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Motherboards 6GB down to 4GB?

Discussion in 'Tech Support' started by originalmate, 29 Sep 2010.

  1. originalmate

    originalmate What's a Dremel?

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    Hi all,

    Looking for a bit of help if possible.

    I completed a new build a few weeks ago as a gaming rig.
    Everything seemed fine until i removed a piece of hardware and i knocked the atx power connector slightly out of the mobo (asus p6x58d-e) the system didn't boot, so i figured it out but then i had an issue with the dram led coming on so i reset the CMOS and everything was fine.

    During the last week or so though, everytime i boot up i have 6gb of memory but if i restart it or turn it off and back on after its been running for a while the memory might drop to 4gb. It doesn't seem to happen all the time which is making it even more frustrating : (

    The worst part is, i decided to do abit of overclocking and as soon as i got over 3.6ghz on my i7930 the ram went down to 4gb.

    Just to let you know the ram i'm using is corsair xms ddr3 platinum series 3x2gb.

    I've tried the following so far.....
    Reseating the ram
    Reseating the cpu
    updating the mobo bios
    manually inputting ram timings and voltage.
    I've also ran memtest and that showed no errors either
    I've tried placing each stick in individually and they all boot no problem.

    Any help would be great.

    Thanks
     
  2. Phalanx

    Phalanx Needs more dragons and stuff.

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    There's a thread like this in the Scan forums and also in the Hardware forums. It seems to be an issue with with X58 chipsets and certain types of RAM. Is your RAM brand G.Skill perchance?
     
  3. ringoiom

    ringoiom What's a Dremel?

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    @Ph4lanx

    So its not G.Skill - perhaps the x58 chipset is more to blame than the Brand of RAM??
     
  4. Phalanx

    Phalanx Needs more dragons and stuff.

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    Ah, apologies. I read that, then blanked it out in my head. Must stop drinking so much coffee.

    OP, have you tried seating each memory stick individually and running a memory test on it? Previous posters have come up and most times it's to do with the memory (hence my first question) rather than the board. Of course, I did say "most". :)

    You may wish to look at this thread for guidance. Same motherboard, same error message(s).
     
  5. saspro

    saspro IT monkey

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    I had similar on a P6t-SE. Board needed RMA'ing
    Does it work if you put 2 sticks on channel A then 1 on channel B (just for testing of course)
     
  6. originalmate

    originalmate What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks for the quick responses.

    I haven't run memtest with just one stick in the same slot each time. I have done it when all three were seated and recognized but i will give this a go. Also haven't tried them with channel A & B either yet. I will definitely give it a try over the weekend when i've got a bit more time to test everything.

    Really hope it's not the mobo :(

    Badly wanted to start overclocking but i know as soon as i start i can wave goodbye to 2gb of ram :wallbash:
     
  7. bulldogjeff

    bulldogjeff The modding head is firmly back on.

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    The G skill thing seems to be with Gigabyte boards and more to the point the newer usb 3 boards, doesn't seem to affecting the older usb 2 boards.
     
  8. bulldogjeff

    bulldogjeff The modding head is firmly back on.

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    make sure the rams is set to the correct voltage.
     
  9. Faye Kane

    Faye Kane Homeless Crazy Idiot Savant

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    > i had an issue with the dram led coming on

    What's the "dram led"? The green LED on the MB that says system running ok, the power LED for the case, or some new feature of MB boards since I bought mine 2 years ago?

    - curious faye
     
  10. originalmate

    originalmate What's a Dremel?

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    The dram light is the little memok test light on the mobo. It blinks on when you boot up and will go off shortly after. if theres a problem with the memory it will stay on.

    Just an update, decided to leave everything as it is, since i haven't had any issues. Will have ago again at oc'ing sometime soon to see if it's sorted properly.
     
  11. hangten

    hangten Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?

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    Hi, out of interest did you solve this problem, or did it just go away?

    I have exactly the same mobo, the same RAM and (ta-dah!) exactly the same problem... If I reseat and reboot I show 6gb, but on the second or maybe third boot the bios and windows revert to 4gb. CPU-Z still shows that I have 6144 MBytes of triple channel RAM, but it's only recognised here (sounds like a software issue?!).

