GA-Z68X UD4 BH3 will Only Run RAM in Certain slots, Won't POST if in Others

[p13m4n]

Well, some tips if you ever decide to do it: use a flashlight, a sewing needle or a really thin and sharp pair of tweezers, and lots of patience. You just nudge it multiple times, not bend it back all at once. A magnifying glass on one of those third hand things probably would help a lot, although I didn't need one.

Maybe try to RMA it to Gigabyte - I'm still convinced that Gigabyte received a bad batch of 1155 sockets with a defect small enough to slip through inspection unnoticed, or something like that. Of course, it's just wild speculation on my part, but I really can't imagine myself bending one pin out of one thousand one hundred and fifty four others. It's just one pin for you too, right?

Anyways, this whole fiasco has served as a good lesson to not depend on the manufacturer's quality control and check the socket thoroughly before installing, maybe even film the entire process of unboxing and checking the motherboard just in case anybody tries to say it was my fault. It would've saved many hours of frustration had I done that in the first place.

[Jakk89]

I just wanted to say that i have the *exact* same problem. Same cpu and motherboard. Slightly different ram(i got the snipers instead). I am thinking of bringing it to the nearby ncix to see if they will exchange or fix it somehow. I am so glad i am not alone, I thought i screwed something up!

[p13m4n]

Hmm, interesting... I got mine from Direct Canada, a sister company of NCIX. So, at least three people, same country, similar source, same brand and chipset of motherboard, and same problem. Make sure to keep us updated, Jakk.

[rohit91]

I saw at least 2 others on this board with the same problem other than you guys.

[Jakk89]

So just out of curiosity, are you two running your comps in single channel with no alternative cause they refused to exchange your board?

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

I would suggest that you contact your nearest Gigabyte service centre(which is in the States actually) and see what they are prepared to do about it. Different places have different policies but it is worth checking.

[p13m4n]

So just out of curiosity, are you two running your comps in single channel with no alternative cause they refused to exchange your board?

No, as I mentioned earlier, I fixed the problem and am running with dual channel RAM. I might have tried to RMA it instead if I weren't so desperate to have the damn thing up and running as soon as possible. Did you take yours to NCIX? What did they say?

[Jakk89]

How did you fix the problem cause that might be a better solution for me at the moment.

NCIX is giving me some serious problems and making me jump through hoops to get an exchange and even then it's a lose lose situation. Infact, I'm currently posting this from NCIX while waiting for the more senior technician to get back from his lunch break.

Now here's my situation:

They suggested that the reason why the computer wasn't booting up initially was cause it already *is* in dual channel. I blame the lack of the standardized colour-coded channels on this board. I showed them through CPU-Z that it was, infact, running in single channel.

The they suggested that it might be a ram problem, saying that it's not compatible and if it isn't on their certified list then it's not their problem. I confirmed that the board is listed as compatible with the g.skill sniper ram on the g.skill site.

Finally they agreed that there is *something* wrong with the COMPUTER though they never admitted it was the board, but i insisted on an exchange. However, to do an exchange, i would have to take out the board myself cause they cannot be liable.
"Does that mean i have to go home, get a screw driver, take it out, and bring it back?"
"yes"

so i went to a nearby home depot and got a scre driver and half way through taking the board out, they tell me that they don't have the board in stock and i would have to wait a few days to get it from another store. I asked if they would gaurantee the new board to be working first. Again they can't bnnecause they cannot open the new board and can't touch my computer due to liablity.

The only way i can get them to check the board is to pay them to " repair"  my computer for 50 bucks which gives them the ability to try out the new board. And even then, they can't gaurantee that if the new board doesn't work that i would be entitled to anything.

Options: Run in single channel and feel ripped off, wait for my new board and hope it works, or pay 50 bucks for them to "check" it. loselose situation. Any ideas?

[Dark Mantis]

Personally I would go for the exchange board and then fit it myself. Hopefully it will be ok and everything will work. If not you still have a new board that is unlikely to be faulty, especially in the same way, so you have a good start point for future faultfinding. Obviously it is your call.

[Jakk89]

If anyone is still interested, heres an update:

on saturday they told me that they don't have the board in stock and will have to ship it from another ncix store which shud get there on monday and will give me a call. Monday just passed and no call so i'll head into store in person tomorrow and hopefully *finally* this all gets sorted out and i can finally use my new comp that i bought 2 weeks ago!

I also am choosing to take ur advice Dark Mantis, good call!

[Dark Mantis]

Well let's hope so. Good luck with your getting the replacement board tomorrow and let us know how things go. If you require any more help you know where we are.

[Jakk89]

So it's been a week and i finally got my new board because though i insisted they call me when they got the new board, they "accidentally" shipped it, which takes 4 days(+ weekends). The new board seems to run fine in dual channel but now there's no output from my videocard!

Seeing as how it outputted before, i think the socket on the "new" motherboard isn't working. Or my video card stopped outputting since last week.

I am loathe to RMA another board and in that time screw myself over because the time for the mail-in rebate will be over. Regardless, I have to bring my board in tomorrow.

Should i bring in my whole computer in and see if they can fix it so i skip the exchange process? Might be the same end result. Tried a different monitor and still no output. No other video card to test out. Atleast it no longer restarts the moment i turn it on in dual channel.

ps. I hate NCIX.

[Dark Mantis]

Well it seems to be a case of two steps forward and one step back again. Firstly can you confirm that it was actually a brand new board ?

I think the first thing to try is clear the CMOS in case there are any old settings/data in there.


Remove the power cable from the mains supply and then press the power switch on the case for a few seconds just to drain any residual energy in the PSU capacitors.

Once done remove the motherboard battery for at least one hour before replacing it.
 
Next plug back into the mains supply and boot.
 
You will now need to enter the BIOS by pressing DEL and load Optimised BIOS Defaults.

Make any other changes to the BIOS settings to suit your self like disabling the floppy drive, disabling the full screen logo and making the HDD the primary boot device and then press F10 to save and exit.

Has that helped ? If not Make sure that all the BIOS settings are correct and that you haven't forgotten to connect any of the power cables.

[Jakk89]

I will try clearing CMOS and hope that it will start outputting a signal, if not then I can't see what I'm doing in BIOS.

The only thing that is somewhat comforting is that the computer 100% works with dual channel(or atleast doesn't automatically shut down) cause I can hear the windows boot up noise and log in noise.

edit: how would i check if it's a new board?

[Dark Mantis]

Usually you can tell if it is a new board by the seals etc on the packaging when you get it. Was the box sealed ? Not all boxes come with an anti-tamper seal but if it did you can be fairly certain it was new.