Strange Memory/Booting Problem

[Ozymandias]

In my NF2 board, I ran 2x 256 mb sticks, and 1x 512 mb stick for a total of a gig. The 2x 256 sticks were originally purchased, and then I added the 512 stick after I got pissed off at long loading times. Anyway, I was surprised when I found out that the Ultra-D doesn't allow for mixed memory sizes. So, I decided to use the 2x 256 mb sticks for the slight dual channel performance boost until I could afford another 512 stick. I used slots 1 and 3 (with the 3/16 BIOS) with the 2x 256 sticks. About a week ago, the RAM stopped working in slots 1 and 3 for no apparent reason. So, I just switched them to slots 2 and 4 and went along my merry way, figuring I'd use those slots with the 2x 512 sticks.

 

Today I just received my other 512 stick and I popped it in with the other 512 stick in slots 2 and 4. This is where the problem starts.

 

The board only allows me to boot up when I either have 1x 512 stick in slot 2 (doesn't matter which one, and I've memtested both), or 2x 256 sticks in slots 2 and 4. As soon as I stick in another 512 stick of the same type into slot 4, I get 3 debug LEDs and a long beep. Slots 1 and 3 don't work with either the 2x 512 sticks or the 2x 256 sticks. I even tried slots 1 and 2 with the 2x 512 sticks, but that didn't work either.

 

I switched to the 3/10 BIOS, and tried slots 2 and 4 again- no joy. I haven't changed the memory voltage jumper, and I've reset the CMOS a couple of times- I've done the pull power cord, battery, switch jumper, and press power a couple of times method as well.

 

All the sticks are the same 3200C2 stuff, rated at 2-3-6-3, but the only two sticks with the same revision are the 2x 256 sticks (rev. 1.2). Would that make a difference?

 

Is there some BIOS setting that I'm missing, or something that would be limiting me to only 512mb of RAM?

 

Otherwise, I'm at my wits end, and I'm thinking of RMA'ing the board. I've never RMA'd anything before though, and I don't really want to deal with the down-time, so it's a last-resort option. If I'm going to though, I need to do it soon- I ordered it 25 days ago, and Newegg only has a 30-day warrantee.

[Angry_Games]

5/10-2 bios first

 

do it with only 1 DIMM populated (orange slot closest to edge of the board)

 

after flashing, reboot long enough to make sure it boots.

 

shut down

 

pull power, battery, clear cmos jumper for about 10-15 minutes just to get a good long hard clear

 

come back and set everything back up, boot up to bios, load optimized defaults, save & exit, then go right back into bios.

 

set the bios how you like it.

 

Save & exit, then shut down, add your second stick of memory.

 

Be aware that your older 512MB stick and your new 512MB stick might be two totally different modules, even if they have the same 'name'.

 

5/10 bios supports Venice/San Diego/X2.

 

Earlier bioses work with those cpu's for some, but most have to update to 5/10.

[Ozymandias]

Nope. Same problem as before (3 LEDS and a long beep) with slots 2/4 and 1/3.

 

The original 512 stick is Hynix (or was it Infineon?) Rev. B, and the new one is "new" BH5. I don't think they'd have problems together, but let me test them in another system. Unfortunately, it's not another NF4 system, so I don't know how much it'll prove/disprove.

[Sharp]

Hello,

 

Would you really RMA the board becuase it does not work when you mix 2 totally different modules?

 

It is the mixing the is causing the problems, A different Revision module can make all the difference.

 

When buying memory you must always make sure that they are the same, including revision. (Usually not possible to find out).

 

So the best way is to buy all new, sell the old one/keep it.

Or buy a dual channel kit.

 

Should you buy a dual channel kit, dont expect the same dual channel kit a year later to be the same. - The revision thing still applies. (A lot can happen in 1 month too)

 

And some Corsair modules have difficulty in the DFI nF4 board + Hynix chips.

[Mr Stom]

You could try giving the memory a little more juice, 2.7 or 2.8v to see if that helps kick the beast to life. Sometimes the NF4 boards need a little extra push to get posted in dual channel.

[Ozymandias]

I've decided to buy a dual-channel kit, and sell my old stuff to someone locally. I figured that was the problem, because the old stick's SPD is 3-3-8-3 @ 200 MHz, which has given me small problems before in more lenient boards. It still doesn't explain why the board won't let me use slots 1 and 3 with matched 256 mb sticks (with the 5/10 BIOS), only slots 2 and 4, which is why I thought something is wrong with the board.

[Sharp]

Hello,

 

I hope it works, SLi mod voids the warranty

[kempez815]

I've decided to buy a dual-channel kit, and sell my old stuff to someone locally. I figured that was the problem, because the old stick's SPD is 3-3-8-3 @ 200 MHz, which has given me small problems before in more lenient boards. It still doesn't explain why the board won't let me use slots 1 and 3 with matched 256 mb sticks (with the 5/10 BIOS), only slots 2 and 4, which is why I thought something is wrong with the board.

 

Well lots of different boards have lots of different issues with RAM I'm afraid.

 

My old MSI NF2 (ok I know ) had major issues with Kingston RAM (any of it, not just value) and many boards tell the same story.

 

Try the suggested and don't forget to look on the memory sticky for reccomended modules