RAM Issue

[Filip Georgievski]

Ever since i setup my RAM Sticks to run Dual Channel with custom timings ( read from CPU ID on RAM) and an OC from 1333 to 1600mhz ( since my board's factory set is 1333) ive come across something weird.

Every now and then, when i turn on my PC, i come across a issue, which makes half of my RAM ( particularly 1 ram stick) goes into hardware reserved RAM, or basically speaking, it is unusable.

Then i do a couple of restarts and afrer that, it detects all RAM as usable.

I use Windows 10 Pro 64bit, and my timings are 2T 11-10-10-30, as suggested by CPU ID on JEDEC6.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Ever since i setup my RAM Sticks to run Dual Channel with custom timings

Then back off or disable the custom timings and see if the problems go away.

 

[eidairaman1]

The ram will need to be ran at the weaker sets timings and voltage.
+1 @Bill_Bright suggestion. Another note aswell, stop screwing with your rig. 99% of issues are between seat and keyboard

 

[Kursah]

Why not run your RAM at XMP settings in your firmware? Do they not have a profile or is it not compatible with your MB?

DDR3 1600 @ CL11 is pretty damn loose, and should be stable. Are you running 1.5v?

Another issue here could be possible corrupted EFI/Firmware...in which case a CMOS clear would be recommended.

I've also seen RAM detection issues caused by bent pins in LGA sockets, which ironically S1156, the socket for the P55 platform you're on I had the worst of these issues with. A pin slightly off can cause issues. Usually if it gets worse you'll only see half your RAM. Have you reseated your CPU recently? Reseated the cooler? Anything to do with your CPU socket?

 

[Jetster]

Why not run your RAM at XMP settings in your firmware? Do they not have a profile or is it not compatible with your MB?

DDR3 1600 @ CL11 is pretty damn loose, and should be stable. Are you running 1.5v?

Another issue here could be possible corrupted EFI/Firmware...in which case a CMOS clear would be recommended.

I've also seen RAM detection issues caused by bent pins in LGA sockets, which ironically S1156, the socket for the P55 platform you're on I had the worst of these issues with. A pin slightly off can cause issues. Usually if it gets worse you'll only see half your RAM. Have you reseated your CPU recently? Reseated the cooler? Anything to do with your CPU socket?

Board doesn't have XMP

 

[Kursah]

I was trying to recall if my Asus P55i Sabertooth did or not, pretty sure it supported XMP and that other P55's I used supported XMP.

It also appears that the MSI board Filip uses appears to support XMP, but is finicky in how it works with i7's and i5's, and affects them a little differently due to platform and CPU clock/multi design for the time. A quick Google search shows this guy is using the same board with XMP and another user here, also ironically both are having memory issues as well. Seems with i5's it can push OC's too far and kill system stability...so definitely something to be very careful with.

What's the specific part number and information for the memory you have @Filip Georgievski ?

 

[Filip Georgievski]

It doesn't support XMP, howerver I can set timings, bus, freq manualy.

 

[Kursah]

I'm so used to seeing 1600 CL9, it's crazy to see CL11 stuff still out there!

Please see my other post and answer those questions if you can as well.

 

[Filip Georgievski]

I'm so used to seeing 1600 CL9, it's crazy to see CL11 stuff still out there!

Please see my other post and answer those questions if you can as well.

See bottom 2 CPU ID windows.

 

[Kursah]

Why not run your RAM at XMP settings in your firmware? Do they not have a profile or is it not compatible with your MB?

DDR3 1600 @ CL11 is pretty damn loose, and should be stable. Are you running 1.5v?

Another issue here could be possible corrupted EFI/Firmware...in which case a CMOS clear would be recommended.

I've also seen RAM detection issues caused by bent pins in LGA sockets, which ironically S1156, the socket for the P55 platform you're on I had the worst of these issues with. A pin slightly off can cause issues. Usually if it gets worse you'll only see half your RAM. Have you reseated your CPU recently? Reseated the cooler? Anything to do with your CPU socket?

I was referring to those.

 

[Filip Georgievski]

 

[Jetster]

I dont see XMP? Am I missing something

 

[Filip Georgievski]

Did a clean up on my tower couple of weeks back, and I did all those things.
That is when I did swap sticks to run Dual Channel, and started experiencing this issue.
Just to note, BIOS detects all RAM correctly even if Windows puts half of it as Hardware Reserved.
I'm starting to wonder if I need to do a fresh install of Windows 10.

 

[Jetster]

Blow the slots out real good, maybe some contact cleaner

 

[Kursah]

Did a clean up on my tower couple of weeks back, and I did all those things.
That is when I did swap sticks to run Dual Channel, and started experiencing this issue.
Just to note, BIOS detects all RAM correctly even if Windows puts half of it as Hardware Reserved.
I'm starting to wonder if I need to do a fresh install of Windows 10.