    I have memtested all the sticks individually and each comes back clean, and boots fine. I've updated the bios to Asus' latest (whch does say it should solve 'memory compatibility issues') but to no avail.

    I don't want to change the mobo. :sigh:
     
  12. bulldogjeff

    bulldogjeff The modding head is firmly back on.

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    Check to see if it'll boot with 1 stick fitted then move along the slots, if it boots every time at least you'll know that you haven't got any dead slots.
     
  13. hangten

    hangten Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?

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    Good idea, I'll try that later when I get the chance - they all booted fine as single sticks before but I didn't move the slot. Would CPU-Z recognise them if the slot was dead though, or does it not have to be completely dead...?
     
  14. jbloggs

    jbloggs What's a Dremel?

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    I had a similiar problem where from the word go with my P6X58D-E, only 4GBs ram showed up in BIOS and OS, fitting 4 fibre washers between cpu cooler backplate and motherboard cured it (cooler was Thermalright Venomous X)...see Here...however may not be same cause.
    ________
    AsianCat live
     
    Last edited: 20 Aug 2011
    hangten likes this.
  15. Faye Kane

    Faye Kane Homeless Crazy Idiot Savant

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    Pull the mem, spray the contacts with non-conductive contact cleaner, and spray the socket contacts too. Do not rub the contacts with a pencil eraser like we did fixing PCs many years ago when things were bigger.

    This isn't just something to check, like "is it plugged in?" I've fixed memory several times this way, and if your MB has the memory facing up where dust can settle, this often fixes it. It's a sure fix if the mem fails in sockets which have been exposed to air for a long time with no module plugged in, because contacts oxidze in humid air. Even plugged-in mem fails over time because unless the contacts are gold, the metals will react chemically and produce non-conductive film on the contacts.

    ♥,

    -faith
     
  16. hangten

    hangten Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?

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    Oh man, that can not be a coincidence, same mobo, same ram and I have a thermaltake cooler (a Frio though).

    Can I just check where you put the washers? Was it between the backplate and the mobo itself? I did read the thread but confused myself...
     
  17. andip1967

    andip1967 What's a Dremel?

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    I got the same problem, however when I set the DRAM in bios to 1333 or 1666 it goes back to normal. Tried that today and it went doen to 4Gb, reset the DRAM to auto and it was back to 6Gb. Man its wierd lets hope thrs a fix for it, dont like tampering
     
  18. hangten

    hangten Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?

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    So, I did exactly the same thing, and have now shutdown and rebboted three times without a loss from 6gb. It seems this is definitely a recurring problem with the Asus P6X58D-E and some custom coolers - one that 4 little fibre washers solves! If it recurrs I'll let you know but for now, it seems the problem is solved! :thumb:
     
  19. MaverickWill

    MaverickWill Dirty CPC Mackem

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    The solution I found for my board was that the ATX 24-pin had some loose connections on the PSU side, and the RAM required a quick wipe in slots 5 and 6 with an eraser. Always worth a try if the RAM's funny, to give it a quick wipe over.
     
  20. hangten

    hangten Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?

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    So...

    I stopped posting on this thread but essentially my problem was never solved at all. It recurred after three or so boots. Eventually (a couple of weeks ago) I got around to RMA'ing the RAM in question (read story above) to Scan and yesterday got this response:

    :jawdrop:

    I have replied with the following which I think explains my situation best:

    Sorry for the long post but my question is simply has anyone ever heard of anything like this before. I believe that Corsair packaged and sent out 'mixed sticks' of RAM, based on the fact that the packet was sealed and branded and appeared genuine, but I'm open to theories!

    A second question - are Scan going to try and screw my for my £110 here and in effect challenge my story? It's absolutely genuine!

    (I'm in cornwall for a week now with just my girlfriend, dog, woodburner and a crate of vin rouge for company so excuse if responses are erratic and infrequent (via iphone) but I'm really interested in your thoughts!)
     

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