[opensuse] OT: Is the problem the Motherboard or the RAM
Getting ready to install opensuse 11.1 on a new machine, or at leat the motherboard, the RAM, and the CPU are new. M/B: Asrock AMD A780GXE. this is an AM2+ socket M/B, that supports 8GB of DDR2 1066, and Phenom CPU CPU: AMD Phenom quad core 9850 RAM: 4 sticks of 2GB OCZ Platinum DDR@ 1066 RAM. The 4 sticks are actually two pairs of Dual Channel Memory, all the same speed. There is also a 475W Thermaltake power supply, 4 SATA II drives and an aluminum case form the old system. The motherboard includes integrated graphics, so no graphics card. The M/B has four DIMM slots. DIMM1 and DIMM2 are dual channel, as are DIMM3 and DIMM4. Problem: I insert all 4 sticks of memory. CPU fan and all case fans spin as do hard drives. No Post. I remove 2 sticks, leaving DIMM!1and DIMM2 occupied. All fans and drives spin no post. I put 2 sticks in DIMM3 and DIMM4. all fans and drive spin, no post. I remove stick from DIMM2. Computer boots. BIOS correctly detects CPU and CPU speed. Identifies memory as DDR@ 800 (not 1066 as manufacturer claims and is on the memory). Run memtest and memory passes with no errors. Test 2 other sticks in DIMM 1 and both pass memtest with no errors. I test the 4th stick in DIMM# and it passes memtest with no errors. One thing that is curious is that from a cold boot memtest rates the memory at DDR2 667. From a warm boot it rates it at DDR2 800. I put one stick in DIMM1 and one stick in DIMM3 so that it runs in single channel mode. Computer boots fine. Thus it posts and boots with 4GB in single channel mode, but not in dual channel mode. I could find no option in the bios to disable dual channel mode, so there is no way to test 8 GB in single channel mode. I basically left the BIOS defaults, except that I changed the DIMM voltage from auto to 2.2V, which is what is specified for the RAM. I am not trying to overclock or anything exotic. Any ides on a methodology to determine whether it is the M/B or the RAM that is causing the problem? I do have four sticks of 2GB DDR2 667 RAM in the production server that I could test, but I am not that anxious to take down the server. We are a small office and it could be done after hours if need be. I suppose I could fiddle with the BIOS and manually set the RAM speed to low values and see if it posts, but I wanted to seek ideas here before starting that. By googling I found some indications that if it posts with memory in one slot but not two it is the M/B, but other posts seem to indicate that Dual channel memory is sometimes mismatched and can be the problem. My desktop is an Asrock M/B (different model) with 4GB of dual channel memory and it hasn't hiccuped once. Thanks for any feedback. Mike -- Michael A. Coan Woodlawn Foundation 524 North Avenue, Suite 203 New Rochelle, NY 10801-3410 Tel 914-632-3778 Fax 914-632-5502 -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Saturday 03 January 2009 01:45:55 pm Mike Coan wrote:
I basically left the BIOS defaults, except that I changed the DIMM voltage from auto to 2.2V, which is what is specified for the RAM. I am not trying to overclock or anything exotic.
Maybe you should trust Auto, as it will be set according to data stored on a memory stick. Datasheet can be out of sync with the latest production. It can be also problem that actual voltage on the chip is lower then BIOS tells. Check what happens if you set voltage higher or lower then 2.2V. Possible reason can be that RAM and motherboard are incompatible for variety of reasons, see OCZ memory configurator: http://conf.ocztechnology.com/index.php?c=1&classid=108&mfrid=11595 -- Regards, Rajko -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 2009/01/03 17:49 (GMT-0600) Rajko M. composed:
On Saturday 03 January 2009 14:45:55 Mike Coan wrote:
I basically left the BIOS defaults, except that I changed the DIMM voltage from auto to 2.2V, which is what is specified for the RAM. I am not trying to overclock or anything exotic.
Maybe you should trust Auto, as it will be set according to data stored on a memory stick. Datasheet can be out of sync with the latest production.
It can be also problem that actual voltage on the chip is lower then BIOS tells. Check what happens if you set voltage higher or lower then 2.2V.
The problem is very rarely high voltage. Try raising voltage in .05v increments up to .3v in total, then if you don't succeed, report your problem to both RAM vendor and Asrock. Note that Asrock is not a first rate manufacturer. I'd first suspect their product as the fault in this case. It could be a factor that the motherboard really doesn't like 4 sticks at once.
