[SOLVED] Two Ram sticks won't work, but one does?

[NinjaCartman64]

Hello guys! I'm new here, even though I've been reading the forum every now and then
So, right to it. I've got 2 brand new HyperX Fury 4GB DDR3 sticks, for upgrade to my old guy PC, since I had a blue Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3 for years, yet my motherboard will only read one stick.
Putting the second one in the RAM slot results in the PC just constantly short beeping when booting up, turning off, turning on, and restart beeping until I just turn it off myself or something.
I've tried a lot of combos with the RAM slots but I really can't get to it.

Specs:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H
CPU: Intel i7 2600K
PSU: 650W
GPU: Gigabyte Nvidia GTX 480

I'm not really sure what to do and what's going on.
I tried nearly everything. Right now, one ram stick works fine, the other one causes the beeping whatever I do and whatever slot I connect it to.
I've been thinking about a faulty RAM stick since the one working now works in a slot the other one still didnt.
I tried connecting the working new ram stick with the old corsair one, same coloured slots, still continuous short beeps.
Closes I've been to something different than a continuous short beeping is the computer booting up for 1 sec or so, turning off, then booting up for 1 sec or so and turning off again.

I really really dont' know what to do, and it really makes me sad because I've been wanting to upgrade this thing for so long, and first chance I do and this happens 🙁

Sorry If I'm not being as detailed as I should, I appreciate any help! Thanks in advance, everyone!

 

[Darkbreeze]

So are you saying that one of the new sticks works no matter which slot it is in, but the other new one doesn't work in either slot? And, the old stick, that will work in either slot as well?

 

[NinjaCartman64]

So are you saying that one of the new sticks works no matter which slot it is in, but the other new one doesn't work in either slot? And, the old stick, that will work in either slot as well?

Kind of. If I remember correctly, one new stick works in every slot except the white DDR3_1 slot (which is the one furthest from the CPU). Currently it's in the DDR3_4 slot which is blue and the closest one to the CPU
There's the thing tho, the other new stick, seemignly doesn't work in any of the slots, including white DDR3_1.
The old corsair ram was in DDR3_3 and working fine, but trying the new ram in DDR3_4 and the old corsair in DDR3_3 (both blue) still resulted in nothing working and beeping and stuff.

(in conclusion probably the DDR3_1 white slot doesn't work in general? I really don't know)

Is it probably a faulty RAM stick? or is it a mobo problem? or a setting at best

Also, forgot to mention that the RAM sticks were not as a 8GB kit, but as individual sticks, just bought together (minimum requirement to buy was 2). Could this be the problem?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Oh, man, I almost looked the fool. I went and looked and realized that you have FOUR DIMM slots even though it's a microATX motherboard. That's unusual, but not unheard of, actually, because most micro ATX boards have only two DIMM slots.

That kind of changes things a little.

SO, first things first.

Put the one stick, or any stick, that will work, in the white DDR3_2 slot. Then, check to see what BIOS version you currently have installed. If you have ANY version other than F15, then you need to update to version F15. If you already have version F15, then put we can go from there to the next step which would be SPECIFICALLY verifying whether both sticks work in the DDR3_2 slot, which is the second slot over from the CPU and is the closest white slot to the CPU, or not.

If both sticks do not work work in that slot, then there is a problem, because THAT is the DIMM slot that is intended for use with a single DIMM. With TWO DIMMs installed, they should be in the DDR3_1 and DDR3_2 slots. No others. If you need to put the memory in any other slots than those two, then there is a problem somewhere that is likely either due to an old BIOS version, a CPU cooler that is not evenly tightened all the way around and is causing the CPU to be "cocked" in the socket just enough to break one or more contacts, there is one or more bent pins on the motherboard CPU socket OR something is not compatible about the memory. Or the memory is bad, but if ALL your sticks fail to work in the DDR3_2 slot then it's probably NOT the memory and is something else. Especially if they DO work in another slot, where they don't belong based on the motherboard population rules for this, and all, dual channel consumer DDR3 and DDR4 motherboards with four DIMM slots.

