BIOS Boot Loop with New Memory

[coreyjclark]

Good afternoon,

I have installed G.Skill Sniper memory model F3-1066CL9D-8GBSR (4 sticks of 4gb) into a Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3. It has an Intel i5 760 processor I have set the BIOS to both the Fail-Safe and Optimal default settings. On both settings, when I power the system on, it will beep, display the gigabye bios splash screen, blank the screen like it is going to the windows screen, then beeps again, and goes back to the gigabyte splash screen, and then continues in this cycle. Sometimes it will only loop once or twice, sometimes I have to completely power it down and "let it rest". Then it might or might not loop. It is random. This morning it looped twice and booted fine. The other day it looped 4 times and I shut it off. Came home after work and it booted fine. Once it does boot, it runs fine. No blue screens, no reboots, etc. I did run the memory test in win 7 64 and it did not show any errors.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I will gladly supply any additional information.

[emissary42]

Does that also happen with either kit, if you remove the other one?

Is your BIOS up to date? Later releases might have improved memory compatibility. However if your system is not stable enough to boot into windows, i would not recommend updating the BIOS in that state. I would recommend to use other memory thats tested for stability in that case (maybe the kit you previously used in that system).

[GSKILL TECH]

Try one module at a time to see if one stick performs differently, or if it happens with 2, 3, or 4 modules installed, etc.

Also, can you post pictures of BIOS?

We need more details to understand what is going on.

[coreyjclark]

Additional info and screen prints

I tried just two sticks in the appropriate slots. All combinations worked without issue. No loop. I then, based on serial number matched them in slots ie: 75 and 76 in slot 1 and 3 with 77 and 78 in slot 2 and 4, put the 4 sticks back into the machine. The first attempt ran without issue. Powered off the machine 3 times. Booted with success. Machine ran fine all day. I get up this morning, turn the machine on and it looped 3 times and then booted. The current settings are based on the loading the Optimized default settings.

Attached all bios screen from Memory area. If other information is needed can supply.

Thank you again for any assistance you can provide.

[coreyjclark]

Additional Info

A couple of additional items. First, it was endless looping this morning so I physically switched the memory pairs to the opposite slots. Machine booted right away. Second, I noted that when it did boot, the mother board checked the memory as ok and then displayed the speed of the memory. In loop mode it does not display the memory speed. Also, I can't always enter the bios when in loop mode.

Thanks again.

[GSKILL TECH]

Hi Corey

Set tRFC to maximum value then see if the system work betters.

You may want to try each module first to see if they can work alone.

[coreyjclark]

Sorry, but going to be very green... Where would those values be located?

[GSKILL TECH]

4th picture, DRAM Timing Selectable Manual, then look in Channel A Timing Settings, then Channel B.

[coreyjclark]

Yep. Found it. Thanks. Will give it a try. Booted fine a couple of times. Will give it a check in the am.

[coreyjclark]

Update for the day. Turned the machine on this morning. Looped 4 times. Was not able to enter the bios with necessary key (DEL). Memory amount displayed as 16GB and OK. Did not boot. Hit the reset button on the machine. Looped twice. Held power button and powered off the machine. Waited 10 seconds and powered back on. Booted fine to windows login screen. Powered the machine off. Powered on. It looped once and then booted fine to windows login.

[GSKILL TECH]

Do you have the latest BIOS?

Have you tried one module at a time?

[coreyjclark]

I have not tried one module at a time, as any combination 2 of the 4 modules work fine. I suppose logic would dictate one at a time. I am only one rev back on the bios. F9 is an update and F10 is beta. Was just about to look at the bios update. Would order matter on bios update vs 1 stick at a time?

[coreyjclark]

Morning update. I tried all the modules individually in each slot per the gigabyte manual (single modules use either slot 1 or slot 3). All modules booted successfully. I put all 4 modules back in and successfully booted the machine on the first try. I then updated the bios to the current, non-beta version (F9). Again the machine booted without issue. This morning when I attempted to boot the machine, it went back into loop mode. After 4 loops, I shut the machine off.

[GSKILL TECH]

Check the settings when the system is able to boot, manually set them and see if the problem persists.

[coreyjclark]

Got home today and had 2 modules in and looping began. Swapped them out, same deal. I think it is time to send them back and chalk it up to not compatible. Looks like my motherboard is not even on the list for g.skill. Guess I should have checked there first.

Thank you for your efforts and assistance. Even though it didn't work out, it was greatly appreciated.