Possible reason can be that RAM and motherboard are incompatible for variety of reasons, see OCZ memory configurator: http://conf.ocztechnology.com/index.php?c=1&classid=108&mfrid=11595
One possible incompatibility is CAS timings. Does the manual or web site for your motherboard provide a spec for timings? 1066 is really fast, making compatibility a bigger issue than with older slower RAM. If your other motherboard can support 1066 as 1066, you should consider testing the new RAM with MEMTEST there. -- "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6 NIV Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/ -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Sat, Jan 3, 2009 at 14:45, Mike Coan <mikecoan@woodlawnfoundation.org> wrote:
Getting ready to install opensuse 11.1 on a new machine, or at leat the motherboard, the RAM, and the CPU are new.
M/B: Asrock AMD A780GXE. this is an AM2+ socket M/B, that supports 8GB of DDR2 1066, and Phenom CPU CPU: AMD Phenom quad core 9850 RAM: 4 sticks of 2GB OCZ Platinum DDR@ 1066 RAM. The 4 sticks are actually two pairs of Dual Channel Memory, all the same speed.
The M/B has four DIMM slots. DIMM1 and DIMM2 are dual channel, as are DIMM3
and DIMM4.
Problem: I insert all 4 sticks of memory. CPU fan and all case fans spin as do hard drives. No Post.
I remove 2 sticks, leaving DIMM!1and DIMM2 occupied. All fans and drives spin no post. I put 2 sticks in DIMM3 and DIMM4. all fans and drive spin, no post.
I put one stick in DIMM1 and one stick in DIMM3 so that it runs in single channel mode. Computer boots fine. Thus it posts and boots with 4GB in single channel mode, but not in dual channel mode.
On the AMD 939 and AM2 architecture the memory controller is on the CPU. THat is why e.g. any 939 CPU will always use DDR RAM and an AM2 CPU will always use DDR-II RAM. I actually had the exact problem you describe. I tested with some random RAM I had sitting around (256MB pulls from Dell or HP systems) and the results where the same... It HAS to be the mainboard I figured and ordered a replacement... no go. Turns out the problem was the CPU, caused by poor regards for ESD. As soon as the CPU replaced, it would boot on the original mainboard without a problem. This was on a Gigabyte 780G chipset board. I believe Gigabyte support also suggested to check the CPU.... so if you have a spare AM2 socket CPU sitting around or even in another system, try swapping that. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Sun, 04 Jan 2009 07:46:44 +0100, Andrew Joakimsen <joakimsen@gmail.com> wrote:
On Sat, Jan 3, 2009 at 14:45, Mike Coan <mikecoan@woodlawnfoundation.org> wrote:
Getting ready to install opensuse 11.1 on a new machine, or at leat the motherboard, the RAM, and the CPU are new.
M/B: Asrock AMD A780GXE. this is an AM2+ socket M/B, that supports 8GB of DDR2 1066, and Phenom CPU CPU: AMD Phenom quad core 9850 RAM: 4 sticks of 2GB OCZ Platinum DDR@ 1066 RAM. The 4 sticks are actually two pairs of Dual Channel Memory, all the same speed.
The M/B has four DIMM slots. DIMM1 and DIMM2 are dual channel, as are DIMM3
and DIMM4.
Problem: I insert all 4 sticks of memory. CPU fan and all case fans spin as do hard drives. No Post.
I remove 2 sticks, leaving DIMM!1and DIMM2 occupied. All fans and drives spin no post. I put 2 sticks in DIMM3 and DIMM4. all fans and drive spin, no post.
I put one stick in DIMM1 and one stick in DIMM3 so that it runs in single channel mode. Computer boots fine. Thus it posts and boots with 4GB in single channel mode, but not in dual channel mode.
On the AMD 939 and AM2 architecture the memory controller is on the CPU. THat is why e.g. any 939 CPU will always use DDR RAM and an AM2 CPU will always use DDR-II RAM.
I actually had the exact problem you describe. I tested with some random RAM I had sitting around (256MB pulls from Dell or HP systems) and the results where the same... It HAS to be the mainboard I figured and ordered a replacement... no go.
Turns out the problem was the CPU, caused by poor regards for ESD. As soon as the CPU replaced, it would boot on the original mainboard without a problem.
This was on a Gigabyte 780G chipset board. I believe Gigabyte support also suggested to check the CPU.... so if you have a spare AM2 socket CPU sitting around or even in another system, try swapping that.