Once the BIOS IS up to date, I would TRY putting both of the new sticks in the correct slots, DDR3_1 and DDR3_2, the two white slots, and then do a hard reset of the BIOS to reset the hardware tables. Sometimes, that does the trick when we've changed memory or graphics card configurations.


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.

It is probably also worth mentioning that for anything that might require an attempt to DO a hard reset in the first place, it is a GOOD IDEA to try a different type of display as many systems will not work properly for some reason with displayport configurations. It is worth trying HDMI if you are having no display or lack of visual ability to enter the BIOS, or no signal messages.

 

[NinjaCartman64]

Oh, man, I almost looked the fool. I went and looked and realized that you have FOUR DIMM slots even though it's a microATX motherboard. That's unusual, but not unheard of, actually, because most micro ATX boards have only two DIMM slots.

That kind of changes things a little.

SO, first things first.

Put the one stick, or any stick, that will work, in the white DDR3_2 slot. Then, check to see what BIOS version you currently have installed. If you have ANY version other than F15, then you need to update to version F15. If you already have version F15, then put we can go from there to the next step which would be SPECIFICALLY verifying whether both sticks work in the DDR3_2 slot, which is the second slot over from the CPU and is the closest white slot to the CPU, or not.

If both sticks do not work work in that slot, then there is a problem, because THAT is the DIMM slot that is intended for use with a single DIMM. With TWO DIMMs installed, they should be in the DDR3_1 and DDR3_2 slots. No others. If you need to put the memory in any other slots than those two, then there is a problem somewhere that is likely either due to an old BIOS version, a CPU cooler that is not evenly tightened all the way around and is causing the CPU to be "cocked" in the socket just enough to break one or more contacts, there is one or more bent pins on the motherboard CPU socket OR something is not compatible about the memory. Or the memory is bad, but if ALL your sticks fail to work in the DDR3_2 slot then it's probably NOT the memory and is something else. Especially if they DO work in another slot, where they don't belong based on the motherboard population rules for this, and all, dual channel consumer DDR3 and DDR4 motherboards with four DIMM slots.

Once the BIOS IS up to date, I would TRY putting both of the new sticks in the correct slots, DDR3_1 and DDR3_2, the two white slots, and then do a hard reset of the BIOS to reset the hardware tables. Sometimes, that does the trick when we've changed memory or graphics card configurations.


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.

It is probably also worth mentioning that for anything that might require an attempt to DO a hard reset in the first place, it is a GOOD IDEA to try a different type of display as many systems will not work properly for some reason with displayport configurations. It is worth trying HDMI if you are having no display or lack of visual ability to enter the BIOS, or no signal messages.

BIOS version is F15, no need to update.
PC is working with ram stick in DDR3_2 as we speak, the new working one.
I'll try the other one alone see if it works, then try both of them with the CMOS battery reset?

Really thanks for your help btw, I really appreciate you giving the time and all you do

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yes, if the other one works, try both with then in the 2nd and 4th slots and if no love, try the BIOS reset.

 

[NinjaCartman64]

Yes, if the other one works, try both with then in the 2nd and 4th slots and if no love, try the BIOS reset.

2nd and 4th or 2nd and 1st? (slots 1 and 2 are white, slots 3 and 4 are blue)

 

[Darkbreeze]

No, slots 2 and 4 are white. Slots 1 and 3 are blue. You want to use the white DIMM slots. Those are the two slots MEANT for two DIMM operation.

 

[Jason H.]

2nd and 4th or 2nd and 1st? (slots 1 and 2 are white, slots 3 and 4 are blue)

you must put your main 1st 2 stick ram kit in slots 2 and 4. It will not work in 1 and 3 or any other config other than 2 and 4. Unless you have 4 sticks then you can put them in whichever slots because all 4 will be used.

Only when expanding memory do u add to 1 and 3.

 

[NinjaCartman64]

No, slots 2 and 4 are white. Slots 1 and 3 are blue. You want to use the white DIMM slots. Those are the two slots MEANT for two DIMM operation.

