GA-P55-UD3 - Windows 7 Ult 64 Crashing after fresh install

[antonv]

Hey all, been lurking all afternoon looking for answers. Heres my setup (2 days old)

cpu-intel i5 760 lynnfield
mb-GA-P55-UD3
vga-evga GTX 460 superclocked(factory oc
ram-g.skill ripjaws DDR3 dual channel 1600 2gig x 4 (8gigs)
psu-OCZ fatality 550w
hdd- sata seagate barracuda 80/ sata seagate barracuda 160 (8500rpm??)
cd- 2 nec dvd burners ide - primary & slave

Everything is new, except for the case & 2 sata hdd's. I didnt format the hard drives from a dos/bios based utility. I cleared them within the windows install. It seemed to do it rather quickly, and kept the partitions, but they were cleared. One other thing I did was I used my old video card (evga 6660gt) during the install, because my 460 GTX was still coming in the mail. I didnt install any video drivers, just used it as a basic video output, since there is no on-board video with the ga-p55-ud3.

Windows installed with no problems. I was able get into windows with no problems. But within the first 10 minutes of windows running, while I was installing drivers & utilities from the gigabyte cd, it crashed with a blue screen. I restarted, and it was stable enough for me to finish installing & updating drivers. Then I installed Avast! internet security, no problems. Downloaded windows updates, with a few restarts in-between, no problems.

Put in the new video card last night, and installed newest drivers. Computer worked great, and I was able to explore win 7, internet, tested out some hd video files to see the performance of the new video card. everything worked great. I tried to turn on the pc this morning, and once I get past the Windows password screen, it goes to blue/freeze & restarts. Upon restart, it froze again after the password screen. I just turned off the pc & went to work. I was having trouble last night with sound, and was tinkering around with sound settings, & downloaded the newest realtek hd sound driver from the GB website. It fixed my sound, sort of.....i think I have my front panel connectors installed wrong.

Long story short:

This started happening on an EMPTY windows install with nothing else on the hdd. That is why I am asking here, instead of trying to figure out a software issue. Could it be the hdd's? They arent on a RAID setup. Could it be the fact that I used my old video card during the install? I read another post about someone having issues with the gskill ram. Everything is recognized in device manager & everything seemed to be operating when I looked at the MB diagnostics.

the only 3-rd party software on this computer is : gigabyte utilities, avast internet security & firefox.

[Dark Mantis]

Hi and welcome to the Gigabyte Forum.

Well first I would advise you to remove the Gigabyte utilities as some of them can cause problems at times and we want to keep things as simple as possible.

Now the most probable cause of the problem is the memory. Did you check it was compatible with the motherboard before you purchased it?
Have you left the memory settings on auto or have you set them manually?

[antonv]

i did check, and it is compatible. I have not adjusted any settings for the memory.

ram specs:

Learn more about the G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
Model

Brand
    G.SKILL

Series
    Ripjaws Series

Model
    F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL

Type
    240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM

Tech Spec

Capacity
    4GB (2 x 2GB)

Speed
    DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

Cas Latency
    9

Timing
    9-9-9-24-2N

Voltage
    1.5V

ECC
    No

Buffered/Registered
    Unbuffered

Multi-channel Kit
    Dual Channel Kit

Heat Spreader
    Yes

Features
    Compatible with Dual Channel Intel Core i5 CPU for P55 chipset motherboard, Dual Channel Core i7 CPU for P55 chipset motherboard, and AMD AM3 Platform.

Manufacturer Warranty

Parts
    Lifetime limited

Labor
    Lifetime limited

[Dark Mantis]

Have you removed the utilities as I said?

Well if you are correct about it being compatible then either the memory is faulty or it is jsut a case of manually entering the timings  in the BIOS.

I would suggest that you download and run Memtest86+ to check your RAM first.

Memtest86+        http://www.memtest.org/

Insert one stick of memory in slot 1 and run Memtest on it for at least 10 loops and if there are no errors then swap it over with the next one and continue untill you have checked all four modules.
If you have any errors the module is faulty.
If you have any faulty modules you will have to return the whole kit as they are matched.

Post back when you have done that with the results.

[antonv]

confused now

checked values in the bios. set to 1333, which I cant change. voltage was already on 1.5v.       9-9-9-24 / CR-2. I didnt change anything.

ran memtest with originally described install & immediately got errors. Let it run till about 50% and had a TON of errors. Then I removed all ram cards, and checked out the serial numbers. I matched them accordingly, which I could have very well installed them mis-matched. Matched them up and installed all 4 back to MB. Got errors immediately.

