GA-880GMA-UD2H: cold boot errors

[Oblivion11]

Hi guys, I've been having boot problems with my rig on cold boots.
  
My setup:
AM3 AMD ATHLON II X3 445 (with stock cooler)
GA-880GMA-UD2H
OCZ Gold Kit OCZ3G1333LV4GK DDR3 1333MHz (2x2GB)
SAMSUNG 500GB HD502HJ
CORSAIR 400W 400CX
DVD-R
2 system fans
Windows 7 ultimate 64bit
  
The probem that I have is this: when I first start my rig up after it has been off for several hours it won't boot in to windows. Either I get BSOD's (each time it complains about some random corrupt file) or sometimes it won't even POST at all. It'll usually do this 2 or 3 times before it will actually boot in to windows. Once succesfully booted the system runs without any problems.

I think the problem might be related to the memory. Things that I already tried/validated:
The memory is listed on the supported memory list.
It passed a full memtest run (after the system succesfully booted).
Removing 1 of the 2 sticks seems to solve the issue.
Increased the memory voltage from 1.60v to 1.66v, since according to the spec the memory requires 1.65v, but this didn't help.
Tried memory channels 1-3, 2-4, 1-2 and 3-4, but again didn't help.

Maybe it's also worth mentioning that I had to RMA my previous OCZ Gold kit because it never booted and gave lots of errors in memtest.

I think the motherboard is a rev. 2.0 and running the latest BIOS version (have to double check when I'm back at home).

Any ideas what I could try next

I could try to run memtest after the system has been off for several hours (it will probably fail miserably).
I could also try replacing the memory and/or power supply ... problem is that I don't have any spares at the moment ?

[absic]

Hi there,

the first thing that springs to mind is that your PSU is only 400Watt. In the User's Manual Gigabyte recommend one of at least 500 Watts.



Another thing to try would be the RAM timings. You haven't said what they are meant to be but if you loosen them a bit it might help. For example, my corsair Dominator RAM has rated timings of 8,8,8,24 but they are happier when I set them to 9,9,9,24 or 9,9,9,27. At least this option is free and it might help a little.

[Oblivion11]

Hmm I missed that part in the manual  I assumed that a quality 400W PSU would be more than sufficient for this basic setup. I'll see if I can borrow a more powerfull PSU from one of my mates.

The memory is running at the recommended timings (9-9-9-20). I'll try to loosen them a bit.

[absic]

Personally I think the PSU you're using is the main problem rather than the RAM timings.

If you can borrow a PSU to try out that would be a good option as it will show if you are underpowered or if there is another problem.

[Oblivion11]

I managed to get my hands on a corsair 650W PSU, but this didn't help either.

Also tried loosening the memory timings but the problem remains...

I also checked the BIOS version: currently I'm using F3, there are 2 new updates available but when I loop at the changelogs I don't see anything that could solve my issue.

[absic]

OK

well that would seem to point to something other than the power supply.

Although the BIOS updates don't say anything about your problem, updating to the latest version could well help. So if you do that, using QFlash and then see if the problem persists.

When you flash BIOS using QFlash there is an option to "Keep DMI DATA" it's probably a good idea if you disable this before you do the update.

[Oblivion11]

Well I was just thinking the same and updated the bios to the latest version.

Before I go to bed I'll see if the problem is still there.

[absic]

Probably a good idea to update BIOS before you go to bed. Then you can see if you are still having a Cold Boot issue when you get up.......

now isn't that something for you to look forward to!