[SOLVED] RAM - Monitor Issue

[Barrie1981]

Hi,

A week ago, my partners PC started to randomly shut off or refuse to power up.

With moderate IT knowledge myself, I checked the RAM.

I took out one of 8GB sticks, tried again and the PC turned on. Brilliant.
I then bought a new compatible 8GB stick and replaced the dodgy one. Problem solved or so I thought.
Over the past few days the PC will boot up as normal and get to windows and it will restart fine.

However... If you turn the PC off, and try to power on, there is no signal to the screen.

If, I then take one stick out, and turn the machine on it works. If I then turn the machine off, and turn it back on, no signal to monitor again.

I have tried, different combinations of using different ram in different slots, with just 8gb on its own, and the other with 16gb, and there is no pattern emerging at all.

So in a nutshell, when turned turning the PC on, unless I have taken a stick out, or swap the ram around, I will not get a signal to the monitor. If a combination does work, and I turn the PC off, the next time I turn it on (with the same combination that just worked) I get no signal to the monitor.

So random and strange but I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance


RAM is DDR 3, 8GB 1600MHZ. (I have 3 sticks, 2 old and 1 new).
Motherboard is gigabyte ga-h81m-s2h

 

[Nemesia]

Hi Barrie1981.

What is the rest of the specs including the PSU brand and model?

 

[Barrie1981]

Hi,

PSU - XFX Pro 650 w Bronze....
CPU - i74790
Windows 10 Home

 

[Barrie1981]

I have taken out the ram, cleaned the slots


Try 1
New stick on its own in slot 1
Turn on machine – NO SIGNAL
Turn off machine

Try 2
New stick on its own in slot 2
Turn on machine – WORKS
Turn off machine

Try 3
Return new stick on its own in slot 1
Turn on machine – WORKS
Turn off machine

Try 4
New stick on its own in slot 2
Turn on machine – NO SIGNAL
Turn off machine


Tested in that order..

 

[Barrie1981]

And it is now constantly starting and restarting on its own

Changed back to slot 1 and its working and not restarting

 

[Juan_Bijero]

Generally speaking when it comes to RAM it is important to avoid buying individual sticks of RAM. They need to be equal pairs. First I must say that my example while not DDR 3 RAM is still pertinent to your situation: Let's say you purchased 2 sticks of Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200 mhz RAM, and then a few months later you purchased another pair of the same model of Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200 mhz RAM that looks exactly the same - but it isn't! It will be a different lot #. And this new lot will likely have a change such as moving from single-sided to double-sides chips. This will make the computer unstable. So you need to return the new stick - and may need to purchase a paired set of sticks of higher capacity. It is also important to check to see if your motherboard manufacturer's web site has a QVL (Qualified Vendor list) for your motherboard. I hope this helps.

 

[Barrie1981]

This problem started to occur with 2 identical sticks of ram that had been in use for many years about a week ago

 

[Nemesia]

You might have started to get RAM issues because of your PSU dying slowly. You could have 2 issues here. The PSU and the RAM.

A system shutting down or restarting is mostly caused by overheat and the PSU.

RAM cause BSOD.