I would have you consider carefully inspecting your socket for bent pins. A Windows 10 re-install would be a fast option if you don't feel like digging back into your system. If your CPU cooler has adjustable tension, you might back it off and see if that changes results...if a pin is slightly off...reducing the extra pressure brought on by a cooler can sometimes make it worse/better which proves the point of needing to check the socket.

When I've seen such an issue as you describe here, its been a bent pin or BIOS issue. Not an OS issue as it gets that information from your firmware which in turn gets its information from your hardware.

 

[Filip Georgievski]

BIOS was flashed with the help of a GUIDE from MSI, so I can rule that out as well.
CPU cooler Is a GAMAXX 400 so for the 1156 socket, it has pins, like on the stock Intel Heatsink, so I don't think I can do anything about that.

 

[FireFox]

I dont see XMP? Am I missing something

+1

 

[Kursah]

BIOS was flashed with the help of a GUIDE from MSI, so I can rule that out as well.
CPU cooler Is a GAMAXX 400 so for the 1156 socket, it has pins, like on the stock Intel Heatsink, so I don't think I can do anything about that.

Still doesn't hurt to clear the CMOS to confirm there's no issues, I've seen issues in BIOS and EFI's that weren't apparent cause some serious head-scratchers that was fixed with clearing. Not saying it'll fix here, but I won't assume either way.

Well theoretically the pin support system should provide similar force if used by other vendors as there's a certain design and allowance for clearance. Luckily that also means that cooler should be easy to remove so you can inspect your CPU socket for bent pins.

I dont see XMP? Am I missing something

Ya I don't see it there either, I wonder if MSI realized the issue that I linked to a few posts ago and removed it since it may have caused more headaches for i5 users than not?

Maybe it detects an i5 microcode and disables the XMP feature altogether now?

Regardless, knowing the specs of the RAM, it should be easy enough to manually set as Filip shows us with his pictures.

 

[Jetster]

Regardless, knowing the specs of the RAM, it should be easy enough to manually set as Filip shows us with his pictures.

Some boards can be finicky. Maybe up the voltage or loosen the timings

 

[Kursah]

Some boards can be finicky. Maybe up the voltage or loosen the timings

True... but Cl11 on DDR3 1600 is already quite loose IMHO. But it might not hurt to try 12-11-11-36. I'd try 1.5250V or 1.5500V from 1.5000V as an increase in voltage first. 11-10-10-30 is pretty light.

Might not be a bad idea to fire off a couple rounds of Memtest x86+ from a bootable USB too. Use all threads to make it go quicker, which also stresses the MC a little more too.

I still feel this is a bent pin issue tho...just from the issues the OP lists and my experience with similar ones. Its easy enough to fix with a magnifying glass, a stead hand and a super small eye glass flathead screwdriver.

 

[Filip Georgievski]

5 reboots in a row with no issue.
Still haven't open my tower, no time to do it.
When i get the issue, ill post up some pictures of it.

The funny thing i noticed, when i get the issue. When i open AIDA64, and go to memory, it detects both sticks, but in overall RAM it says 4 GB total.

But when i open CPU ID and check slots for RAM, it only detects the stick in my first slot.

 

[eidairaman1]

5 reboots in a row with no issue.
Still haven't open my tower, no time to do it.
When i get the issue, ill post up some pictures of it.

The funny thing i noticed, when i get the issue. When i open AIDA64, and go to memory, it detects both sticks, but in overall RAM it says 4 GB total.

But when i open CPU ID and check slots for RAM, it only detects the stick in my first slot.

reseat the cpu, ram, format your OS

 

[Bill_Bright]

Formatting the OS is a last hope effort that often does not work - especially with hardware issues as the same hardware is still attached and typically the same drivers are used. Not to mention all downloads, program installs, and personal data is lost and needs to be reinstalled or restored. And restoring often restores the problem. Even if a format does work, nothing is learned to prevent recurrence.

5 reboots in a row with no problems does not suggest an OS problem.

 

[Kursah]

In the time it takes to do 5 full reboots one could easily be to the point of ripping off the CPU cooler and taking the CPU out of the socket.

@Filip Georgievski this is not a software or OS issue. Anyone that's dealt with bent or misaligned pins on a LGA socket has probably seen this a few times. I explained clearly before what you need to do next. When you can make time to do it that is. Not much more to be said or done until you take those steps. It not only furthers diagnostics but gives you something different to try that might actually fix the issue.

Another thing to look out for is dried CPU paste in the socket or on the CPU contacts. I just had one that would not boot with 2 sticks of RAM but would get into EFI before locking up with 1 stick. Found on the used CPU I failed to inspect the contacts and 2 were covered in dry paste. Cleaning it off and reinstalling fixed the issue 100%. No amount of rebooting would've fixed that. Time for you to do something different to fix your isues as well.

Keep us posted!

 

[Filip Georgievski]

Ill try to do it tonight cause tomorrow morning i don't have work to do and i can stay up later this evening and inspect that CPU socket, and take some shots of it with my DSLR while doing it.