GA890GPA-UD3h rev 2.1 - system keeps shutting down/freezing

[pascal1645]

Hi guys - just built a new system:-

GA890GPA-UD3h rev 2.1
AMD Phenom II x4 955 3.2 GHz
OCZ3P1600LV4GK - 2x2GB
Coolermaster Silent Pro 700w PSU
Windows 7 Home Premium

However I'm getting a lot of shutdown/freezing issues for no apparent reasons  as follows:-


Shutting down during Boot up
Shutting down whilst loading the OS particularly at the Welcome screen
Freezing once the os has loaded
Shutting down when loading software/drivers (still can't get my HP printer to load)
and occasionally a screen with blue/black vertical lines.

Anybody got any suggestions that might help please

Thanks

[absic]

Hi,

well the first thing I would check is your RAM.
Are you running at system defaults or have you made any changes in BIOS?
I would suggest running Memtest for at least 10 passes to see if that throws up any errors.

[pascal1645]

Thanks absic.

Initially I left the RAM settings in the BIOS to auto but have since tried manually setting the speed to 1333 and 1600 but I still get the problem.
I'll download memtest tonight and try that.  Is there any particular way I should run it.

Thanks

[absic]

Best way is to test each stick individually in the 1st RAM slot on the motherboard and then, if they both pass, test them together in slots 1&2. 
It would be better if you reset BIOS to Optimised Defaults before testing.

Other things to consider are:
Is your BIOS the latest version? If not it might be worthwhile updating to it using QFlash. Latest BIOS for your board is FF and you can download that from here: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3516&dl=1#bios

Is the motherboard shorting on the PC Case? Similar symptoms can occur if you have accidentally left a motherboard mounting screw or such under the motherboard when you installed it into the PC Case, or if it is not sitting correctly against the Backplate.

What other devices are you using? Sometimes a faulty mouse or keyboard can cause such symptoms.

Are you using the On-board Graphics or a separate Graphics Card? If you are using a Graphics Card have you set BIOS properly for this?

[pascal1645]

Mmmmmh  lots to consider here.  Don't think I've got a shorts but will look later.  I'm using the onboard graphics so guess there shoulldn't be an issue here.  I'll try another mouse and keyboard tonight.
Once I've run the tests I get back with the results.

Thanks again for your help

[pascal1645]

Hi absic  Probably being a bit stupid here but I've just read up on updating the BIOS and it suddenly struck me how can this be done if you don't have a floppy drive or your system is not stable!!

[absic]

Hey no problem. You can use a USB Pen drive these days and as long as you can get into BIOS you will be able to update. Check here http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,2441.0.html if you're not sure about using QFlash as it might help.

[pascal1645]

Thanks again absic

[pascal1645]

OK - different mouse and keyboard.  Haven't updated the BIOS yet but tried Memtest and the system froze on me after 2 minutes or so.  Maybe I should try a BIOS update???

[absic]

Updating BIOS would be exactly what I would try. Once you have updated BIOS, remember to load Optimised Defaults in BIOS and then try running Memtest again.

If the system freezes or you get errors then it would be time to consider RMA'ing the RAM as they are likely to be the cause of your problems.

[pascal1645]

Thanks absic will try tonight

[pascal1645]

Read somewhere that somebody had a similar problem and cured it by swapping the ram modules from the blue slots to the white.  Tried it last night and left Memtest running all night and voila - no errors.  Now to fire up windows and see if it crashes.

[trublubiker]

Pascal, I feel your frustration.

I went through the same thing when I installed Windows 7 64bit. Screen freezes at random times and up to five a day. Usually when just doing normal things and occasionally at boot-up.

I was also running 2 x 2GB RAM and occasionally got a message saying something like "Windows couldn't perform the requested action because of insufficient RAM".

I googled 'Windows 7 Screen Freeze' and got about 15,000,000 hits. MS Tech forum was no help, insisting that all who were having problems were either doing something wrong or else blaming hardware, the PSU and RAM being the most often mentioned.

My gut feeling is that Windows 7 is a RAM hog. My system is currently using 1.5GB and all I'm doing is typing. It never drops much below that level even with minimum usage.

About 3 months ago the problem seemed to fix itself. I suspect that MS slipped a 'fix' into one of their Updates. All I had done was minimise the programs running at start-up and turned off 'Sleep' and 'Power Savings' (this was on an Asus board). I've only had one freeze per month since.
I've since done a clean install on a new Gigabyte board with 2 X 4GB of RAM and not a hiccup so far in a week.

I really feel that 4GB of RAM is not enough to keep Windows 7  happy, and suggest you get another pair of the same sticks.

I assume you have downloaded all the MS Updates since your install.

BTW, I also fitted a new 955 BE and have seen the fan on the heatsink go over 6000rpm under load when running Windows Performance Index and the PSU temps hit the high 50's. Keep an eye on it. I've just ordered a new Noctua NH-U9B SE2 Heatsink/Fan to stop that happening again.

Mate, I probably haven't been much help but as I said earlier Windows 7, in my case the 64bit edition, uses RAM like it's going out of fashion.

Good luck.

PS: I have the Core Temp add-on constantly running in the top RHS corner of my screen to watch CPU and RAM usage and to watch CPU core temps.

[pascal1645]

Hi trublubiker  Thanks for this.  Since swopping the RAM from the blue to white sockets stability has improved no end.  The core temp add on sounds good - where did you get it from?

[Dark Mantis]

You should always insert the memory modules in the white slots first.