PC halting on POST screen

[dazzalabs]

Hi!

Recently purchased the Nero X2 4200 Dual Core system and two sticks of 512MB PC3200 400MHz memory to take it up to 2Gb :D WOOHOO!.

unfortunately, i have an intermittent but somewhat reproducible :? problem with restarting the computer. whenever I start the pc up after leaving it off for while, no problems, straight into Windows... but when I restart the thing (this is restarting from the BIOS menu, Windows, the XP installation, whenever) it halts on the POST screen after displaying the processor :(

the hard drive does what it usually does (the light stays on for about 7-8 secs) but then it just stays there.

sometimes when i restart it will work but display the memory at the wrong speed too (333mhz instead of 400)

i thought it might be the memory but i don't know coz I haven't worked with pcs for ages.

any suggestions would be welcome. thx :D :D :D

[gwendes]

Carry out a memory check (memtest86 or similar) or remove the additional and see if the problem goes away.

[Chewie]

Dazza

Just how many sticks of ram do you now have installed, 1 x 1gb and 2 x 512mb or 4 x 512mb?
The catalogue mentions its 1024mb Dual channel 400mhz setup, so the 4 x 512mb is most likely.

With that in mind, did you buy a matched Dual Channel set of ram? (nForce baords, be they series 1, 2, 3 or 4, do not normally like un matched ram operating in dual channel mode)
If not, its a fair bet that the motherboard does not like them as they will more than likely not be a working well togethor (2 different brands, , possibly different timing on the cas/ras t delay etc)

Not being familiar with this board ( hedge a guess, its a foxconn nf4), you could take the 2 original sticks and set them in single channel mode then add your new sticks, might solve the problem, but thenyou will have lost the little beneefit you had from operating in dual channel mode.

If MEMtest does not pick up any errors after a minimum of a 4hr run, this would be your best course of action, to get matched sticks, either 2 new sets of Dual Channel rated ram or a straight out 1 set of 2x1gb Dual channel ram.
edit
I tried looking up the specs on the novatech website, and they just lead to a blank page after a choice for any of the 4 types available. PC-0855T, TH, TM or TP depending on your software needs :? )

[Kremmen]

Just as a bit of info, I purchased a X2 4400+ and also opted for an additional 2x512 sticks to take me to 2Gb.

The one thing I found is that it is very easy to not seat the new memory fully. I found that it was impossible to insert the memory horizontally as recommended but I hade to 'click' home each end seperately to get it to seat properly.

I'm wondering whether excessive pressure may have damaged the mobo or whether they are perfectly seated and line up with the existing RAM ?

[dazzalabs]

Chewie,

Thanks for your suggestion

The original system came with 2x512Mb sticks so in keeping with that bought two of exactly the same RAM (well, the stickers on them say they're the same anyway). So, yes, i'm now running with 4x512Mb of the 400Mhz memory.

I suppose the first thing i'll try is just use the sticks the system came with originally (so take out the added ones). i won't be able to run memtest until this evening, so i'll let you know how things go when thats done.

this problem is more of an annoyance since the pc is usable... just gotta hope i can get this thing sorted before TES4: Oblivion gets released on Friday :)

thanks for your help.

fyi.. i got the PC-0855T so I could configure the system myself (fast thinking a pre-installed option might have been safer :( )

[dazzalabs]

Kremmen,

funnily enough I was thinking the exact same thing as my two extra sticks seem to be seated slightly lower than the original two (whether this is by design to highlight the different 'dual-channel' slots I don't know :? ).

like you, i also couldn't get them to automatically lock-in when i pushed them in.

I'm hoping it hasn't damaged the mobo but the full 2Gb did register the very first time i started the PC up.

[Chewie]

The ram should always lock in first time, and should normally sit at the same level. To avoid seating them too far, push them in enough to just engage the locking tabs, then use these to seat them fully, as the rounded edges willl guide them down to the needed level.

Before you take the ram out again Dazza, go into the bios at startup (hopefully before it freezes) and check the memory info, then shutdown, take out the ram and restart and go into bios again, see if theres any differences in the settings.

The chips may have the same stickers and general details, but the important thing is, were they tested for Dual Channel compatability.

The original set may be the same spec and WHERE tested for Dual Channel, but you haven't said if you new sticks were 2 x 512mb generic Novatech ones or whatever.

