X58A-UD3R Disappearing RAM Issue (4 of 6 GB detected)

[Hostile_MC]

Hey everybody, I'm having the disappearing RAM problem that a heap of people seem to be having with this socket. Have 6GB installed, but on a cold boot windows says 6 are installed, but only 4 total are useable in performance manager. Rebooting after reseating the RAM or wiggling it solves the issue, and it generally fixes it for a day or so until the next time I boot after a period of disuse.

Got the X58A-UD3R Rev 1.0 with the latest bios.
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit.
i7 930
Patriot Signature Line DDR3 1600MHz

Ran memtest on all RAM sticks, collectively and individually for a long period of time. No errors were found. Reseated the cpu, cpu fan etc. Checked for bent pins, didn't find any.

Funny thing is my friend has the exact same problem. He has the same setup except for RAM, which is G.Skill 2000MHz or something along those lines. Same issue, reseating the RAM fixes it for a day or so, then on a cold boot the issue occurs again. What do you think my next course of action should be? RMA the motherboard? RMA the CPU? Any advice would be awesome guys.

Found lots of threads relating to this issue on other forums, with a lot of people having heaps similar problems, where some were fixed with BIOS rollbacks or fixing bent pins, and then others haven't found a fix. I'm one of those who haven't found a fix. One guy had RMA'd his RAM, his CPU and his motherboard twice and was still getting the same problem. Just thought I'd raise the issue myself on the Gigabyte forums.

[Dark Mantis]

Yes there do seem to be a lot of instances of this problem but the interesting thing is that they seem to be spread out across several platforms, on both AMD an Intel boards.

Actually from your description it sounds like you could have a dodgy ram socket. Is it always the same socket that you have to "wiggle" the module in? Maybe you should try using one module at a time and try different sockets as far as possible to eliminate this possibility.

[Hostile_MC]

I generally wiggle them all to sort it out. It only happens once a day, and I've no way of replicating the problem at will, so I have to wait 24 hours before my next test if you get me so I haven't had a chance to test individual ram slots.

What's the easiest way to check which slot isn't being picked up? That way I can swap the RAM, and find out the next day if it's the same slot. If it is the slot, would you recommend RMAing the board or what?

[Dark Mantis]

At this present moment I think it would probably be a futile exercise as it would be a complete guess. You could try it but it is quite possible that after the board change you would be back at square one.

You could use CPU-Z to look at the memory. You can download the free version from here: www.cpuid.com

[Hostile_MC]

Yeah I've had CPU-Z the whole time, and it has always said that the RAM is there. Even Windows detects that its there, it says in system information that there are 6GB installed but only 4 GB total.

I had a look in the BIOS last time that it happened, and had a look at the RAM timings, where you can alter them for channel A, B, and C. Under channel C it just had a bunch of dashes instead of numbers next to the timings. I'm not exactly sure, but the channels represent the the three channels of the tri-channel memory yeah? It looks like an entire channel isn't working, rather than a single stick, so 1 third of every stick maybe which adds up to the same amount as if one stick wasn't registering. Am I totally on the wrong track?

[Dark Mantis]

Sorry you are wrong about how it works. If you set it up to three channels each stick is one channel and that is probably why if it isn't seeing one module it is reporting only 4Gb rather than the full 6Gb. The surprising thing is though how Windows can see it all but cant access it. If the BIOS couldn't see it (eg because of faulty slot) then neither would Windows. It is interesting however that in the BIOS the channel C was only showing a line of dashes.

Yeah I've had CPU-Z the whole time, and it has always said that the RAM is there. Even Windows detects that its there, it says in system information that there are 6GB installed but only 4 GB total.

Have you checked under the SPD tab to see how much it shows for each channel though?

[Hostile_MC]

Fair enough. Will check again if it happens tomorrow morning.

[Hostile_MC]

It all looks good under the SPD tab, says its all there. Still says 4 gig total in task manager. BIOS has the line of dashes still too.

[Dark Mantis]

It doesn't make sense really does it? One program sees it all and another one doesn't. Ithink I would RMA the board and see if another one is better or they can find some problem with your board.

[TommyTV]

Just found the problem on my board (although I've replaced it) A misaligned pin in the processor socket. I needed a magnifier to see how it works - the pins are slightly 'sprung' and this pin had moved out of alignment. Surprisingly evrything was working fine apart from dissapeared RAM. POST said 4Gb instead of 6Gb (installed) and BIOS showed dashes apart from one value in Channel A.Windows 7 said 6Gb installed but 4Gb available. Crazy!

[Dark Mantis]

Well at least you managed to find a sensible reason for it. I hate it when things are left up in the air and you don't ever find out why.

[Hostile_MC]

Did you RMA it or replace it yourself? I've read that Gigabyte don't accept RMAs if the pins are bent? Might have to have another look at mine with a magnifying glass to see if that could be my problem too as I've had the same issues you're describing.

[Dark Mantis]

Actually Gigabyte are very fair when it comes to repairing/replacing motherboards. There have been instances on the forum here where people have had a board with bent pins replaced.

[Hostile_MC]

If they choose not to RMA, would you suggest bending the pins back myself? I read about another guy who did and it solved his issues.

[Dark Mantis]

It really depends on how badly they are bent but if the manufacturer won't accept the board back for RMA then what have you got to lose? If you are careful and use a small pair of tweezers and magnifying glass it is not a terrible job.