GA-H61M-USB3-B3 (Rev 1.0): Self-restarts sometimes after Win7 restart

[Aussie Allan]

  Well before half the people on this site are happy to agree with you (yes it's probable toast) it requires 10 full pass of Memtest per module, ...they must be tested individually.....this tells us oodles..........for instance if they all fail......they might be fine and it could be a dodgy power supply.........starting to see the method in the madness.....1T or 2T should be not an issue as memtest work in DOS

 Aussie Allan

[Karlston]

Thanks Aussie Allan...

Have ordered a 2 x 2GB set of Corsair CMV4GX3M2A1333C9 memory, different model. This one is on the list of supported memory for the MB, don't think that matters too much though.

Will report back, hopefully Murphy will have gotten bored with me by the time it arrives, and gone and started driving someone else crazy.

[Aussie Allan]

 No problems matie !  keep in touch, Don't bother coming aver here ATM..........no "Hahn ice" any where........not even Winny blues

 Aussie Allan

[Karlston]

Well, tried one stick from the new set, and the same 4 locations or blocks have errors, again on the first pass this time on test #3.

The memory timings are definitely meant to be 9-9-9-24 2T.

Seems the problem might be that it defaults the memory Command Rate to 1T, and even though I go and change it to 2T in the "Channel A Timing Settings" page, that change doesn't stick.  The M.I.T. Current Status" page still shows tCMD as 1, as does CPU-Z v1.58.

Before the change, the "Channel A Timing Settings" page looks like...

Command Rate (CMD)             1  [Auto]

and after I change it looks like...

Command Rate (CMD)             1  [   2]

Is that what you'd expect to see after changing it???  As I said above, everything else shows it's still set to 1.

Running out of ideas except to downgrade the BIOS to F4 and see what happens... curiously the F5 BIOS download size is bigger than the F4 BIOS by about half a MB, and is also the same size as the F6 BIOS for the rev 1.1 version (I have rev 1.0). I wonder if F5 was actually for the rev 1.1 version and it's not quite compatible.

Far out...

[Aussie Allan]

Well, tried one stick from the new set, and the same 4 locations or blocks have errors, again on the first pass this time on test #3.

The memory timings are definitely meant to be 9-9-9-24 2T.

Seems the problem might be that it defaults the memory Command Rate to 1T, and even though I go and change it to 2T in the "Channel A Timing Settings" page, that change doesn't stick.  The M.I.T. Current Status" page still shows tCMD as 1, as does CPU-Z v1.58.

Before the change, the "Channel A Timing Settings" page looks like...

Command Rate (CMD)             1  [Auto]

and after I change it looks like...

Command Rate (CMD)             1  [   2]

Is that what you'd expect to see after changing it???  As I said above, everything else shows it's still set to 1.

Running out of ideas except to downgrade the BIOS to F4 and see what happens... curiously the F5 BIOS download size is bigger than the F4 BIOS by about half a MB, and is also the same size as the F6 BIOS for the rev 1.1 version (I have rev 1.0). I wonder if F5 was actually for the rev 1.1 version and it's not quite compatible.

Far out...

..........Karlston

  Don,t know about the bios......is it a beta Bios ?..........have a look at the station drivers web site,..... ttp://www.station-drivers.com/page/drivers.htm ...........they generally have the latest Bios you can get your hands and then some........as far as the timings being spat out..........from memory you can fill in the first field which populates the rest of the timings fields..........or you can use better glue by populating each and every memory field marked "A", "B" ,"C" and so on this will mean taking this area out of auto into manual........before doing this, make sure you sit down with pen and paper and write down all information applicable in the timings page for reference once manual is set

 Hope this is helpful.........good to hear your getting somewhere..........keep at it buddy.

 Aussie Allan

[Karlston]

Thanks Aussie Allan...

Checked the station drivers site, but this mobo's not listed there.

Maybe I misunderstood your answer, but if you have a BIOS setting that looks like this...

Command Rate (CMD)             1  [Auto]

...and you want to change the setting from 1 to 2, should it look like this afterwards, or not... ?

Command Rate (CMD)             1  [   2]

I would've thought "1" would be replaced by "2", not "Auto" replaced by "2". And again, after this change, other BIOS screens still show tCMD as 1, so I'm somehow stuffing up changing this setting, or this F5 BIOS has some gremlins...

