Not Reading Memory

[Nolz]

Model of the motherboard: MS-7514 (v1.X) Mainboard from MSI
Model of the memory: two sticks of F2-6400CL4D-4GBPI-B
Model of the CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00 GHz 3.00 GHz

I received this memory as a gift a while ago and tried to swap out my old memory for the G Skill memory, but my computer will not boot with the G Skill Memory. I switched back to the old memory and there are no problems. What do I need to do to make the G Skill Memory work correctly?

-Nolz

[Tradesman]

Do you have the latest BIOS? Did you enter the base timings and voltage manually or rely on auto? Is Command Rate set at 2T, believe default is 1T?

[Nolz]

First, I'd like to thank you for your prompt response. My version of the BIOS is 2.61. There is a later version, but my uncle has the same ram and board with the later version of the BIOS and he was unable to get it working either, so I tend to think that it won't fix the problem. The memory is set on auto and when it starts up I get nothing at all, not even a prompt to enter the BIOS; just a completely black screen. I think I need to try the manual settings but I don't know what to set them to. If you could tell me those settings it would be extremely helpful. Also, if you could offer some instruction as to how to change them, that would be great too. I'm sorry to admit I am sort of new at all of this.

-Nolz

[Tradesman]

You'll want to set your base timings to 4-4-4-12, command rate to 2T and DRAM voltage to 1.9. The rest can prob stay at AUTO. If you still have problems try raising the NB Voltage .1 and/or loosen the timings to 5-5-5-15

[Nolz]

Okay, so I went ahead and tried that. My computer restarts and gives me a menu that says, "Bad CMOS Checksum" and I am given the options to either enter the setup or load failsafe defaults. if i load failsafe defaults my computer runs fine until it is shut down, and then it will not recognize that there is ram plugged in once it restarts. Now if I go into the BIOS when prompted at the "Bad CMOS Checksum" screen and save whatever changes the BIOS automatically made to run the ram, my computer works fine until it shuts down, then it will not restart again. However, if I exit without saving I can manage to get my computer to run fine every time. But if I choose any of the other options, my computer fails to start. But, going through the "Bad CMOS Checksum" page and entering the BIOS every time I start my computer is not a realistic option. No matter what I change, when I save the changes my computer will not start up again, and I need to put two sticks of cheap Best Buy ram in just to be able to make it to the BIOS. Any suggestions?

-Nolz

[Tradesman]

You may have a dying CMOS battery, can pick one up at Bestbuy or any computer shop, another possibility is that the BIOS itself is not there in full, could try downloading the the latest BIOS and Flash it. MY guess though is the CMOS battery

[Nolz]

I tried flashing the BIOS. The process was successful and there were no problems. Can't be the CMOS battery because when I received this memory as a gift it was for my computer when it brand new. I actually got the memory before the computer even arrived. I've tried two other types of memories in the computer and have no problems. The only time I've ever seen that CMOS Bad Checksum page was when the G Skill memory is plugged in.

[Tradesman]

May want to run memtest on each stick individually then and see if one or both are bad, then head the RMA route. The GSkill folks RMA guys can be reached at ustech@gskill.com. The good thing is if only 1 stick is bad, you can normally just RMA the single stick.