Help Pc won't post with dual channel ram.

dat722

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 20, 2007
Messages
408
Previously, my niece was running a fx6300 and am3 board with gskill 2x4gb 1600mhZ ram at dual channel. It was stuck in a boot loop so I figured I would upgrade the whole thing.

Specs now is:
i7-4770
Gigabyte Z97-hd3 Rev. 2.1
2x4gb Gskillz 1600mhz
Evga nex 750w
Same hyper 212 plus cooler.
Same Msi armor 1060 6gb

I tried every combo possible. Each ram works in each slot. 2 sticks works in single channel (red and blue slot). I tried the bare minimum motherboard and ram only. I even tried no hyper 212 with a fan blowing at the bare cpu. I retightened the standoffs and etc also!

Help please!
 
Gigabyte boards stuck in boot loops are almost always due to corrupt CMOS settings, corrupt BIOS or corrupt backup BIOS conflicting with the primary BIOS. I've had plenty of experience with misbehaving Gigabyte boards, which is why I don't buy them anymore.

Like the guy above you said, pull the battery and the power cord so the board has no power, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes and then reinstall the battery (normally just a minute works, but Gigabyte boards are that kind of special.) You may also want to check if the battery has enough juice left, if it's below 2.5v, you'll want to replace it.

Also very important, MAKE SURE you have the RAM in the correct slots for dual channel mode, it's not always intuitive in which slots should be used. If you use the wrong slots, the board can fail to POST or act erratically. Download the manual for the board from the gigabyte website if you don't have it already and it should tell you the allowable memory configurations. In newer boards, the farthest slot from the CPU is more often slot 1, so you may have to put one module there and one module in slot 3, which would be the second slot from the CPU socket.

If you do get the board to boot, I'd immediately do a BIOS update, and let it also update the backup BIOS if one is present, it usually does this after the primary is successfully flashed. You should also do a memtest with memtest86+ (www.memtest.org) If you press F2 when it prompts at memtest startup, it will run in threaded mode and go a whole lot faster. I'd recommend at least 8 hours to make sure the memory is good.
 
Okay quick update. I removed the battery again to reset bios for 15 min. Still doesn't post dual channel. I put one in 1 and 3 to post to bios and choose boot with optimal settings. And tried 1 and 2 again. No go
 
https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Motherboard/GA-Z97-HD3-rev-21#ov

Dual Channel Memory Configuration: This motherboard provides four DDR3 memory sockets and supports Dual Channel Technology. After the memory is installed, the BIOS will automatically detect the specifications and capacity of the memory. Enabling Dual Channel memory mode will double the original memory bandwidth.The four DDR3 memory sockets are divided into two channels and each channel has two memory sockets as following: Channel A: DDR3_2, DDR3_4Channel B: DDR3_1, DDR3_3

Due to CPU limitations, read the following guidelines before installing the memory in Dual Channel mode.1. Dual Channel mode cannot be enabled if only one DDR3 memory module is installed.2. When enabling Dual Channel mode with two or four memory modules, it is recommended that memory of the same capacity, brand, speed, and chips be used and installed in the same colored DDR3 sockets. For optimum performance, when enabling Dual Channel mode with two memory modules, we recommend that you install them in the DDR3_1 and DDR3_2 sockets.
Untitled.jpg
 
https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Motherboard/GA-Z97-HD3-rev-21#ov

Dual Channel Memory Configuration: This motherboard provides four DDR3 memory sockets and supports Dual Channel Technology. After the memory is installed, the BIOS will automatically detect the specifications and capacity of the memory. Enabling Dual Channel memory mode will double the original memory bandwidth.The four DDR3 memory sockets are divided into two channels and each channel has two memory sockets as following: Channel A: DDR3_2, DDR3_4Channel B: DDR3_1, DDR3_3

Due to CPU limitations, read the following guidelines before installing the memory in Dual Channel mode.1. Dual Channel mode cannot be enabled if only one DDR3 memory module is installed.2. When enabling Dual Channel mode with two or four memory modules, it is recommended that memory of the same capacity, brand, speed, and chips be used and installed in the same colored DDR3 sockets. For optimum performance, when enabling Dual Channel mode with two memory modules, we recommend that you install them in the DDR3_1 and DDR3_2 sockets.
View attachment 227486
Yea that's exactly what I had initially. It won't post. Only 1, 3 or 2, 4 works. Or single sticks
 
If you do get the board to boot, I'd immediately do a BIOS update, and let it also update the backup BIOS if one is present, it usually does this after the primary is successfully flashed. You should also do a memtest with memtest86+ (www.memtest.org) If you press F2 when it prompts at memtest startup, it will run in threaded mode and go a whole lot faster. I'd recommend at least 8 hours to make sure the memory is good.
I'd say this is your best bet then.
 
I'd say this is your best bet then.

Yes I tried this route already. Only thing I did not try from the old build is to change cpu cooler. The hyper 212 plus is fairly tight imo. I'll try an Intel stock cooler.
 
Yes I tried this route already. Only thing I did not try from the old build is to change cpu cooler. The hyper 212 plus is fairly tight imo. I'll try an Intel stock cooler.
I doubt it has anything to do with the cooler unless it's so tight that the CPU isn't sitting in the socket correctly.

If you do try this I would pull the CPU to check for bent pins and to make sure it's seated correctly.
 
I doubt it has anything to do with the cooler unless it's so tight that the CPU isn't sitting in the socket correctly.

If you do try this I would pull the CPU to check for bent pins and to make sure it's seated correctly.
Yea the pins were bent. I bought it from a user on reddit. The timestamps show the board with bent pins also. Thanks guys
 
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