GA-990FXA-UD5 POST issue after BIOS update

[mprosise]

Greetings.  I've been doing some reading on the forums here as I have just finished building my new system and am running into a glitch.

Specs:
GA-990FXA-UD5
Phenom II x6 1100T BE (w/ Noctua cooler)
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB)
Corsair 750W modular power supply
PowerColor AX6850 1GBD5-DH Radeon HD 6850 1GB
Win 7 Pro 64bit

The board came with the F3 BIOS revision.  It was working fine but as usual with a new build I ensure that all versions are up to date before putting into service.  So I downloaded the F4 update and installed via the Windows based update too and rebooted as instructed.

At POST I got three long beeps from the BIOS and nothing.  The only way to power off the computer was via the hard switch on the power supply itself.  I removed the memory module closest to the processor and powered up with no problems.  I checked the BIOS settings, making minor changes such as enabling the fan fail warnings.  NO overclocking is being done to this system.

After this I shut the machine down and reinstalled the one memory module.  System booted up fine.  I am able to run Windows with no problems.  Several tests using heavy load software as well as "burn-in" testing software produced zero errors.

The issue I am still having though is this.  I can power the machine down via either Windows shutdown or pressing the front panel power switch.  Machine boots up normally, no problems.  However, if I choose to restart the machine via Windows-Restart, I consistently get the three long beeps.  Only resolution is to hard power off the system via the power supply switch, wait a few seconds and power back up.

It seems there is some issue going on between the F4 BIOS update and a memory module.  I have read the thread about not overclocking my ram.  This memory is 1600 RAM and the BIOS defaulted to (and I haven't changed) 1600 speed memory.  Should I attempt to 'slow down' my ram to 1333?  If so, I'm not an overclocking guru so not really sure what manual settings I should choose.  Overclocking is not really something I'm interested in doing with this system anyway.  I've also seen a few postings where an F5 beta update is provided.  Not sure if this is what I need or not.

I'd appreciate some pointers.  I'll also note that this is my second motherboard.  The first was having this identical issue once the F4 update was installed.

Thank you!
Mike

[Vezina]

Maybe your RAM is bad.Get some other RAM pair and test with , then, if it seems ok, for some hours in Memtest , reflash the BIOS (even back and forth factory one <-> newest ).
You can also reseat the CPU as some IMC CPU pins may not do perfect contacts in the socket

[mprosise]

Thank you, I should have posted that too.   I RMA'ed both the board and RAM so both are replacements as I wasn't sure if the problem was a memory or board issue the first time.  The processor of course was swapped to the new board so it got reseated in the process.

I was wondering if I could go back to F3 BIOS.  That won't cause any problems?

Thanks for the pointers!

[absic]

Hi there,

you can flash back to F3 without causing any problems.

Please check your PM as I have sent you a message.

[mprosise]

Thank you!  Replied.  I'll give F5b a try first.

[absic]

I've sent it to you. Please let us know how you get on.

[mprosise]

Updated to F5b.  This fixed the POST problem on restart.  No new issues have shown themselves though I'll continue monitoring of course.

Thank you absic!