Im guessing you got 2 of these http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/spec ... RAM-N40512 (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?RAM-N40512)

Again, this is an assumption that the memory that came with the pc is Novatechs own supplied stuff (thanks novatech for the great info available on this system, a little more besides its an *NF4 SLI mobo and 1024mb of 400mhz ddr ram* would be nice).

I said before and i'll say it again. you MUST HAVE DUAL CHANNEL RATED memory with dual channel rated memory, or it will be tempremental to say the least.

I'm not trying to get you to spend more money Daz, but a performance system such as a NF4, regardless of who makes it will require the right ram to get the best from it.

Out of further curiosity, what board do they supply in this pc?

[dazzalabs]

Thanks for the info, Chewie

Yeah, I don't know exactly what memory was originally in the system, but I know for certain the memory I was sold was the RAM-N40512 you stated in your post.

I assume the memory, though, would have to be EXACTLY the same in order to get the dual channel capability enabled (sorry to sound stupid :? , but DDR Dual Channel is somewhat new to me).

FYI, the board in my PC is a NF4SK8AA-8EKRS.

[Chewie]

NO problem mate

I thought it was the Foxconn board, so i tried http://www.foxconnchannel.com to see if i could dl the manual and see what the setup was on your ram slots. at a guess i'd say yellow is channel A and blue is Channel B, but as to how they work their dual channel setup i couldn't tell you.

If it was me, I'd see about a return on the 2 sticks of ram, because for £25 a stick, despite the drop in prices of late) that is a bargain generic stick of ram.

If you were to run that system with the novatech memory and its (probably quite loose timings) and compare it with the same system but with say some crucial/corsair/OCZ if you go via Novatech or another leading brand, you will see the difference. Be it with 3Dmark, Sisoft Sandra, or any application that uses a lot of physical memory.


For now, try plaaing with thebios settings and see if you can get it to run in single channel only (including the pyhsical placement of the sticks, and see how it goes.

If that don't help, look around for a decent not too expensive brand or ram, that comes in 2 1gb sticks Dual Channel.

I'd recommend the Geil brand for price and reliability, but not many people stock it. And i'm sure they wont want me mentioning another companies name on their forum :wink: virtually taking trade from them.

[dazzalabs]

Here's a quick update on progress...

I've tried it with the four sticks and the two sticks, using the optimised and failsafe BIOS settings for both, and neither have solved the problem. My guess is the problem actually lies elsewhere... irritating, but thats the way things go, I guess :( Unfortunately, I now can't even get past the POST screen, so now I can't actually get to the BIOS to change anything.

On a divergent note, removing the extra sticks made the original sticks register as 400MHz, not 333, so I guess there must have been some kind of incompatibility between the sets of sticks.

I take your point about the memory though, might be worth looking for some decent Corsair mem when I get the chance.

Think the techs at Novatech need to take a look at this one tomorrow.

Thanks for all your help everybody! :D

[Chewie]

Before you do, just go back inside one last time, and just give all the cabling a gentle push to make sure they are securely seated.

Especially the hard drive(s). If they are SATA its possible your moving around may have dislodged something.

In order to reset your settings, get the manual out and look for the cmos clearing method. may be a case of holding down a button at start up (think its INSERT on MSI socket 939 NF4 boards, not sure)or the basic old method of physically moving a jumper on the motherboard when the pc is powered down, leaving for a 20secs, setting the jumper back as it was, and then powering up again. Before you do thejumper method (if it is that), switch the power off at the wall, and just give the power button on the case 1 push to drain off excess voltage left in the main power capacitors within the system. NEVER power up a system with the cmos clearing jumper set to clear, or you'll wreck the board.

All the movement of the ram may have led to the no longer getting past the POST stage, so make sure the ram sticks are securely seated, just give em a little side to side movement, emphasis on LITTLE movement just to ensure they are in right.
If that doesn't help, then by all means take it in and i hope they can solve it. DOn't be surprised if they point in a total different direction and say the ram just added to the problem.

[dazzalabs]

Hi all! Sorry I didn't let you know the outcome of this one sooner...

Took the thing for repair and turns out one of the hard disks had a bit of a problem with it. They stripped out and replaced both...

Thing is... got the same problem again when I got it connected up. Took a while to figure it out, but my Microsoft USB mouse was causing the problem! :? Not sure how or why, the ports work fine with other peripherals in them. Tried the mouse in every port, too. Think I'll just stick with my PS/2 optical now then... :)

Thanks for all your help, though.

[iRobot]

I have a similar problem but it's intermittant the worst kind of problem, i wonder if it's the same thing as i have a wireless microsoft mouse and keyboard.