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Windows boot fails when adding 2x4GB to 2x4GB for 4x4GB
See post #2 and #3 for fix info.
Cross-posted from my thread on Tom's Hardware. I'll ensure to cross-post fixes, too.
So, I've been running G.Skill Ares DDR3 2x4GB C11 2133MHz RAM for a while on my MSI Z77A-G45, along with my i5-3570K. Been through Windows 7 and now on Windows 10, installed on my 240GB Samsung EVO 840 SSD, correctly TRIMmed and overpartitioned and such. No problems, just 8GB is not enough RAM. Star Citizen is a big universe.
Anywho, bought some more RAM of the same sort but, silly me, it wasn't 2133MHz. Computer booted fine, but crashed whenever it tried to start using anything beyond the first 8GB. I sold that RAM and bought some more 2x4GB 2133MHz C11 DDR3 G.Skill Ares, installed it for 4x4GB, and then the nightmare began.
The BIOS couldn't have cared less, aside from a POST message notifying that the memory configuration had changed and asking if I'd like to review the settings. Windows however was not at all happy. About 10 separate varieties of boot error messages greeted me as I cycled through an endless loop of BSODs, most before I hit the logon screen, and all before I managed to log on. Startup repair failed. Booting with safe mode worked, but sometimes only for a little while, and only if I did it without command prompt or networking. Oddly, I could use cmd inside of the recovery environment just fine. Sometimes it was the drivers that failed, other times a corrupted or missing kernel, or fwbf.sys, or 0xc000021a. No matter what, something went wrong.
Anywho, after I stuffed around trying to reinstall Windows (and stuffed up my MBR; had to revert to a 2-day-ago backup [always backup, kids]), I took out the new RAM. Booted up like a charm. Ran a memory diagnostic using mdsched. Took out the old RAM, put in the newly purchased RAM. Booted up just fine. Ran another memory diagnostic. Ran memtest86+. Neither returned any errors. My rig runs fine on either set of 2x4GB but just doesn't like running the 4x4GB, regardless of being identical chips (manufactured only 3 months apart). Sidenote that MSI's BIOS liked running the 2x4GB kit at 1600MHz, but is happily forced up to 2133MHz on XMP Profile 2 on either set.
So what's your vote on why it went wrong?
And, where do you think I should go from here?
Questions welcome!
GSkill FAQ says it recommends against mixing kits for fears of compatability errors - is this my issue? Should I just resell both kits and buy a 4x kit?
BIOS is the latest available. I've upped the CPU ratio to 41 of its 10K baseclock now, so it's 4.1GHz. Windows confirms. My sets are in DIMM 1 & 3 as per MSI's "dual channel" setup instructions. Set the two of them to 2133MHz and XMP 1 fine, but I couldn't find the [s]droids[/s] MC voltage you're asking for. Oddly, the in-OS control centre doesn't seem to reflect the 2133MHz, instead showing it as DDR3-1600 at 800MHz. About to restart and try adding the other two!
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...2013.01.42.png
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...2013.07.39.png
Progress! After the above, the BIOS failed (lots of times, after trying very earnestly to make the settings work). This time, with the OC settings, we didn't get to Windows, just the BIOS failed. No beepcodes or POST error messages. Most of the difference is, I suspect, the CPU ratio being brought up, seeing as the XMP and DDR frequencies were set the same the first time I installed all 4 RAM chips.
Cross-posted from my thread on Tom's Hardware. I'll ensure to cross-post fixes, too.
So, I've been running G.Skill Ares DDR3 2x4GB C11 2133MHz RAM for a while on my MSI Z77A-G45, along with my i5-3570K. Been through Windows 7 and now on Windows 10, installed on my 240GB Samsung EVO 840 SSD, correctly TRIMmed and overpartitioned and such. No problems, just 8GB is not enough RAM. Star Citizen is a big universe.
Anywho, bought some more RAM of the same sort but, silly me, it wasn't 2133MHz. Computer booted fine, but crashed whenever it tried to start using anything beyond the first 8GB. I sold that RAM and bought some more 2x4GB 2133MHz C11 DDR3 G.Skill Ares, installed it for 4x4GB, and then the nightmare began.
The BIOS couldn't have cared less, aside from a POST message notifying that the memory configuration had changed and asking if I'd like to review the settings. Windows however was not at all happy. About 10 separate varieties of boot error messages greeted me as I cycled through an endless loop of BSODs, most before I hit the logon screen, and all before I managed to log on. Startup repair failed. Booting with safe mode worked, but sometimes only for a little while, and only if I did it without command prompt or networking. Oddly, I could use cmd inside of the recovery environment just fine. Sometimes it was the drivers that failed, other times a corrupted or missing kernel, or fwbf.sys, or 0xc000021a. No matter what, something went wrong.
Anywho, after I stuffed around trying to reinstall Windows (and stuffed up my MBR; had to revert to a 2-day-ago backup [always backup, kids]), I took out the new RAM. Booted up like a charm. Ran a memory diagnostic using mdsched. Took out the old RAM, put in the newly purchased RAM. Booted up just fine. Ran another memory diagnostic. Ran memtest86+. Neither returned any errors. My rig runs fine on either set of 2x4GB but just doesn't like running the 4x4GB, regardless of being identical chips (manufactured only 3 months apart). Sidenote that MSI's BIOS liked running the 2x4GB kit at 1600MHz, but is happily forced up to 2133MHz on XMP Profile 2 on either set.
So what's your vote on why it went wrong?
- Your CPU doesn't like the 1.6V RAM x4
- Your CPU doesn't like the 2133MHz RAM x4
- Your RAM is broken
- Windows is to blame!
- Your Motherboard doesn't like the 2133MHz RAM x4
- Your Motherboard doesn't like you personally
- Something else
And, where do you think I should go from here?
- Replace all that RAM
- Replace your Motherboard
- Replace your CPU
- Replace a combination
- Run all the RAM, but much more slowly
- Some godly option that doesn't require me spending a whoooollllle lot of money
- Light a fire in the woods, throw leaves into it, perform computations based on the number of leaves that do not burn
- Something else
Questions welcome!
GSkill FAQ says it recommends against mixing kits for fears of compatability errors - is this my issue? Should I just resell both kits and buy a 4x kit?
BIOS is the latest available. I've upped the CPU ratio to 41 of its 10K baseclock now, so it's 4.1GHz. Windows confirms. My sets are in DIMM 1 & 3 as per MSI's "dual channel" setup instructions. Set the two of them to 2133MHz and XMP 1 fine, but I couldn't find the [s]droids[/s] MC voltage you're asking for. Oddly, the in-OS control centre doesn't seem to reflect the 2133MHz, instead showing it as DDR3-1600 at 800MHz. About to restart and try adding the other two!
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...2013.01.42.png
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...2013.07.39.png
Progress! After the above, the BIOS failed (lots of times, after trying very earnestly to make the settings work). This time, with the OC settings, we didn't get to Windows, just the BIOS failed. No beepcodes or POST error messages. Most of the difference is, I suspect, the CPU ratio being brought up, seeing as the XMP and DDR frequencies were set the same the first time I installed all 4 RAM chips.
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