Had a similar problem on a Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H. Solved my problem by doing the memory config (voltage and frequency) in bios with one memory module inserted. No problem with all 4 after that.. -- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Andrew and all others who replied,
[deleted stuff]
Problem: I insert all 4 sticks of memory. CPU fan and all case fans spin as do hard drives. No Post.
I remove 2 sticks, leaving DIMM!1and DIMM2 occupied. All fans and drives spin no post. I put 2 sticks in DIMM3 and DIMM4. all fans and drive spin, no post.
I put one stick in DIMM1 and one stick in DIMM3 so that it runs in single channel mode. Computer boots fine. Thus it posts and boots with 4GB in single channel mode, but not in dual channel mode.
On the AMD 939 and AM2 architecture the memory controller is on the CPU. THat is why e.g. any 939 CPU will always use DDR RAM and an AM2 CPU will always use DDR-II RAM.
I actually had the exact problem you describe. I tested with some random RAM I had sitting around (256MB pulls from Dell or HP systems) and the results where the same... It HAS to be the mainboard I figured and ordered a replacement... no go.
Turns out the problem was the CPU, caused by poor regards for ESD. As soon as the CPU replaced, it would boot on the original mainboard without a problem.
This was on a Gigabyte 780G chipset board. I believe Gigabyte support also suggested to check the CPU.... so if you have a spare AM2 socket CPU sitting around or even in another system, try swapping that.
Since my desktop is an AM2 motherboard, also by Asrock, I took out the Athlon 64 dual core cpu and put it in the new motherboard. I put in 2 sticks of the OCZ dual channel memory and it posts fine, so I put in all 4 sticks of the OCZ ddr2 1066 ram. It posts fine and is running memtest as we speak. No errors so far. That makes it look like the memory controller on the quad core phenom is bad. Not so fast. I put the quad core phenom cpu in my desktop machine, which previously had the Athlon 64 dual core cpu. The motherboard is the Asrock AliveNF7G-HD720p and supports the quad core phenom with the latest bios. My desktop has 4GB of A-Data dual channel memory ddr2 800. With the new AMD Phenom quad core cpu it boots fine with dual channel memory and is what I am using to type this email. Hard to say the AMD Phenom CPU is defective when it is running perfectly in my desktop machine. Perhaps the new motherboard is slightly defective. It runs the Athlon 64 X2 in dual channel mode with 8GB RAM, but won't run the Phenom in dual channel mode, just single channel mode. Does it sound like the motherboard now? Mike -- Michael A. Coan Woodlawn Foundation 524 North Avenue, Suite 203 New Rochelle, NY 10801-3410 Tel 914-632-3778 Fax 914-632-5502 -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
El lun, 05-01-2009 a las 16:06 -0500, Mike Coan escribió:
Since my desktop is an AM2 motherboard, also by Asrock, I took out the Athlon 64 dual core cpu and put it in the new motherboard. I put in 2 sticks of the OCZ dual channel memory and it posts fine, so I put in all 4 sticks of the OCZ ddr2 1066 ram. It posts fine and is running memtest as we speak. No errors so far. That makes it look like the memory controller on the quad core phenom is bad.
Not so fast. I put the quad core phenom cpu in my desktop machine, which previously had the Athlon 64 dual core cpu. The motherboard is the Asrock AliveNF7G-HD720p and supports the quad core phenom with the latest bios. My desktop has 4GB of A-Data dual channel memory ddr2 800. With the new AMD Phenom quad core cpu it boots fine with dual channel memory and is what I am using to type this email.
Sorry for bad english. 4 sticks of the OCZ ddr2 1066 ram Not is acorded specifications for CPU. MAX 2 sticks 1066 or 4 sticks 800 -- Saludos Lluis
On 2009/01/06 00:49 (GMT+0100) lluis composed:
4 sticks of the OCZ ddr2 1066 ram Not is acorded specifications for CPU.
MAX 2 sticks 1066 or 4 sticks 800
I've seen that on other motherboards. To be able to use all the RAM you purchased I would think you can install one stick, boot into BIOS and change to force all RAM to run at 800, then install all 3 other sticks and run successfully. -- "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6 NIV Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/ -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
participants (6)
-
Andrew Joakimsen -
Felix Miata -
Kjartan Geble Olsen -
lluis -
Mike Coan -
Rajko M.