So, I did it one card at a time, one slot at a time. Tried every possible combination. My finger is killing me. Installed in slot 2 or 4 by itself, I cant even boot into bios. just repeating beeps from speaker. Installed in 1 or 3 by itself no errors. 1 &2 either chip combo, no errors. 3&4 one chip combo made no error, one did. I switched them to 1&2, and it didnt make an error. This led me to believe that slot 4 might be malfunctioning. I installed the other 2 cards into 3 &4 and im not getting any errors.

Memtest has been running the whole time while I am typing this, and I havent gotten a single error. I will let it finish completely, and see how windows acts.

what happened? did I self repair an external problem on the mb or memory chip with the constant install & removal? Im not crossing my fingers yet.

[Dark Mantis]

No you haven't reapired anything, yet.

The board will only boot with the memory in slot one that is why I said to put it there to test it.

I think your main problem is that you need to set the timings annd voltages manually because you have filled all the slots and so need to compensate for the extra loading on the controller.

If you will just do as I asked you and test each stick singly in slot one for ten loops each so we can make suire that the modules are fault free first then we can move on.

You still haven't answered my question about the removal of the utilities?

[antonv]

i uninstalled all utilities.

after I let memtest run through the whole process, I got only 2 errors. Is there an acceptable amount of errors, or should there be zero?

I will run each stick in slot 1 for 10 loops, but it will literally take me 4 days. I work long hours, and I'm only home for sleeping. I will post back when i've run all of them for 10 loops.

[Dark Mantis]

Yes I know it is a time consuming task but it is one that needs to be done. That was why I tried to save you some time in the beginning by telling you straight away to test the modules seperately.

Two errors is two too many. Sorry

Post back when you have tested thoroughly and we will see what is the next step.

[antonv]

Totally stumped now. Changed  voltage to 1.56v, made no difference. On the main bios screen, on the bottom, it said my dram volts were 1.552, whether I had it on 1.5 or 1.56v.

As for mem test, I tested every memory stick in slot 1 for 10 loops. Not a single error. I put all 4 back in, and ran memtest. Got errors immediately. Starting to think my mobo might have an issue.

I'm gonna try all 4 Memory sticks in slot three for 10 loops each. I'm beginning to think that slot 4 could possibly be screwed up. Any other suggestions? Thanks for all your help everyone, I really appreciate it.

[Dark Mantis]

OK. If we accept that the memory modules are ok now they have been thoroughly tested (sorry for making you do all that but it is necessary) we are left with four reasons for the cause of the problem.

Firstly I would see  if there is a BIOS update for your motherboard as this is the easiest to remedy. If you post your revision number I will check for you. Can you also confirm that it is the GA-P55-UD3 ?

[antonv]

Bios version is f11, pretty sure its the newest besides beta versions. The mb is rev 2.0 ga-p55-ud3. I'm going to check for a bent CPU pin now.

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

I have just checked on our website and we don't list a revision 2.0 for the GA-P55-UD3
It is either the revision 1.0 or the number of the motherboard is incorrect by the looks of things.

http://uk.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/download-center.aspx?kw=GA-P55-UD3

[MMiller]

Any update on this problem?  I am in the exact same boat. 
MB: GA-P55A-UD3
RAM: GSkill F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL (8/16GB)

Memtest+ runs just fine on all 16GB (0 errors after a 20hr run).  I tried installing WIN7 Ult x64 with 8 and then 16GB but it always bsods when the install is around 95% complete.  The only way I was able to complete an install was by using a single 4GB chip in slot 0.  The memory was all kit based (matched, etc.).

I have never been this frustrated with a custom build in my life!  To make matters even worse I tried the memory on the GA-P55-USB3 with the exact same results.  Again, the only way this works is with a single 4GB chip.

Even though it passed the Memtest+ test I thought I had bad or unstable memory so I purchased another 8GB Gskill kit that yielded the same results.

Any updates would be greatly appreciated.  I am beginning to think that this memory is not Gigabyte friendly at all.

Mark.

[Dark Mantis]

Hi and welcome to the Gigabyte Forum Mark.

Not being funny but what made you think it was compatible ? Was it listed as such on the QVL of either the memory manufacturer or Gigabyte ?

Are you trying to run hte memory in Auto mode in the BIOS ? If so there is no way it will work as if you are filling al the slots you need to set the voltage and timings manually.

[MMiller]

Thanks for the reply DM.  I have seen your efforts in a ton of other posts so I am extending a virtual handshake to you.  Forums need more contributors such as yourself.

It is listed as compatible ram on the GSKILL site here: http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=233

I didn't find it on the GB site and for that matter didn't find any 4gb chips listed.  The bottom line is that I want my GA-P55A-UD3 to have 16gb.  So I figured it was listed on the GSKill site and the GB site clearly stated that it can't test every chip out there.

You are probably on to something regarding the settings because the system seems OK with a single 4GB module.  Can you please expand on what the settings should be adjusted to?

Mark.