Okay got it.

So, I tried putting the other stick on slot 2 as well, and, didn't work, computer beeping again.

Also tried putting the working stick on slot 4 and it didn't work there again, even though it works on slots 1,2,3.

Haven't tried the CMOS battery reset yet since I didn't have the time and space required, but will do

 

[NinjaCartman64]

you must put your main 1st 2 stick ram kit in slots 2 and 4. It will not work in 1 and 3 or any other config other than 2 and 4. Unless you have 4 sticks then you can put them in whichever slots because all 4 will be used.

Only when expanding memory do u add to 1 and 3.

fair enough, didn't know.
but strange thing is that my solo 4gb ram stick that I had for years on this pc was on slot 3 and it worked just fine far all these years

 

[NinjaCartman64]

Interestingly enough tho, removing the working stick from slot 2 to check the other stick, I noticed one of the gold plated pins on the ram stick had noticeably gone darker in colour. could that be something like power failure?

 

[Calvin7]

You wrote, "forgot to mention that the RAM sticks were not as a 8GB kit, but as individual sticks".

Memory modules bought as Single modules have no guarantee to be compatible in any configuration other than as a Single module.

You are free to do your own compatibility testing with no guarantees if you choose to make such combinations.

 

[Darkbreeze]

You wrote, "forgot to mention that the RAM sticks were not as a 8GB kit, but as individual sticks".

Memory modules bought as Single modules have no guarantee to be compatible in any configuration other than as a Single module.

You are free to do your own compatibility testing with no guarantees if you choose to make such combinations.

That has nothing at all to do with any ONE stick not working in the system by itself though. Which is part of what he has explained has happened.

Honestly though, Calvin is right. I would very much believe that due to the discoloration of the gold teeth on one of your memory modules and the fact that these are not matched sticks that came together in a kit, you need to purchase a memory kit in the FULL amount of memory that you want to run, and then run those in the correct slots. Since one of your sticks works in the other three slots, but not in the 4th slot, this brings us around to the probability that there is a bent pin or other CPU/motherboard related issue.

Obviously it is up to you, and more obviously, finances will likely have the most to say about it, but it might be that it is time to simply cut bait and move on. If you need to buy both memory and a new motherboard, to fix your issues, it is simply not worth it. That would be money better spent being put towards a newer system.

If you are in the US you can get into a 2nd Gen Ryzen system with memory, motherboard and CPU for around 330 bucks, or a 3rd Gen Ryzen configuration that performs MUCH better than 2nd Gen, for around 380.00. Something to think about anyhow since a new motherboard and memory, used, in any kind of decent condition, is probably going to run you AT LEAST half of that. Seem better spent towards something six or seven years newer with better performance.

 

[NinjaCartman64]

That has nothing at all to do with any ONE stick not working in the system by itself though. Which is part of what he has explained has happened.

Honestly though, Calvin is right. I would very much believe that due to the discoloration of the gold teeth on one of your memory modules and the fact that these are not matched sticks that came together in a kit, you need to purchase a memory kit in the FULL amount of memory that you want to run, and then run those in the correct slots. Since one of your sticks works in the other three slots, but not in the 4th slot, this brings us around to the probability that there is a bent pin or other CPU/motherboard related issue.

Obviously it is up to you, and more obviously, finances will likely have the most to say about it, but it might be that it is time to simply cut bait and move on. If you need to buy both memory and a new motherboard, to fix your issues, it is simply not worth it. That would be money better spent being put towards a newer system.

If you are in the US you can get into a 2nd Gen Ryzen system with memory, motherboard and CPU for around 330 bucks, or a 3rd Gen Ryzen configuration that performs MUCH better than 2nd Gen, for around 380.00. Something to think about anyhow since a new motherboard and memory, used, in any kind of decent condition, is probably going to run you AT LEAST half of that. Seem better spent towards something six or seven years newer with better performance.

Oh okay, I got it. Best solution for now is returning the sticks back (I'm covered at least) and buy a solo 8gb one.
Thanks a lot for your help though, I really appreciate it