[Aussie Allan]

 Somebody (DM,Absic) hopefully will jump in here but my understanding is it should look like

 1 [Auto] ......prior to change

 1 [   2  ]..........after the field has been changed prior to saving and rebooting

 2 [   2   ].......and look like this after change

 Are you changing multiple fields or just the master auto command line.........................Any Body ?

[Karlston]

Thanks again Aussie Allan...

OK, I loaded Optimized Defaults again.
Command Rate (CMD) shows 1 [Auto]

I changed this setting to 2.
Command Rate (CMD) now shows 1 [   2]
F10 Save & Exit Setup

Boot to BIOS
Command Rate (CMD) still shows 1 [   2], but tCMD on the "MIT Current Status" page is now 2.
F10 Save and Exit Setup
Allow boot to MemTest CD.
Same 4 errors come up very quickly.

Reboot to BIOS.
Command Rate (CMD) still shows 1 [   2], but now tCMD on the "MIT Current Status" page is back to 1.

I must be doing something wrong here, or this setting just won't stick.

Again, this memory's specs are 9-9-9-24 2T, but the bloody thing won't retain the tCMD change to 2.

Have no ideas now, other than to downgrade the BIOS to F4, and if that doesn't work, RMA the MB and get another brand like AsRock or Asus. Dont get me wrong, I like GB motherboards, but I think this one or its BIOS or its Revision 1.0 (there is a Rev 1.1 out) may be a dud.

[Aussie Allan]

  Can you revert the Bios to F4 and run for a while with the new memory.......report back if all issues as you see them ... as in if they've gone away

 Going back to F4 isn't really all that bad..........I doubt if you'll see any performance downturn ........yes it could be the board but odds on it will be a fault of some kind and not just a dodgy version..........if we can confirm a hardware fault........an RMA could fix all the issues with a newie!

  Asrock... ........Ive been using Giga boards now for 11 years.......had a few other brands mix in of the same platform too, running comparisons

  In all that Time, Giga have outperformed, had a better layout and consistently more ports to play with and 3 full years of warranty.

 Aussie Allan

[Karlston]

OK, finally some good news to report...

I replaced the F5 BIOS with F4, loaded Optimised Defaults, adjusted the boot sequence to CD/HD/Disabled, saved the settings, and restarted with the MemTest86+ CD.

11 passes and a little over 4 hours later, no errors.

I think that makes it fairly conclusive that the F5 BIOS has some problems. I still think that it may have been meant for the rev 1.1 board, and not this rev 1.0 one, and Gigabyte may have put it on the wrong page.

Just one thing though, the BIOS's Command Rate setting is still 1T, this memory's spec is 2T. Should I try and change it to comply, or just assume that this particular stick is able to run successfully with 1T and leave it alone?

[Aussie Allan]

    Karlston ....How are you buddy

  If it runs stable at T1.....GEM!.........Although the real acid test is something like "Intel Burn"........this will stress any system better then any game on the planet

 Even if it fail, don't despair.........sometimes all it takes is applying your memory settings manually to get stability at aggressive settings 

 Wait till a new official Bios version appears and have another crack at it and or check station driver occasionally as there generally the first sporting Beta Bios and drivers to try out.

 Aussie Allan ...........P.S Remember when using memtest, one stick at a time for testing......

[Karlston]

    Karlston ....How are you buddy

Bloody relieved

Have just installed Windows 7 and all 5 mb/chipset drivers. 8 automatic or manual Windows restarts worked properly, NO pesky extra restarts.

Just goes to show how many things can cause similar symptoms... thanks to you and the others for your help and especially the motivation to keep going. A couple of times I just wanted to put the box in a cupboard and forget about it.

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Oh, on a personal note, hope the mods don't mind me posting this on behalf of another OCAU (Overclockers Australia) member and their family...

Got a few dollars lying around? Donate to an OCAU family who need your help. Every little bit helps.

[Aussie Allan]

    Karlston

 If it's for a good cause....... Im sure they wont mind too much.......keep in touch buddy, not only when you have problems............and pass the word back home.....If you have troubles that you can't get your head around................GIGABYTE FORUM UK

 Aussie Allan