? I was having this issue, and the last time I went to open the case, I just locked my unoccupied RAM slot, and it was able to boot. I didn't move the RAM.

 

[bustinya]

Hey, this is a stupid question to ask, but if not all DIMM Slots have RAM in them, are the unoccupied ones locked? I was having this issue, and the last time I went to open the case, I just locked my unoccupied RAM slot, and it was able to boot. I didn't move the RAM.

I don't remember if both empty slots were locked, but one of them must have been locked since it was under the CPU heatsink and there was no space.